SENATE BILL 587

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Clemente Sanchez

AN ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR A PARENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION.

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

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Parents' Bill of Rights in Public School Education Act"."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] PURPOSE.--The purpose of the Parents' Bill of Rights in Public School Education Act is to encourage parents to actively participate in creating and implementing educational programs for their children and to provide specific rights to parents regarding the education of their children in public schools."

     SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] ACCESS TO STUDENT RECORDS.--A parent is entitled to access to all written records of a school district concerning the parent's child, including:

          A. attendance records;

          B. test scores;

          C. grades;

          D. disciplinary records;

          E. counseling records;

          F. health and immunization information; and

          G. teacher and school counselor evaluations."

     SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS' RESPONSIBILITY TO PARENTS.--

          A. A local school board, in consultation with parents, teachers and school administrators, shall develop and adopt policies to promote the involvement of parents of children enrolled in the schools within the school district, including:

                (1) a plan for parent participation in the schools that is designed to improve parent and teacher cooperation in such areas as homework, attendance and discipline;

                (2) procedures by which parents may learn about the course of study for their children and review learning materials, including the source of any supplemental educational materials;

                (3) procedures by which parents who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful may withdraw their children from the activity or from the class or program in which the material is used. Objection to a learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful includes objection to a material or activity because it questions the parents' beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion;

                (4) procedures by which parents may learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities that are part of the school curriculum, as well as extracurricular clubs and activities that have been approved by the school;

                (5) procedures that govern which students are allowed to enroll in concurrent educational opportunities at a local college, university or community college and which cases are allowed for students to take concurrent classes in place of high school classes;

                (6) procedures that govern which students are allowed to take advanced placement or honors courses; and

                (7) procedures to allow parents the right to:

                     (a) review test results;

                     (b) inspect instructional materials used in connection with any research or experimentation program or project;

                     (c) receive a school report card;

                     (d) publicly review courses of study and textbooks; and

                     (e) opt out of the collection of biometric data used for student identification.

          B. A parent shall submit a written request for information pursuant to this section during regular business hours either to the school principal at the school site or to the local superintendent at the office of the school district. Within ten days of receiving the request for information, the recipient shall either provide the requested information to the parent or provide the parent a written explanation of the reason for the denial of the requested information. If the request for information is denied or the parent does not receive the requested information within fifteen days after submitting the request, the parent may submit a written request for the information to the local school board, which shall formally consider the request at the next scheduled public meeting of the local school board at which the request can be properly noticed on the agenda.

          C. A local school board shall adopt a grievance procedure under which the board shall address each complaint that the board receives concerning violation of a right guaranteed by the Parent's Bill of Rights in Public Education Act."

     SECTION 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] CONSENT FOR CERTAIN ACTIVITIES.--

           A. A school employee shall obtain the written consent of a child's parent before the school employee may:

                (1) conduct a psychological examination, test or treatment, unless the examination, test or treatment is required by law regarding requirements for special education; or

                (2) make or authorize the making of a videotape of a child or record or authorize the recording of a child's voice.

          B. A school employee is not required to obtain the consent of a child's parent before the school employee may make or authorize a videotape of a child or make or authorize the recording of a child's voice if the videotape or voice recording is to be used only for:

                (1) purposes of safety, including the maintenance of order and discipline in common areas of the school or on school buses;

                (2) a purpose related to a co-curricular or extracurricular activity;

                (3) a purpose related to regular classroom instruction; or

                (4) media coverage of the school."

     SECTION 6. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] PARENTAL CONSENT REQUIRED FOR QUESTIONING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.--

          A. A law enforcement officer who wishes to interview a child at school for law enforcement purposes shall obtain the child's parent's prior consent for the interview.

          B. The interview shall not occur in the absence of the parent's prior consent unless, in the sole opinion of the law enforcement officer, an emergency justifies the interview.

          C. If in the sole opinion of the law enforcement officer an emergency exists that justifies conducting an interview absent parental consent, prior to conducting the interview, the law enforcement officer shall complete and sign a form stating that parental consent was sought and not obtained and that the law enforcement officer nonetheless conducted the interview because the law enforcement officer, in the officer's sole opinion, considered the interview to be justified because of emergency.

          D. Except as provided in Subsections B and C of this section, parents have the right to be present when a child is questioned by a law enforcement officer, including an on-site school resource officer, on school property."

     SECTION 7. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS.--

          A. School districts that employ school resource officers shall:

                (1) have written policies describing the objectives of the school resource officer program and the rules that will govern its operation. The policies shall define when a school resource officer acts in the role of a school employee and when a school resource officer acts in the role of a law enforcement officer and shall prohibit school resource officers from changing from one role to the other role during an interview or investigation;

                (2) have written agreements between the school district and the commissioning authority that clearly establish each party's duties and make the written agreements publicly available; and

                (3) annually assess and report the success of its school resource officer program, with particular attention to the rate and nature of school-based arrests.

          B. As used in this section, "school resource officer" means a certified law enforcement officer commissioned by the appropriate authority of the community where the public school is located whose post of duty is at the public school."

     SECTION 8. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] REFUSAL OF PSYCHIATRIC OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF CHILD AS BASIS OF REPORT OF NEGLECT.--

          A. A school employee shall not use or threaten to use the refusal of a parent to administer or consent to the administration of a psychotropic drug to the parent's child, or to consent to any other psychiatric or psychological testing or treatment of the child, as the sole basis for making a report of neglect of the child pursuant to Section 32A-4-3 NMSA 1978 unless the school employee has cause to believe that the refusal:

                (1) presents a substantial risk of death, disfigurement or bodily injury to the child; or

                (2) has resulted in an observable and material impairment to the growth, development or functioning of the child.

          B. As used in this section, "psychotropic drug" means a substance that is:

                (1) used in the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication; and

                (2) intended to have an altering effect on perception, emotion or behavior."

     SECTION 9. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] EXEMPTION FROM INSTRUCTION.--

          A. A parent is entitled to remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or other school activity that conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs if the parent provides the teacher a written statement authorizing the removal of the child from the class or other school activity. A parent is not entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject for an entire semester.

          B. This section does not exempt a child from satisfying grade level or graduation requirements."

- 9 -