HOUSE BILL 168

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Trujillo and Elizabeth “Liz” Stefanics

and Andrea Romero

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; REQUIRING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO TRACK STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS AND REPORT STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT CONTINUOUSLY ENROLLED TO THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT.

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] STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER--DEPARTMENT TO TRACK--REPORT TO THE CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES DEPARTMENT.--

          A. As part of the department's accountability system, the department shall run a report every ten days on student identification numbers. If a student's identification number indicates that the student is not enrolled in a public school or has not graduated or earned a high school equivalency credential, the department shall communicate with the last known school district or charter school in which the student was enrolled to determine if the school district or charter school knows the whereabouts of the student. If the school district or charter school does not have current information about the student, the department shall report the disenrollment to the children, youth and families department for investigation.

          B. When a public school student disenrolls from one school district and enrolls in another public or private school in New Mexico or elsewhere, as indicated by the request for a records transfer by the enrolling school, the school district shall notify the department of the records request.

          C. A student who has ever been enrolled in a public school in New Mexico shall not be assigned a new student identification number if the student enrolls in another public school in New Mexico. The school district or charter school is responsible for determining if the student has ever been enrolled previously in a public school in New Mexico and shall use the original student identification number."

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