45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO SCHOOL VOUCHERS FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION; AUTHORIZING REDEMPTION OF VOUCHERS AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS; RECONCILING A SECTION OF LAW THAT WAS AMENDED TWICE IN 2000.

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.--Sections 1 through 7 of this act may be cited as the "Student Choice Voucher Act"."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.--

A. The legislature finds that:

(1) families in New Mexico should have the option to take advantage of the best public school educational opportunities available to their school-age children;

(2) providing families in New Mexico a choice between public schools leads to competition that benefits students and improves the quality of public schools;

(3) students should be allowed to improve their learning potential through educational opportunities that are best suited to their individual needs and interests; and

(4) families should not be denied educational choices for their school-age children.

B. The purpose of the Student Choice Voucher Act is to establish a voucher program that provides New Mexico's students the opportunity to attend their choice of public schools in order to best suit their individual needs and interests."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Student Choice Voucher Act:

A. "program" means the student choice voucher program; and

B. "voucher" means an instrument issued to a qualifying parent through the department of education that can be used to educate his child at any public school."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM--ADOPTING RULES.--

A. The department of education shall establish and bear the cost of administering the program.

B. The state board shall establish guidelines for the implementation and operation of the program.

C. The department of education, in cooperation with the school districts, shall embark on a public awareness campaign to inform the public about the program using the schools, other government agencies and the media."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.--A student who is a resident of New Mexico, is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. September 1 of the school year or is a developmentally disabled three- or four-year-old child is eligible to participate in the program if the following criteria are met:

A. for the 2001-2002 school year, the student resides in a class A county or a class B county with a population of greater than ninety-five thousand and a net taxable value for property taxation purposes of greater than two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000);

B. for the 2002-2003 school year, the student resides in a class B county not described in Subsection A of this section; and

C. for the 2003-2004 school year and all subsequent school years, the student resides in any county."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] PROCEDURES FOR USING VOUCHERS.--

A. A parent may use a voucher to enroll his child in a public school outside of the school district in which the child resides.

B. A school district shall accept for enrollment any student with a voucher provided for in the Student Choice Voucher Act.

C. Not earlier than February 15 and not later than May 15 prior to the beginning of a school year, a student's parent or legal guardian may apply to the superintendent of the school district in which the student resides to participate in the program. The school district superintendent may waive the application deadline. For a student applying to attend a public school outside of the student's attendance zone, the department of education may require that the application contain the following information:

(1) the student's name and address;

(2) the student's date of birth;

(3) the student's social security number;

(4) the student's school attendance zone;

(5) the student's grade level;

(6) the name and address of the student's parent or legal guardian who is residing with the child;

(7) whether the student was enrolled in a class A, B, C or D special education program in the prior school year or, for a child entering school for the first time, whether the child has a diagnosed developmental disability or learning disorder;

(8) whether the student speaks a language other than English as his principal language; and

(9) the name of the public school to which the student intends to apply.

D. No later than thirty days after the application is received, the school district superintendent receiving an application shall act on it, notify the parent or legal guardian of the value of the voucher and issue the voucher if the application is approved.

E. The voucher shall be issued to the student by July 1 in the care of the student's parent or legal guardian. The voucher shall not be issued to the school district containing the public school that the student chooses to attend.

F. The student and his parent or legal guardian shall solely select the public school the student chooses to attend. The state shall not decide which school a student may attend. The state shall not advise or influence the student's selection of a school.

G. Not later than August 15 of each year, the school district superintendent shall report to the department of education the ages, school attendance zones and voucher values of students participating in the program."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] VOUCHERS--REDEMPTION.--

A. The value of the voucher shall be equal to the amount of money generated by the student through the state equalization guarantee distribution provided in the Public School Finance Act and the student's proportionate per student amount for transportation and other related educational expenses as if the student had attended a public school in his school attendance zone, including any size or training and experience adjustment for the school district or the public school. The value of the voucher shall also include a proportionate allocation for the school district's at-risk funding. The department of education shall calculate the value of a student's voucher using the state equalization guarantee distribution formula.

