HOUSE BILL 125

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

Ray Begaye

AN ACT

RELATING TO INDIAN EDUCATION; REQUIRING ADVANCE NOTICE FOR TERMINATIONS OF CERTAIN NATIVE AMERICAN STAFF IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITH A PATTERN OF INADEQUATE NATIVE AMERICAN STAFFING; PROVIDING FOR MONITORING BY THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

     Section 1. Section 22-5-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 28, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-5-4. LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS--POWERS--DUTIES.--A local school board shall have the following powers or duties:

          A. subject to the rules of the department, develop educational policies for the school district;

          B. employ a local superintendent for the school district and fix [his] the superintendent's salary;

          C. review the annual school district Native American staffing pattern report of the Indian education advisory council and work in consultation with the assistant superintendent for Indian education to improve an identified inadequate staffing pattern;

          [C.] D. review and approve the school district budget;

          [D.] E. acquire, lease and dispose of property;

          [E.] F. have the capacity to sue and be sued;

          [F.] G. acquire property by eminent domain pursuant to the procedures provided in the Eminent Domain Code;

          [G.] H. issue general obligation bonds of the school district;

          [H.] I. provide for the repair of and maintain all property belonging to the school district;

          [I.] J. for good cause and upon order of the district court, subpoena witnesses and documents in connection with a hearing concerning any powers or duties of the local school board;

          [J.] K. except for expenditures for salaries, contract for the expenditure of money according to the provisions of the Procurement Code;

          [K.] L. adopt rules pertaining to the administration of all powers or duties of the local school board;

          [L.] M. 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 school district or the public school to which it is given;

          [M.] N. offer and, upon compliance with the conditions of such offer, pay rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction or other appropriate disciplinary disposition by the courts or juvenile authorities of offenders in case of theft, defacement or destruction of school district property. All such rewards shall be paid from school district funds in accordance with rules promulgated by the department; and

          [N.] O. give prior approval for any educational program in a public school in the school district that is to be conducted, sponsored, carried on or caused to be carried on by a private organization or agency."

     Section 2. Section 22-5-14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 153, Section 25) is amended to read:

     "22-5-14. LOCAL SUPERINTENDENT--POWERS AND DUTIES.--

          A. The local superintendent is the chief executive officer of the school district.

          B. The local superintendent shall:

                (1) carry out the educational policies and rules of the state board and local school board;

                (2) administer and supervise the school district;

                (3) employ, fix the salaries of, assign, terminate or discharge [all] employees of the school district;

                (4) prepare the school district budget based on public schools' recommendations for review and approval by the local school board and the department. The local superintendent shall tell each school principal the approximate amount of money that may be available for [his] the principal's school and provide a school budget template to use in making school budget recommendations; [and]

                (5) perform other duties as required by law, the department or the local school board; and

                (6) in a school district that the Indian education advisory council determines has a pattern of inadequate Native American staffing, the local superintendent shall notify the assistant superintendent of Indian education or the assistant superintendent's designee five days in advance of terminating or discharging a Native American administrator, teacher or licensed support staff member.

          C. The local superintendent may apply to the state board for a waiver of certain provisions of the Public School Code relating to length of school day, staffing patterns, subject area or the purchase of instructional materials for the purpose of implementing a collaborative school improvement program for an individual public school."

     Section 3. Section 22-10A-27 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 24, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-10A-27. DISCHARGE HEARING--PROCEDURES.--

          A. A local school board or the governing authority of a state agency may discharge a certified school employee only for just cause according to the following procedure:

                (1) the local superintendent shall serve a written notice of [his] intent to recommend discharge on the certified school employee in accordance with the law for service of process in civil actions; and

                (2) the local superintendent shall state in the notice of [his] intent to recommend discharge the cause for [his] the recommendation and shall advise the certified school employee of [his] the employee's right to a discharge hearing before the local school board or governing authority as provided in this section.

          B. The local superintendent of a school district identified by the assistant superintendent of Indian education as having an inadequate Native American staffing pattern shall notify the assistant superintendent of Indian education or the assistant superintendent's designee five days in advance of terminating a Native American administrator, teacher or licensed support staff.

          [B.] C. A certified school employee who receives a notice of intent to recommend discharge pursuant to Subsection A of this section may exercise [his] the employee's right to a hearing before the local school board or governing authority by giving the local superintendent or administrator written notice of that election within five working days of [his] the employee's receipt of the notice to recommend discharge.

          [C.] D. The local school board or governing authority shall hold a discharge hearing no less than twenty and no more than forty working days after the local superintendent or administrator receives the written election from the certified school employee and shall give the certified school employee at least ten days written notice of the date, time and place of the discharge hearing.

          [D.] E. Each party, the local superintendent or administrator and the certified school employee, may be accompanied by a person of his choice.

