SENATE BILL 300
46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2004
INTRODUCED BY
Manny M. Aragon
AN ACT
RELATING TO EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR PARENTAL SCHOOL CHOICE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS; AUTHORIZING REDEMPTION OF STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS AT ELIGIBLE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS; CREATING A PILOT PROGRAM; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
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.--This act may be cited as the "Parental School Choice 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) every family of modest income in New Mexico should have the option to take advantage of the best educational opportunities available to their school-age children;
(2) providing families in New Mexico with a choice between schools leads to competition that benefits students and improves the quality of schools;
(3) all students should be allowed to improve their learning potential through educational opportunities that are best suited to their individual needs and interests;
(4) low-income families should not be denied educational choices for their school-age children; and
(5) a program for parental school choice scholarships should be established for students living in school attendance zones or school districts with historically high percentages of dropouts, low-income students or low test scores; wide student achievement gaps between ethnic groups; or a high incidence of schools identified as schools in need of improvement, probationary schools and corrective action schools.
B. The purpose of the Parental School Choice Act is to establish a pilot program that provides eligible students the opportunity to attend their parents' choice of public or private school in order to best suit their individual needs and interests. The program shall include public and private schools so that affected students, through their parents, will have the option and financial empowerment of school choice."
Section 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Parental School Choice Act:
A. "eligible public or private school" means a public or private school that teaches one or all grades from kindergarten through eighth grade and that registers with the department to participate in the program;
B. "family income" means the income of a student's parent who resides with the student at the student's principal residence;
C. "federal poverty guidelines" means the level of income defining poverty by family size published annually in the federal register by the United States department of health and human services;
D. "program" means the parental school choice scholarship pilot program;
E. "resident school district" means the school district in which a student resides that is participating in the program;
F. "school district cap" means twenty percent of the previous year's resident school district eightieth-day membership; and
G. "student scholarship" means a note issued to a qualifying parent through the department that can be used to educate the student at an eligible public or private school."
Section 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] PROGRAM--ADMINISTRATION--PILOT
DISTRICTS.--
A. The "parental school choice scholarship pilot program" is created. The department shall administer the program in the 2004-2005 through 2007-2008 school years and shall promulgate rules for conduct of the program, including selection criteria and a lottery selection process to determine student scholarship recipients when applicants exceed a school district cap. For the duration of the program, school districts shall reorder the priorities for enrollment of students pursuant to Section 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 to provide that student scholarship recipients shall be given priority over other fourth-priority applicants to a public school in a nonresident school district.
B. The program shall be conducted in the kindergarten through eighth grades in the Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Espanola, Gadsden, Gallup-McKinley, Grants, Jemez Mountain, Jemez Valley, Las Cruces, Los Lunas and Santa Fe public school districts.
C. Public or private schools are not required to participate in the program.
D. The department shall establish reporting and evaluation requirements for the program and make periodic reports to the legislative education study committee on the progress of the program, including its effect on participating students, eligible schools and the public schools from which students withdrew. The department shall make a final report, including its assessment of the program and recommendations on the efficacy of the program, to the governor and the legislature and shall transmit copies of the report to the legislative council service library.
E. The department, in cooperation with school districts, shall provide a public awareness campaign to inform the public about the program, application procedures and qualifying criteria based on family income and shall provide a toll-free telephone number to call to receive an application. The department shall advertise the program through local newspapers; radio, television and cable television, using public service announcements; school and school district newsletters; and other government agencies."
Section 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBLE STUDENTS--NOTIFICATION.--
A. A student who is a resident of New Mexico, lives in a program school district and is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on 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 student meets the following criteria:
(1) the student's family income in the prior school year does not exceed one hundred eighty-five percent of that prior year's federal poverty guidelines; and
(2) the student resides in one of a resident school district's attendance zones identified by the department.
B. The number of student scholarships offered through a resident school district is limited to that district's school district cap. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the resident school district's school district cap, student scholarship recipients shall be selected through a lottery established by the department.
C. Prior to May 30 of each year of the program, the department shall identify those public schools from which students may be eligible for student scholarships and shall notify the parents of the public school's accountability report and provide information about the program and the application process."
Section 6. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBLE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS--ACADEMIC REPORTS.--
A. Any public or private school in a school district in which the program is being conducted is eligible to participate in the program. The school shall register with the department and provide a copy of the school's policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin or ancestry and its policy that prohibits discrimination against student scholarship recipients.
