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AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; EXTENDING THE KINDERGARTEN PLUS

PILOT PROJECT; EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

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

Section 1. Section 22-2-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,

Chapter 130, Section 1) is amended to read:

"22-2-20. KINDERGARTEN PLUS--PILOT PROJECT--

ELIGIBILITY--APPLICATION--REPORTING AND EVALUATION--CREATING A

FUND.--

A. The "kindergarten plus" pilot project is

created as a six-year study that extends the kindergarten year

by up to 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 and shall provide the funding for approved full-day

kindergarten programs to be extended by at least 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

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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 and may be conducted in any other school district

with high-poverty schools. For the remainder of the pilot

project, the original pilot school districts may expand their

kindergarten plus programs by adding additional classes or

schools or both. 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 fee lunch.

D. The department shall determine application

requirements and procedures and criteria for evaluating

applications. An applicant must demonstrate that its

kindergarten plus program will meet all department 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 and educational assistants shall be paid at

the same rate and under the same terms for kindergarten plus

as teachers and educational assistants are paid for regular

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full-day kindergarten programs.

E. Students participating in kindergarten plus

shall be evaluated at the beginning of kindergarten plus, and

their progress in literacy shall be measured through

standardized assessments in kindergarten and in first grade.

F. The department 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 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

secretary of public education or the secretary's authorized

representative."

Section 2.

EMERGENCY.–-It is necessary for the

public peace, health and safety that this act take effect

immediately.

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