HOUSE BILL 71
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010
INTRODUCED BY
Sheryl Williams Stapleton
FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO SCHOOL PERSONNEL; CHANGING REQUIREMENTS FOR MENTORSHIP OF LEVEL ONE TEACHERS; PROVIDING FOR FUNDING FOR MENTORSHIP BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 22-10A-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 153, Section 38, as amended by Laws 2005, Chapter 315, Section 5 and by Laws 2005, Chapter 316, Section 2) is amended to read:
"22-10A-7. LEVEL ONE LICENSURE.--
A. A level one license is a provisional five-year license for beginning teachers that requires as a condition of licensure that the licensee undergo a formal mentorship program for at least one full school year and an annual intensive performance evaluation by a school administrator for at least three full school years before applying for a level two license.
B. Each school district, in accordance with department rules, shall provide for the mentorship and evaluation of level one teachers. At the end of each year and at the end of the license period, the level one teacher shall be evaluated for competency. If the teacher fails to demonstrate satisfactory progress and competence annually, the teacher may be terminated as provided in Section 22-10A-24 NMSA 1978. If the teacher has not demonstrated satisfactory progress and competence by the end of the five-year period, the teacher shall not be granted a level two license.
C. Except in exigent circumstances defined by department rule, a level one license shall not be extended beyond the initial period.
D. The department shall issue a standard level one license to an applicant who is at least eighteen years of age who:
(1) holds a baccalaureate degree from an accredited educational institution;
(2) has successfully completed a department-approved teacher preparation program from a nationally accredited or state-approved educational institution;
(3) has passed the New Mexico teacher assessments examination; and
(4) meets other qualifications for level one licensure, including clearance of the required background check.
E. The department shall issue an alternative level one license to an applicant who meets the requirements of Section 22-10A-8 NMSA 1978.
F. The department shall establish competencies and qualifications for specific grade levels, types and subject areas of level one licensure, including early childhood, elementary, middle school, secondary, special education and vocational education.
G. Beginning with the 2003-2004 school year, with the adoption by the department of a highly objective uniform statewide standard of evaluation for level one teachers, the minimum salary for a level one teacher shall be thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) for a standard nine and one-half month contract.
H. Teachers who hold level one licenses on the effective date of the 2003 act must be evaluated by the end of the 2006-2007 school year."
Section 2. Section 22-10A-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003, Chapter 153, Section 40, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-10A-9. TEACHER MENTORSHIP PROGRAM FOR [LEVEL ONE] BEGINNING TEACHERS--PURPOSE--DEPARTMENT DUTIES.--
A. The purpose of the teacher mentorship program is to provide beginning teachers with an effective transition into the teaching field, to build on their initial preparation and to ensure their success in teaching; to improve the achievement of students; and to retain capable teachers in the classroom and to remove teachers who show little promise of success.
B. The department shall develop a framework for a teacher mentorship program for all [level one] first-year teachers. The program shall provide mentorship services to the first-year teacher for the full school year. If sufficient mentorship funds are available, the department may provide funding for mentorship services that extend beyond the first year if the local superintendent or charter school administrator certifies to the secretary that further formal mentorship of a beginning teacher will accomplish the purposes of Subsection A of this section; provided that the state shall not pay for more than three years' mentorship for any beginning teacher.
C. The department shall work with licensed school employees, representatives from teacher preparation programs and the higher education department to establish the framework.
[C.] D. The framework shall include:
(1) individual support and assistance for each beginning teacher from a designated mentor;
(2) structured training for mentors;
(3) an ongoing, formative evaluation that is used for the improvement of teaching practice;
(4) procedures for a summative evaluation of beginning teachers' performance during at least the first three years of teaching, including annual assessment of suitability for license renewal, and for final assessment of beginning teachers seeking level two licensure;
(5) support from local school boards, school administrators and other school district personnel; and
(6) regular review and evaluation of the teacher mentorship program.
[D.] E. The department shall:
(1) require submission and approval of each school district's teacher mentorship program;
(2) provide technical assistance to school districts that do not have a well-developed teacher mentorship program in place;
(3) encourage school districts to collaborate with teacher preparation program administrators at institutions of higher education, career educators, educational organizations, regional service centers and other state and community leaders in the teacher mentorship program; and
(4) distribute no less than fifty percent of available funds for mentorship programs to school districts on or before September 15 of each fiscal year according to the estimated number of [beginning] teachers eligible to participate in a mentorship program on the fortieth day of the school year and, on or before January 15 of each fiscal year, distribute the balance of the available funds based on the actual number of [beginning] eligible teachers participating in a mentorship program on the fortieth day of the school year, adjusted for any over- or under-estimation made in the first allocation.
[E.] F. The department shall require that teacher preparation programs collaborate with colleges of arts and sciences and high schools to develop a model to provide mentorship services with structured supervision and feedback to each of their graduates who have obtained a teaching position in a public high school, including charter schools; develop cost estimates; and provide recommendations to the legislative education study committee by November 1, 2007. The model shall provide for the following:
(1) mentorship services for the first year as a level one teacher to each of their graduates who has obtained a teaching position in any New Mexico public high school, including charter schools; provided that teacher preparation programs may enter into contracts or memoranda of agreement with each other or with level three teachers in providing services to their students;
(2) an annual report to the department of the number of teachers that have completed each of their programs the previous spring or summer and have been hired by public high schools, including charter schools, for the following school year; and
(3) an annual report providing a description of the mentorship services that will be provided to each of their teachers, including the name of the teacher, the grade level the teacher has been hired to teach and the name of the school and district where the teacher has been hired."
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