B. A school district shall adopt specific written standards for acceptance and rejection of student scholarships in one of its public schools based on the capacity of the public school's program, class size, grade level and school facilities.
C. A participating school shall report the annual standardized test results and academic progress for student scholarship recipients to parents, the department and the legislative education study committee.
D. A private school that accepts student scholarship recipients is not required to comply with department rules that apply to public schools, except for rules adopted pursuant to the Parental School Choice Act."
Section 7. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] PARENTAL SCHOOL CHOICE SCHOLARSHIPS.--
A. A parent may use a student scholarship to enroll his child in an eligible public or private school. The student scholarship shall be issued to a qualifying parent, not to the private school or to the school district containing the public school that the parent selects for the student to attend. The student and his parent are solely responsible for selecting the eligible public or private school for enrollment and shall endorse the student scholarship to cover tuition and fees. Neither the state nor a school district shall decide which school a student may attend or influence the student's selection of a school.
B. Applications for student scholarships shall be made to the local superintendent's office. The application period is March 1 through June 15 of each year of the program; provided that the local superintendent may waive the application deadline for an application as long as the application is at the department by June 30. An application shall 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 or public school identification number;
(4) the student's school attendance zone;
(5) the student's grade level;
(6) the name and address of the student's parent who is residing with the child;
(7) if necessary to determine eligibility, proof of family income through copies of:
(a) the parent's three most recent paycheck receipts for all employment;
(b) a signed statement by the parent's employer indicating the weekly, biweekly or annual net earnings; or
(c) a signed statement by the parent that he is self-employed and that indicates his annual net earnings accompanied by a copy of his most recent income tax return;
(8) 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;
(9) whether the student speaks a language other than English as his principal language; and
(10) the name and address of the eligible public or private school to which the student intends to apply and an estimate of the tuition and fees that will be charged at the school based on the student's educational needs.
C. The local superintendent's office shall forward applications to the department.
D. Not later than August 1, the department shall:
(1) determine the total per-student expenditure scholarship amount available from the program;
(2) determine the number of student scholarships and the individual school district student scholarship value;
(3) determine the eligibility and completeness of each application; and
(4) if the number of eligible students exceeds the number of available scholarships, hold a lottery to select the student scholarship recipients.
E. Applicants shall be notified no later than August 15 whether or not they received student scholarships.
F. Not later than September 15 of each year, the department shall report to the legislature the ages, school attendance zones and estimated scholarship values of students participating in the program."
Section 8. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS--CALCULATION OF VALUE--REDEMPTION.--
A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the value of a student scholarship shall be equal to the amount of money generated by the student through the state equalization guarantee distribution, a proportionate per-student amount for transportation expenses and a proportionate allocation of the resident school district's at-risk funding. The department shall calculate the value of a student scholarship using the state equalization guarantee distribution formula in conjunction with the national center of educational statistics' definition of per-student expenditures that includes all revenue sources except capital outlay, debt service, deferred sick leave and community service. The value of the student scholarship shall equal no less than eighty percent of the student's school district per-student expenditure.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the student scholarship redemption value shall not exceed the tuition and fees charged by the eligible public or private school for individual students participating in the program unless the cost of educating the student presenting the student scholarship is greater than the tuition and fees charged, in which case the student scholarship redemption value shall not exceed those costs covered by the per-student expenditure value.
C. Within fifteen work days after being paid by a student scholarship, an eligible public or private school shall certify, in writing, to the department that it has enrolled the student named on the student scholarship and provide the amount of tuition and fees charged by the school to the department. If the amount of tuition and fees charged for the enrolled student is more than that charged other students, the eligible public or private school shall provide information required by the department to support those charges.
D. An eligible public or private school shall redeem the value of the student scholarship from the department. The value of the student scholarship shall be paid on the first day of the applicable month in the following installments during the school year:
(1) twenty-five percent of the value in September;
(2) twenty-five percent of the value in November;
(3) twenty-five percent of the value in February; and
(4) twenty-five percent of the value in May.
E. If an eligible public or private school disenrolls a student during the school year or if the student is absent for ten consecutive days without explanation from the student's parent, the school shall notify the department in writing and the student scholarship redemption shall cease. The department shall promulgate rules for the proration of any installment payment.
F. If a parent disenrolls a student from an eligible public or private school and enrolls the student in another eligible public or private school during the school year, the parent shall notify the department in writing. Upon receipt of proof of enrollment in another eligible public or private school and certification of tuition and fees charged by the new eligible public or private school, the remaining student scholarship payment installments shall be made to the new school."
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