SENATE BILL 72
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007
INTRODUCED BY
Cynthia Nava
FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO CHILDREN; PROVIDING FOR TRANSPORTATION OF PRE-KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE PROVIDERS; PROVIDING FOR TRANSPORTATION OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN KINDERGARTEN PLUS.
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, as amended) 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 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 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. Children participating in kindergarten plus are eligible for transportation to and from the program site for the duration of the additional instructional days approved by the department. Transportation funding shall be included in the school district's transportation distribution from the public school fund.
[F.] G. 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.] H. 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. Section 22-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 76, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-26. TRANSPORTATION DISTRIBUTION.--
A. Money in the transportation distribution of the public school fund shall be used only for the purpose of making payments to each school district or state-chartered charter school for the to-and-from school transportation costs of:
(1) students in grades kindergarten through twelve attending public school within the school district or state-chartered charter school [and of];
(2) three- and four-year-old children who meet the department-approved criteria and definition of developmentally disabled; [and for transportation of]
(3) four-year-old children who are enrolled in a department-approved pre-kindergarten program pursuant to the Pre-Kindergarten Act;
(4) children participating in a department-approved kindergarten plus program; and
(5) students to and from their regular attendance centers and the place where vocational education programs are being offered.
B. In the event a school district's or state-chartered charter school's transportation allocation exceeds the amount required to meet obligations to provide
[to-and-from] transportation [three- and four-year-old developmentally disabled transportation and vocational education transportation] as provided in Subsection A of this section, fifty percent of the remaining balance shall be deposited in the transportation emergency fund.
C. Of the excess amount retained by the school district or state-chartered charter school, at least
twenty-five percent shall be used for to-and-from transportation-related services, excluding salaries and benefits, and up to twenty-five percent may be used for other transportation-related services, excluding salaries and benefits as defined by rule of the department.
D. In the event the sum of the proposed transportation allocations to each school district or state-chartered charter school exceeds the amounts in the transportation distribution, the allocation to each school district or state-chartered charter school shall be reduced in the proportion that the school district or state-chartered charter school allocation bears to the total statewide transportation distribution.
E. A local school board or governing body of a state-chartered charter school, with the approval of the state transportation director, may provide additional transportation services pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 to meet established program needs.
F. Nothing in this section prohibits the use of school buses to transport the general public pursuant to the Emergency Transportation Act."
Section 3. Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 222, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-16-4. SCHOOL BUS ROUTES--LIMITATIONS--EXCEPTIONS--MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.--
A. Bus routes shall be established by the local school district.
B. Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this section, no school bus route shall be maintained for distances less than:
(1) one mile one way for students in pre-kindergarten and grades kindergarten through six;
(2) one and one-half miles one way for students in grades seven through nine; and
(3) two miles one way for students in grades ten through twelve.
C. In school districts having hazardous walking conditions as determined by the local school board and confirmed by the state transportation director, students [of any grade] may be transported a lesser distance than that provided in Subsection B of this section. General standards for determining hazardous walking conditions shall be established by the [state] program support and student transportation division of the department [of education with the approval of the state board], but the standards shall be flexibly and not rigidly applied by the local school board and the state transportation director to prevent accidents and help ensure student safety.
D. Exceptional children whose handicaps require transportation and three- and four-year-old children who meet the [state board] department-approved criteria and definition of developmentally disabled may be transported a lesser distance than that provided in Subsection B of this section."
Section 4. Section 32A-23-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 170, Section 1) is amended to read:
"32A-23-1. SHORT TITLE.--[This act] Chapter 32A, Article 23 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Pre-Kindergarten Act"."
Section 5. A new section of the Pre-Kindergarten Act is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] TRANSPORTATION.--
A. Four-year-old children enrolled in an approved pre-kindergarten program are eligible for transportation to and from the program site.
B. Transportation funding for children enrolled in programs approved by the public education department shall be included in the school district's transportation distribution from the public school fund.
C. Subject to the same limitations provided for public schools in Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978, transportation costs incurred by an eligible provider for children enrolled in programs approved by the children, youth and families department shall be reimbursed from the children, youth and families pre-kindergarten fund. The children, youth and families department shall include projected pre-kindergarten transportation costs as part of its annual appropriation request submitted to the state budget division of the department of finance and administration."
Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2007.
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