SENATE MEMORIAL 90

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2016

INTRODUCED BY

Sue Wilson Beffort

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE, TOGETHER WITH THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE, ESTABLISH A STUDY GROUP TO EXAMINE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OPERATION OF "VIRTUAL SCHOOLS" IN NEW MEXICO AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE AND THE EXECUTIVE REGARDING FUNDING FORMULA ADJUSTMENTS TO ACCOUNT MORE CLOSELY FOR VIRTUAL SCHOOLS' OPERATING COSTS.

     WHEREAS, when the Charter Schools Act was enacted in 1999, the legislature could not have foreseen the extent to which technology would advance and charter schools would evolve into fully online, or "virtual", schools as well as multi-district, online virtual schools; and

     WHEREAS, virtual education takes many forms and serves many purposes; and

     WHEREAS, virtual education formats, for example, can include full-time, online kindergarten through twelfth grade schools as well as single courses that allow students to explore a subject not available in the student's brick-and-mortar school; and

     WHEREAS, some students use virtual education to make up credits for a required course they failed; and

     WHEREAS, some virtual education programs require students and teachers to be online at the same time, others allow students and teachers to visit online courses at their own convenience and others combine online work with traditional, in-person classroom instruction; and

     WHEREAS, virtual education providers include public entities, nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations; and

     WHEREAS, in fiscal year 2014, online virtual schools operated in thirty states, serving more than three hundred fifteen thousand students, according to the Evergreen educational group; and

     WHEREAS, academic performance on state writing and mathematics assessments in virtual schools is lower than state averages in traditional, brick-and-mortar schools; and

     WHEREAS, because online virtual schools do not require overhead expenses, a number of states fund online schools at thirty percent to fifty percent less than brick-and-mortar schools; and

     WHEREAS, currently, New Mexico has two online virtual schools operating: the New Mexico connections academy, a state-chartered charter school in Santa Fe that is owned by a for-profit organization; and a locally chartered charter school in the Farmington municipal school district that uses a curriculum from a for-profit organization; and

     WHEREAS, currently, both of these online, virtual schools are being funded through the same formula that students in brick-and-mortar schools are funded; and

     WHEREAS, by utilizing the growth factor, one of the online virtual charter schools was able to increase its per student funding from five thousand six hundred ninety-two dollars ($5,692) in fiscal year 2014 to eleven thousand thirty-nine dollars ($11,039) in fiscal year 2015; and

     WHEREAS, a 2016 report conducted by the legislative finance committee recommended that the legislature authorize a review of online education issues and recommend requirements for funding levels and student achievement levels;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee, together with the legislative finance committee, be requested to establish a work group with membership from both the legislative and executive branches, together with school district representatives and representatives of stakeholder groups, to study funding and quality control issues with virtual online schools and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor before the 2017 legislative session; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the respective directors of the legislative education study committee and the legislative finance committee, the secretary of public education and leadership of the New Mexico education partners group.

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