SENATE BILL 50

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; LIMITING GRADE RETENTIONS BY PROVIDING THAT A STUDENT WHO IS NOT PROFICIENT IN READING AND MATHEMATICS AT THE END OF KINDERGARTEN AND EACH GRADE THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE SHALL BE PROVIDED WITH INTENSIVE REMEDIATION; PROVIDING FOR ASSESSMENT, INTERVENTION AND REMEDIATION PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED AT THE END OF KINDERGARTEN AND EACH GRADE THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE; REPEALING AND ENACTING A SECTION OF THE NMSA 1978.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 22-2C-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 7, as amended) is repealed and a new Section 22-2C-6 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "22-2C-6. [NEW MATERIAL] GRADE PROMOTIONS--INTERVENTION-- REMEDIATION PROGRAMS--RETENTION POLICIES--RESTRICTIONS.--

          A. As used in this section:

                (1) "academic improvement plan" means a written document developed by the student assistance team that describes the specific content standards required for a certain grade level that a student has not achieved and that prescribes specific remediation programs that have demonstrated effectiveness and can be implemented during the intensive targeted instruction within the school day or during summer school or extended day or week programs and with tutoring;

                (2) "educational plan for student success" means a student-centered tool developed to define the role of the academic improvement plan within the public school and the school district that addresses methods to improve student learning and success in school and that identifies specific measures of a student's progress;

                (3) "grade-level proficiency" means a score on a school-district-approved standards-based assessment that is comparable among school districts statewide;

                (4) "intensive targeted instruction" means extra instruction in either small groups or as individuals that shall be no less than thirty minutes per day and three days per week and taught by a teacher or tutor who is not the student's classroom teacher;

                (5) "intervention" means targeted instructional practice for individual students or small groups of students aligned with the results of a valid and reliable assessment and, if applicable, response to intervention as defined in Section 22-13-6 NMSA 1978 and department rule;                  (6) "parent" includes a guardian or other person having custody or control of a school-age person;

                (7) "remediation programs" includes summer school, extended day or week programs, tutoring, progress-based monitoring and other research-based models for student improvement;

                (8) "school district" includes both a public school district and a charter school;

                (9) "school-district-approved assessment" means a student assessment approved by the local superintendent;

                (10) "small groups" shall consist of no fewer than five students and no more than ten students;

                (11) "student assistance team" means a group consisting of a student's:

                     (a) teacher;

                     (b) school counselor;

                     (c) school administrator;

                     (d) parent; and

                     (e) if the student or parent wishes, a student representative chosen by the student or parent; and

                (12) "valid and reliable assessments" means assessments that:

                     (a) are appropriate to targeted populations;

                     (b) provide predictive values;

                     (c) are thoroughly tested, peer-reviewed and accepted by authorities and practitioners in the field; and

                     (d) are aligned with common core standards.

          B. Local school districts shall approve intervention and remediation programs and academic improvement programs that have demonstrated effectiveness to provide special instructional assistance to students in kindergarten through eighth grade who do not demonstrate grade-level proficiency in reading and math. Beginning in kindergarten and through the eighth grade, intervention and remediation programs, academic improvement programs and promotion policies shall be aligned with school-district-approved, valid and reliable assessment results and be aligned with state standards. Beginning with kindergarten and through the eighth grade, each student shall be evaluated with school-district-approved assessments to determine the extent of the student's reading and mathematics ability. School-district-approved assessments shall be given, and, if students do not demonstrate grade-level proficiency, academic improvement plans shall be implemented for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade as follows:

                (1) at the beginning of the school year, school districts shall administer a school-district-approved assessment to students enrolled in kindergarten. The assessment shall screen students for reading and mathematics skills, including phonological awareness, letter recognition and oral language skills;

                (2) at the beginning of the school year, school districts shall administer a school-district-approved assessment to students enrolled in first through eighth grades. The assessment shall measure the students' acquisition of reading and mathematics skills, including phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension; and

                (3) if the school-district-approved assessment results indicate that the student is not proficient in reading or mathematics, the student assistance team shall immediately develop an academic improvement plan for the student that clearly delineates the student's reading and mathematics deficiencies and that clearly delineates intervention and remediation programs that should be included in the plan, including specific strategies and training for a parent to use in helping the child achieve reading and mathematics proficiency.

