46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

RELATING TO EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONIC FORMATS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ENROLLED IN DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES OF STUDY AND USING COMPUTER-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

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

Section 1. Section 21-2-5.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1988, Chapter 164, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"21-2-5.1. FUNDING FORMULA.--

A. The commission on higher education shall develop a funding formula that will provide funding for each institution of higher education to accomplish its mission as determined by a statewide plan.

B. The commission on higher education may include factors in the funding formula, which when implemented will achieve the following:

(1) improve the quality of programs central to each institution's mission;

(2) develop and enhance programs that meet targeted post-secondary educational needs and the related needs of public schools;

(3) eliminate unnecessary, unproductive or duplicative programs;

(4) consider faculty salaries and benefits adjustment to a competitive level with similar institutions in similar states, when such compensation adjustments are supported by detailed analyses of faculty workloads and educational outcomes assessments, and nonteaching staff salaries and benefits at a competitive level with other similar public or private sector employment in the community in which the institution is situated;

(5) recognize additional costs incurred through increases in enrollment;

(6) provide for equipment and equipment maintenance and library acquisitions and operations since the development of the prior funding formula;

(7) fund off-campus courses and other nontraditional course delivery systems at a level sufficient to allow their development;

(8) provide incentives to institutions to pursue private or alternative funding sources;

(9) encourage the sharing of expertise, equipment and facilities and development of joint instructional programs, research and public service projects;

(10) implement uniform articulation agreements and facilitation of transfer of students between institutions;

(11) encourage energy conservation; [and]

(12) require mechanisms to track expenditures to ensure greater accountability; and

(13) require each institution of higher education that offers distance learning and computer-based instructional materials for any course of study to provide the course work with accessible electronic formats that are usable by an individual with a disability using assistive technology, those formats to include American standard code for information interchange, hypertext markup language and extensible markup language."

Section 2. Section 22-2-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 5, as amended by Laws 2001, Chapter 286, Section 1 and by Laws 2001, Chapter 299, Section 5) is amended to read:

"22-2-2. STATE BOARD--DUTIES.--Without limiting those powers granted to the state board pursuant to Section 22-2-1 NMSA 1978, the state board shall perform the following duties:

A. properly and uniformly enforce the provisions of the Public School Code;

B. determine policy for the operation of all public schools and vocational education programs in the state, including vocational programs that are part of a juvenile construction industries initiative for juveniles who are committed to the custody of the children, youth and families department;

C. appoint a state superintendent;

D. purchase and loan instructional material to students pursuant to the Instructional Material Law and adopt rules relating to the use and operation of instructional material depositories in the instructional material distribution process;

E. designate courses of instruction to be taught in all public schools in the state;

F. assess and evaluate all state institutions and those private schools that desire state accreditation;

G. determine the qualifications for and issue a certificate to any person teaching, assisting teachers, supervising an instructional program, counseling, providing special instructional services or administering in public schools according to law and according to a system of classification adopted and published by the state board;

H. suspend or revoke a certificate held by a certified school instructor or certified school administrator according to law for incompetency, immorality or any other good and just cause;

I. make full and complete reports on consolidation of school districts to the legislature;

J. prescribe courses of instruction, requirements for graduation and standards for all public schools, for private schools seeking state accreditation and for the educational programs conducted in state institutions other than the New Mexico military institute;

K. adopt rules for the administration of all public schools and bylaws for its own administration;

L. require periodic reports on forms prescribed by it from all public schools and attendance reports from private schools;

M. authorize adult educational programs to be conducted in schools under its jurisdiction and adopt and promulgate rules governing all such adult educational programs;

N. require any school under its jurisdiction that sponsors athletic programs involving sports to mandate that the participating student obtain catastrophic health and accident insurance coverage, such coverage to be offered through the school and issued by an insurance company duly licensed pursuant to the laws of New Mexico;

O. require all accrediting agencies for public schools in the state to act with its approval;

P. accept and receive all grants of money from the federal government or any other agency for public school purposes and disburse the money in the manner and for the purpose specified in the grant;

Q. require prior approval for any educational program in a public school that is to be conducted, sponsored, carried on or caused to be carried on by a private organization or agency;

R. approve or disapprove all rules promulgated by any association or organization attempting to regulate any public school activity and invalidate any rule in conflict with any rule promulgated by the state board. The state board shall require any association or organization attempting to regulate any public school activity to comply with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act and be subject to the inspection of the Public Records Act. The state board may require performance and financial audits of any association or organization attempting to regulate any public school activity. The state board shall have no power or control over the rules or the bylaws governing the administration of the internal organization of the association or organization;

S. review decisions made by the governing board or officials of any organization or association regulating any public school activity, and any decision of the state board shall be final in respect thereto;

T. accept or reject any charitable gift, grant, devise or bequest. The particular gift, grant, devise or bequest accepted shall be considered an asset of the state;

U. establish and maintain regional centers, at its discretion, for conducting cooperative services between public schools and school districts within and among those regions and to facilitate regulation and evaluation of school programs;

V. assess and evaluate for accreditation purposes at least one-third of all public schools each year through visits by department of education personnel to investigate the adequacy of pupil gain in standard required subject matter, adequacy of pupil activities, functional feasibility of public school and school district organization, adequacy of staff preparation and other matters bearing upon the education of the students;

W. provide for management and other necessary personnel to operate any public school or school district that has failed to meet requirements of law, state board standards or state board rules; provided that the operation of the public school or school district shall not include any consolidation or reorganization without the approval of the local board of that school district. Until such time as requirements of law, standards or rules have been met and compliance is assured, the powers and duties of the local school board shall be suspended;

X. establish and implement a plan that provides for technical assistance to local school boards through workshops and other in-service training methods; provided, however, that no plan shall require mandatory attendance by any member of a local school board;

Y. submit a plan applying for funds available under Public Law 94-142 and disburse these funds in the manner and for the purposes specified in the plan;

Z. enforce requirements for home schools. Upon finding that a home school is not in compliance with law, the state board has authority to order that a student attend a public school or a private school;

AA. develop a systemic framework for professional development that provides training to ensure quality teachers and principals and that improves and enhances student achievement. The state board shall work with public school educators, the commission on higher education and institutions of higher education to establish the framework. The framework shall include:

(1) the criteria for school districts to apply for professional development funds, including an evaluation component that will be used by the department of education in approving local school district professional development plans; and

(2) guidelines for developing extensive professional development activities for school districts, including teaching strategies, curriculum materials, distance learning networks and web sites to ensure that the state board's rules pertaining to content standards and benchmarks are used by New Mexico teachers;

BB. approve education curricula and programs offered in all two-year public post-secondary educational institutions, including northern New Mexico state school, except those in Chapter 21, Article 12 NMSA 1978, that lead to certificates for alternative certification for degreed individuals pursuant to Section 22-10-3.5 NMSA 1978 or certification for educational [assistant] assistants; [and]

CC. withhold program approval from a college of education or teacher preparation program that fails to offer a course on teaching reading that:

(1) is based upon current research;

(2) aligns with state board-adopted reading standards;

(3) includes strategies and assessment measures to ensure that beginning teachers are proficient in teaching reading; and

(4) was designed after seeking input from experts in the education field; and

DD. require public schools that offer distance learning and computer-based instructional materials for any course of study to provide the course work with accessible electronic formats that are usable by an individual with a disability using assistive technology, those formats to include American standard code for information interchange, hypertext markup language and extensible markup language."