AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; CREATING A
THREE-YEAR KINDERGARTEN PLUS PILOT PROJECT TO STUDY THE EFFICACY OF EXTENDED
KINDERGARTEN FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS; ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF KINDERGARTEN
PLUS ON THE LITERACY, NUMERACY AND COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT OF
PARTICIPANTS; PROVIDING FOR PILOT PROJECT ELIGIBILITY, PARTICIPATION CRITERIA
AND EVALUATION; CREATING A FUND FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE GRANTS AND DONATIONS TO
THE PILOT PROJECT.
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:
"KINDERGARTEN PLUS--PILOT
PROJECT--ELIGIBILITY--APPLICATION--REPORTING AND EVACUATION--CREATING A FUND.--
A. The "kindergarten plus" pilot
project is created as a three-year study that extends the kindergarten year by
four months for participating students and measures the effect of additional
time on literacy, numeracy and social skills development. The purpose of kindergarten plus is to demonstrate
that increased time in kindergarten narrows the achievement gap between
disadvantaged students and other students and increases cognitive skills and
leads to higher test scores for all participants.
B. The pilot project shall be administered by
the department of education and shall provide the funding for approved full-day
kindergarten programs to be extended by forty instructional days, beginning
approximately two months earlier and ending approximately two months later than
other classes. For the first year, the
pilot project shall begin July 1 and run two hundred twenty instructional days;
in the second and third years, kindergarten plus may begin or end at any time
that provides for the same number of instructional days.
C. Kindergarten plus shall be conducted in the
Albuquerque, Gallup-McKinley, Gadsden and Las Cruces school districts. Full-day kindergarten programs in
high-poverty public schools in those school districts are eligible to apply for
kindergarten plus. For the purposes of
kindergarten plus, "high-poverty school" means a public school in
which eighty-five percent or more of the students are eligible for free or
reduced lunch. If enough eligible
high-poverty schools in those school districts do not qualify for the pilot
project for the amount of funding available, the department of education may
extend eligibility to high-poverty schools in other school districts.
D. The department of education shall determine
application requirements and procedures and criteria for evaluating
applications. An applicant must
demonstrate that its kindergarten plus program will meet all state board
standards and employ only qualified teachers and other staff. The department shall provide additional
professional development for kindergarten plus teachers in how young children
learn to read. Teachers shall be paid at
the same rate and under the same terms for kindergarten plus as teachers are
paid for regular full-day kindergarten programs.
E. Students participating in kindergarten plus
shall be evaluated at the beginning of kindergarten plus and their progress in
literacy, numeracy and cognitive and social skills shall be measured through
standardized assessments in kindergarten and in first grade. The department of education shall provide
additional professional development for kindergarten plus teachers in how young
children learn to read.
F. The department of education shall establish
reporting and evaluation requirements for participating schools, including
student and program assessments. The
department shall provide interim and final reports annually to the legislature
and the governor on the efficacy of the pilot project.
G. In addition to legislative appropriations for
the pilot project, the department of education shall seek public and private
grants and donations. Grants and
donations shall be deposited in the "kindergarten plus fund" created
in the state treasury. Income from
investment of the fund shall be deposited in the fund. The department shall administer the fund and
money in the fund is appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes
of the pilot project. Money shall be
expended in accordance with the terms of the grants and donations. Unless otherwise specified by the terms of a
grant or donation, money in the fund at the end of the pilot project shall
revert to the general fund. Expenditures
from the fund shall be by warrants of the secretary of finance and
administration drawn pursuant to vouchers signed by the state superintendent or
his authorized representative."
HB 61
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