          [E.] F. The parties shall complete and respond to discovery by deposition and production of documents prior to the discharge hearing.

          [F.] G. The local school board or governing authority shall have the authority to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and to produce books, records, documents and other evidence at the request of either party and shall have the power to administer oaths.

          [G.] H. The local superintendent or administrator shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the notice of intent to recommend discharge, [he] the local superintendent had just cause to discharge the certified school employee.

          [H.] I. The local superintendent or administrator shall present [his] evidence first, with the certified school employee presenting [his] evidence thereafter. The local school board or governing authority shall permit either party to call, examine and cross-examine witnesses and to introduce documentary evidence.

          [I.] J. An official record shall be made of the hearing. Either party may have one copy of the record at the expense of the local school board or governing authority.

          [J.] K. The local school board shall render its written decision within twenty days of the conclusion of the discharge hearing."

     Section 4. Section 22-23A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 5) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-5. INDIAN EDUCATION DIVISION--CREATED--ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT--DUTIES.-- 

          A. The "Indian education division" is created within the department [of education]. The [state superintendent] secretary of education shall appoint an assistant superintendent for Indian education, who shall direct the activities of the division.

          B. The Indian education division shall:

                (1) provide assistance to school districts and tribes to meet the educational needs of American Indian students;

                (2) provide assistance to school districts and tribes in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of curricula in native languages, culture and history designed for American Indian students;

                (3) provide assistance to school districts and tribes to develop curricula and instructional materials in native languages, culture and history in conjunction and by contract with native language practitioners and tribal elders, unless the use of written language is expressly prohibited by the tribe;

                (4) establish an Indian education advisory council;

                (5) by January 2006, enter into agreements with each tribe or authorized tribal educational entity to share programmatic information and to coordinate technical assistance for public schools that serve American Indian students;

                (6) seek funds to establish an Indian education office in the northwest corner of the state to implement agreements with each tribe or authorized tribal educational entity, monitor the progress of American Indian students and coordinate technical assistance at the public schools that serve American Indian students;

                (7) require school districts to obtain a signature of approval by the tribal governments or tribal government designees residing within school district boundaries, verifying that the tribes agree to Indian education policies and procedures pursuant to federal requirements; and

                (8) seek funds to establish, develop and implement the following support services for the purposes of increasing the number of American Indian teachers and principals and providing continued professional development for educational assistants, teachers and principals serving American Indian students, in conjunction with the Indian education advisory council:

                     (a) recruitment and retention;

                     (b) academic transition programs;

                     (c) academic financial support;

                     (d) teacher preparation;

                     (e) teacher induction; and

                     (f) professional development;

                (9) develop curricula to provide instruction in tribal history and government and develop plans to implement these subjects into history and government courses in school districts throughout the state;

                (10) ensure that native language bilingual programs are part of a school district's professional development plan, as provided in Section 22-2-2 NMSA 1978; [and]

                (11) develop a plan to establish a post-secondary investment system for Indian students to which parents, tribes and the state may contribute;

                (12) review the Indian education advisory council's annual school district staffing patterns report for Native American administrators, teachers and support staff and consult with and monitor school districts whose Native American staffing is inadequate; and notify local school boards of needed corrections to inadequate Native American staffing patterns; and

                (13) oversee Native American bilingual language programs and ensure that Native American language programs are properly implemented, administered, monitored and evaluated."

     Section 5. Section 22-23A-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 151, Section 6) is amended to read:

     "22-23A-6. ADVISORY COUNCIL.--

          A. The "Indian education advisory council" shall consist of fourteen members as follows:

                (1) four representatives from the Navajo Nation;

                (2) two representatives, one from the Mescalero Apache Tribe and one from the Jicarilla Apache Nation;

                (3) four representatives, two from the southern pueblos and two from the northern pueblos; and

                (4) four members representing urban areas, the bureau of Indian affairs, head start organizations and the general public, at least one of whom shall be non-Indian, but all of whom shall have knowledge of and involvement in the education of Indian students.

          B. On a semiannual basis, representatives from all tribes, members of the state board, the governor's office, the New Mexico office of Indian affairs, the legislature, the state superintendent and the Indian education advisory council shall meet to assist in evaluating, consolidating and coordinating all activities relating to the education of American Indian students.

          C. On an annual basis, the members of the Indian education advisory council shall request from the department a report based on forty-day figures summarizing school district staffing patterns for Native American administrators, teachers and licensed support staff.

          D. Annually in December, members of the Indian education advisory council shall make a report to the assistant superintendent for Indian education with recommendations on strategies to improve identified patterns of inadequate Native American staffing and shall provide the leadership of the legislative Indian affairs committee with a copy of the report.

          [C.] E. Members of the Indian education advisory council may receive per diem and mileage as provided for nonsalaried public officers in the Per Diem and Mileage Act."

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