HB0369

HOUSE BILL 369

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Dennis J. Kintigh

AN ACT

RELATING TO COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE; PROVIDING FOR AND SETTING FORTH THE PROCESS FOR TERMINATION OF STUDENT PUBLIC ASSISTANCE TO PARENTS OF STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO MEET SCHOOL ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW.

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

SECTION 1. Section 22-12-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004, Chapter 28, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-12-9. UNEXCUSED ABSENCES AND TRUANCY--ATTENDANCE POLICIES.--

A. As used in this section, Section 2 of this 2011 act and Sections 22-12-7 and 22-12-8 NMSA 1978:

(1) "habitual truant" means a student who has accumulated the equivalent of ten or more unexcused absences within a school year;

(2) "student in need of early intervention" means a student who has accumulated five unexcused absences within a school year; and

(3) "unexcused absence" means an absence from school or classes for which the student does not have an allowable excuse pursuant to the Compulsory School Attendance Law or rules of the local school board or governing authority of a charter school or private school.

B. An unexcused absence of two or more classes up to fifty percent of an instructional day shall be counted as one-half day absence, and the unexcused absence of more than fifty percent of an instructional day shall be counted as one full-day absence.

C. Each school district and charter school shall maintain an attendance policy that:

(1) provides for early identification of students with unexcused absences, students in need of early intervention and habitual truants and provides intervention strategies that focus on keeping students in need of early intervention in an educational setting and prohibit

out-of-school suspension and expulsion as the punishment for unexcused absences and habitual truancy;

(2) uses withdrawal as provided in Section

22-8-2 NMSA 1978 only after exhausting intervention efforts to keep students in educational settings;

(3) requires that class attendance be taken for every instructional day in every public school or school program in the school district; [and]

(4) provides for schools to document the following for each student identified as a habitual truant:

(a) attempts of the school to notify the parent that the student had unexcused absences;

(b) attempts of the school to meet with the parent to discuss intervention strategies; and

(5) provides for reporting of students not meeting attendance requirements to the human services department as required pursuant to Section 2 of this 2011 act.

D. The department shall review and approve school district and charter school attendance policies.

E. School districts and charter schools shall report unexcused absences and habitual truancy rates to the department in a form and at such times as the department determines and shall document intervention efforts made to keep students in need of early intervention and habitual truants in educational settings. Locally chartered charter schools shall provide copies of their reports to the school district. The department shall compile school district and charter school reports on rates of unexcused absences and habitual truancy and require school districts and charter schools to certify that the information is being reported consistently."

SECTION 2. A new section of the Compulsory School Attendance Law is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] CANCELLATION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE--REPORTING--PROCESS--REGAINING ELIGIBILITY.--

A. The human services department shall cancel all state public assistance to a parent who is receiving the public assistance for a student if that student is not meeting school attendance requirements. A student is not meeting school attendance requirements if the student:

(1) is a habitual truant;

(2) has accumulated three unexcused absences in a grading period, but not on the same day;

(3) is not attending school as required pursuant to the provisions of Section 22-12-2 NMSA 1978; or

(4) has one or more unexcused absences during the time period covered by an intervention plan as provided for in Subsection B of Section 22-12-7 NMSA 1978.

B. A student's unsatisfactory school attendance, as set forth in Subsection A of this section, shall be excused if the absences were due to:

(1) personal illness, as evidenced by a note from a doctor or other health professional;

(2) a family emergency, for a period not to exceed thirty days;

(3) participation in or attendance at cultural and religious activities and the student has parental consent to attend such activities; or

(4) the student being a parent of a child under twelve weeks of age.

C. If a student is not meeting school attendance requirements, the public school, charter school or private school that the student attends shall report the student to the school district or, if a charter school or private school, the governing body, and the human services department within fourteen days of discovering the student is not meeting attendance requirements.

D. Within ten days of reporting the student as not meeting school attendance requirements, the school shall notify the parent of the student in writing by mail or personal service that the student is not meeting school attendance requirements and the human services department has been notified. The notice shall include a date that shall not be more than fifteen days from the date of the notice, time and place for the parent to meet with the school to develop an intervention plan that focuses on keeping the student in an educational setting and improving the student's attendance.

E. Within ten days of the meeting between the parent and the school, the school shall notify the human services department and the school district or, if a charter school or private school, the governing body that:

(1) the parent and school were able to develop an intervention plan that will ensure regular attendance by the student;

(2) the parent failed to attend, without being excused by the school, the meeting to develop the intervention plan; or

(3) the parent and school were unable to develop an intervention plan that will ensure regular attendance by the student.

F. If an intervention plan is agreed upon between the school and the parent, the school shall notify the human services department of the plan and the department shall not terminate state public assistance to that parent. If the parent failed to attend the meeting or the school and parent were unable to develop an adequate intervention plan, the school shall notify the human services department and the department shall remove the student from the parent's public assistance effective the month following the notice by the school.

G. If a student has one or more unexcused absences following the development of an intervention plan approved by the school, the school shall notify the human services department and the department shall remove the student from the parent's public assistance effective the month following the notice by the school.

H. A parent may regain eligibility for a student's public assistance if the student for which the assistance was terminated attends school with no unexcused absences for thirty days or, if during the summer months, the student is promoted, attends summer school or graduates. The parent shall petition the human services department for return of the public assistance. The human services department shall verify with the school that the student has met the requirements of this subsection.

I. The human services department shall enact rules necessary for the implementation of this section."

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2011.

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