HOUSE BILL 175

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Christine Trujillo

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; REQUIRING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH AND EXPAND ACCELERATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR CERTAIN QUALIFYING STUDENTS.

 

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

     SECTION 1. Section 22-13-6.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 25, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-13-6.1. GIFTED CHILDREN--DETERMINATION.--

          A. The department shall adopt standards pertaining to the determination of who is a gifted child and shall publish those standards as part of the educational standards for New Mexico schools.

          B. In adopting standards to determine who is a gifted child, the department shall provide for the evaluation of selected school-age [children] persons by multidisciplinary teams from each child's school district. That team shall be vested with the authority to designate a child as gifted. The team shall consider information regarding a child's cultural and linguistic background and socioeconomic background in the identification, referral and evaluation process. The team also shall consider any disabling condition in the identification, referral and evaluation process.

          C. Each school district offering a gifted education program shall create one or more advisory committees of parents, community members, students and school staff members. The school district may create as many advisory committees as there are high schools in the district or may create a single districtwide advisory committee. The membership of each advisory committee shall reflect the cultural diversity of the enrollment of the school district or the schools the committee advises. The advisory committee shall regularly review the goals and priorities of the gifted program, including the operational plans for student identification, evaluation, placement and service delivery and shall demonstrate support for the gifted program.

          D. In determining whether a child is gifted, the multidisciplinary team shall consider diagnostic or other evidence of the child's:

                (1) creativity or divergent-thinking ability;

                (2) critical-thinking or problem-solving ability;

                (3) intelligence; and

                (4) achievement.

          E. School districts offering a gifted education program shall:

                (1) consider the potential need for social work services, transportation costs and occupational therapy for students identified as gifted pursuant to this section;

                (2) adopt an academic acceleration policy that allows all of the following:

                     (a) a range of options such as: 1) early entry into kindergarten; 2) skipping grades; 3) facilitated enrollment in concurrent high school and college credit courses; 4) credit for demonstrated mastery of subject matter; and 5) other research-based interventions for gifted and high-ability learners as a priority for expending federal Every Student Succeeds Act funding;

                     (b) specified nondiscrimination and inclusiveness of all students, including those with disabilities, language differences and socioeconomic differences;

                     (c) provisions that the individual education plan team may make acceleration decisions for students identified as gifted and that the student assistance team may make acceleration decisions for other advanced students not identified as gifted; and

                     (d) inclusion of procedures for: 1) appeal and due process; and 2) safe reversion of placement within a reasonable time frame if the acceleration is ineffective;

                (3) uphold the student's right to accelerate through a dual-credit or concurrent credit course in the event that the student's home school offers the course that would allow the student to earn credit toward graduation;

                (4) provide special supports for disadvantaged and disabled students who are also identified as gifted pursuant to this section to participate in acceleration; and

                (5) accept accelerated credit or college credit earned at accredited schools toward graduation from the student's home high school.

          F. A twice-exceptional student shall continue to be eligible for special education and related services even though the child achieves a high score on an intelligence test. For purposes of this section, "twice exceptional" means a student who qualifies as a gifted student and meets the criteria for a disability under federal law."

- 4 -