B. The school district that issued the voucher shall pay installments of twenty-five percent of the value of the voucher on the first day of September, November, February and May to the public school presenting the voucher.

C. If a parent or legal guardian disenrolls a student from one public school and enrolls the student in another public school during the school year, the parent or legal guardian shall, in writing, notify the local school district. Upon proof of enrollment in another public school, the remaining redemption installments shall be made to the school district in which the public school is located."

Section 8. Section 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 338, Section 1, as amended by Laws 2000, Chapter 15, Section 1 and also by Laws 2000, Chapter 82, Section 1) is amended to read:

"22-1-4. FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS--EXCEPTIONS--WITHDRAWING AND ENROLLING--OPEN ENROLLMENT.--

A. Except as provided by Section 24-5-2 NMSA 1978, a free public school education shall be available to any school-age person who is a resident of this state and has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent.

B. A free public school education in those courses already offered to persons pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this section shall be available to any person who is a resident of this state and has received a high school diploma or its equivalent if there is available space in such courses.

C. Any person entitled to a free public school education pursuant to the provisions of this section may enroll or re-enroll in a public school at any time and, unless required to attend school pursuant to the Compulsory School Attendance Law, may withdraw from a public school at any time.

D. In adopting and promulgating rules concerning the enrollment of students transferring from a home school or private school to the public schools, the local school board shall provide that the grade level at which the transferring student is placed is appropriate to the age of the student or to the student's score on a student achievement test administered according to the statewide and local school district testing programs as determined by the state superintendent or both.

E. A local school board shall adopt and promulgate rules governing enrollment and re-enrollment at public schools other than charter schools within the district. These rules shall include:

(1) definition of the district boundary and the boundaries of attendance areas for each public school;

(2) for each public school, definition of the boundaries of areas outside the district boundary or within the district but outside the public school's attendance area and within a distance of the public school that would not be served by a school bus route as determined pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 if enrolled, which areas shall be designated as "walk zones";

[(3) priorities for enrollment of students as follows:

(a) first, persons residing within the district and within the attendance area of a public school;

(b) second, persons who previously attended the public school; and

(c) third, all other applicants; and

(4)] (3) establishment of maximum allowable class size if smaller than that permitted by law; and

(4) rules pertaining to grounds for denial of enrollment or re-enrollment at schools within the school district and the school district's hearing and appeals process for such a denial. Grounds for denial of enrollment or re-enrollment shall be limited to:

(a) a student's expulsion from any school district in this state or any other state during the preceding twelve months; or

(b) a student's behavior in another school district in this state or any other state during the preceding twelve months that is detrimental to the welfare or safety of other students or school personnel

[F. As long as the maximum allowable class size established by law or by rule of a local school board, whichever is lower, is not met or exceeded in a public school by enrollment of first-priority persons, the public school shall enroll other persons applying in the priorities stated in the district rules adopted pursuant to Subsection E of this section. If the maximum would be exceeded by enrollment of an applicant in the second or third priority, the school shall establish a waiting list. As classroom space becomes available, persons highest on the waiting list within the highest priority on the list shall be notified and given the opportunity to enroll]."

Section 9. Section 22-12-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 172, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-l2-5. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.--

A. Local school boards [may] shall admit school-age persons who do not live within the school district to the public schools within the school district [when there are sufficient school accommodations to provide for them].

B. Local school boards [may] shall permit school-age persons to transfer to a school outside the child's attendance zone but within the school district [when there are sufficient school accommodations to provide for them].

C. Local school boards may charge a tuition fee for the right to attend public school within the school district only to those school-age persons who do not live within the state. The tuition fee shall not exceed the amount generated by the public school fund for a school-age person similarly situated within the school district for the current school year.

D. When the parent or guardian of a student not living in the state pays an ad valorem property tax for school purposes within the district, the amount of the tuition payable for the school year shall be reduced by the district average ad valorem tax per pupil as determined by the ad valorem tax credit utilized in calculating state equalization guarantee distribution."