          C. The cost of summer school and extended day intervention and remediation programs offered in grades nine through twelve shall be borne by the parent; however, in cases in which parents are determined to be indigent according to guidelines established by the department, the school district shall bear those costs.

          D. A parent shall be notified in writing no later than the end of the first grading period of each school year that the parent's student has not achieved grade-level proficiency in reading or mathematics, and a conference consisting of the parent, the teacher and, if the student or parent wishes, a student representative chosen by the student or parent shall be held to discuss strategies, including intervention and remediation programs available to assist the student in achieving grade-level proficiency. The student's specific academic deficiencies and the available strategies and intervention and remediation programs shall be explained to the student's parent and a written intervention plan shall be developed that contains time lines, academic expectations and the measurements to be used to verify that a student has overcome academic deficiencies. The parent shall be provided with specific strategies to use in helping the student achieve grade-level proficiency. The intervention and remediation programs and academic improvement plan shall be implemented immediately.

          E. Using data from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years, each public school shall establish baseline assessment data on reading and mathematics grade-level proficiency for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.

          F. At the end of kindergarten and each grade through eighth grade, promotion and retention decisions for each student shall be based upon the determination that the student:

                (1) has achieved grade-level proficiency and shall enter the next higher grade;

                (2) has not achieved grade-level proficiency and shall participate in the required level of remediation. Upon certification by the school district that the student has achieved grade-level proficiency, the student shall enter the next higher grade; or

                (3) has not achieved grade-level proficiency after completion of the prescribed intervention and remediation program and, after consultation with the parent upon the recommendation of the teacher and school principal, shall either be:

                     (a) retained in the same grade for no more than one school year with an academic improvement plan developed by the student assistance team to achieve grade-level proficiency; or

                     (b) promoted to the next grade if the parent refuses to allow the child to be retained pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this paragraph and signs a waiver indicating the parent's desire that the student be promoted to the next higher grade with an academic improvement plan designed to address specific reading and mathematics deficiencies. The academic improvement plan shall be developed by the student assistance team outlining time lines and monitoring activities to ensure progress toward overcoming the student's reading and mathematics deficiencies. Students who have been evaluated to determine the nature of their reading and mathematics deficiencies and who have received an intervention and remediation program that is different from the previous year's program but fail to achieve grade-level proficiency at the end of that year as measured by grades, performance on school-district-approved assessments and other measures identified by the school district shall be retained in the same grade for no more than one year in order to have additional time to achieve grade-level proficiency unless exempt from retention as prescribed in Subsection I of this section. The academic improvement plan shall include an alternate program and shall be implemented immediately.

          G. A student who does not demonstrate grade-level proficiency for two successive school years shall be referred to the student assistance team for placement in an alternative program designed by the school district. Alternative program plans shall be filed with the department.

          H. Promotion and retention decisions affecting a student enrolled in special education shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the individual educational plan established for that student.

          I. A student shall be exempt from the provisions of Subsection F of this section if the student:

                (1) scores at least at the fiftieth percentile on a school-district-approved norm-referenced assessment or at the proficient level on an alternative school-district-approved criterion-referenced assessment;

                (2) demonstrates mastery on a teacher-developed portfolio that is equal to at least a proficient performance on the statewide standards-based assessments;

                (3) shows sufficient academic growth by meeting acceptable levels of academic performance specified by the school district;

                (4) is an English language learner who is proficient in a language other than English on a valid and reliable reading assessment in that language or who has had less than two years of instruction in English for speakers of other languages; or

                (5) is a student with a disability who shall be assessed, promoted or retained in accordance with the provisions of the student's individualized education program."