HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 474

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; PROVIDING FOR REDUCTIONS IN CLASS SIZES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 22-10A-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-10A-20. STAFFING PATTERNS--CLASS LOAD--TEACHING LOAD.--

          A. The individual class load for elementary school teachers shall not exceed twenty students for kindergarten; provided that any teacher in kindergarten with a class load of fifteen to twenty students shall be entitled to the assistance of an educational assistant.

          B. The [average] individual class load for grades one, two and three for elementary school teachers at an individual school shall not exceed twenty-two students [when averaged among grades one, two and three]; provided that any teacher in grade one with a class load of twenty-one or more shall be entitled to the full-time assistance of an educational assistant.

          C. The [average] individual class load for grades four, five and six for an elementary school teacher at an individual school shall not exceed twenty-four students [when averaged among grades four, five and six].

          D. The daily teaching load per teacher for grades seven through twelve shall not exceed one hundred sixty students, except the daily teaching load for teachers of required English courses in grades seven and eight shall not exceed one hundred thirty-five with a maximum of twenty-seven students per class and the daily teaching load for teachers of required English courses in grades nine through twelve shall not exceed one hundred fifty students with a maximum of thirty students per class.

          E. Students receiving special education services integrated into a regular classroom for any part of the day shall be counted in the calculation of the individual class load [averages]. Students receiving special education services not integrated into the regular classroom shall not be counted in the calculation of the individual class load [averages]. Only classroom teachers charged with responsibility for the regular classroom instructional program shall be counted in determining [average] maximum class loads. [In elementary schools offering only one grade level, average class loads may be calculated by averaging appropriate grade levels between schools in the school district.]

          F. Class load limits provided for in this section do not apply to band or music classes or athletic electives.

          G. The [state superintendent] secretary may waive the individual school class load requirements established in this section. Waivers shall be applied for annually and a waiver shall not be granted for more than two consecutive years. Waivers may only be granted if a school district demonstrates that:

                (1) no portable classrooms are available;

                (2) no other available sources of funding exist to meet its need for additional classrooms;

                (3) the school district is planning alternatives to increase building capacity for implementation within one year; and

                (4) the parents of all children affected by the waiver have been notified in writing:

                     (a) of the statutory class load requirements;

                     (b) that the school district has made a decision to deviate from these class load requirements; and

                     (c) of the school district plan to achieve compliance with the class load requirements.

          H. If a waiver is granted pursuant to Subsection G of this section to an individual school, the [average] class load for elementary school teachers at that school shall [not exceed twenty students in grade one and shall not exceed twenty-five students when averaged among grades two, three, four, five and six] be determined by the department.

          I. Each school district shall report to the department the size and composition of classes subsequent to the fortieth day and the December 1 count. Failure to meet class load requirements within two years shall be justification for the disapproval of the school district's budget by the [state superintendent] department.

          J. The department shall report to the legislative education study committee by November 30 of each year regarding each school district's ability to meet class load requirements imposed by law.

          K. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection G of this section, the [state board] secretary may waive the individual class load and teaching load requirements established in this section upon a demonstration of a viable alternative curricular plan and a finding by the [state board] secretary that the plan is in the best interest of the school district and that, on an annual basis, the plan has been presented to and is supported by the affected teaching staff. The department shall evaluate the impact of each alternative curricular plan annually. Annual reports shall be made to the legislative education study committee.

          L. Teachers shall not be required to perform noninstructional duties except in emergency situations as defined by the [state board] department. For purposes of this subsection, "noninstructional duties" means noon hall duty, noon ground duty and noon cafeteria duty."

     Section 2. APPROPRIATION.--Sixty-two million dollars ($62,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the public education department for distribution through the state equalization guarantee in fiscal year 2010 to support public school class size reduction. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2010 shall revert to the general fund.

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