HOUSE BILL 163

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Debra M. Sariñana and Angelica Rubio and Miguel P. Garcia

AN ACT

RELATING TO COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE; DISCOUNTING A STUDENT'S TEST SCORES FOR A SCHOOL'S GRADE OR A TEACHER EVALUATION IF THE STUDENT HAS TOO MANY UNEXCUSED ABSENCES.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 22-2E-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2011, Chapter 10, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-2E-4. ANNUAL RATINGS--LETTER GRADES--RATINGS BASED ON STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENTS--RIGHT TO SCHOOL CHOICE--DISTANCE LEARNING--RESPONSIBILITY FOR COST--USE OF FUNDS--ADDITIONAL REMEDY.--

          A. All public schools shall be graded annually by the department.

          B. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the department shall assign a letter grade of A, B, C, D or F to each public school pursuant to criteria established by department rules, after input from the secretary's superintendents' council, that include as a minimum a combination of the following factors in a public school's grade:

                (1) for elementary and middle schools:

                     (a) student proficiency, including achievement on the New Mexico standards-based assessments;

                     (b) student growth in reading and mathematics; [and]

                     (c) growth of the lowest twenty-fifth percentile of students in the public school in reading and mathematics; and

                     (d) student unexcused absences; and

                (2) for high schools:

                     (a) student proficiency, including achievement on the New Mexico standards-based assessments;

                     (b) student growth in reading and mathematics;

                     (c) growth of the lowest twenty-fifth percentile of students in the high school in reading and mathematics; [and]

                     (d) additional academic indicators such as high school graduation rates, growth in high school graduation rates, advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses, dual enrollment courses and SAT and ACT scores; and

                     (e) student unexcused absences.

          C. The New Mexico standards-based assessments used for rating a public school are those administered annually to students in grades three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and eleven pursuant to Section 22-2C-4 NMSA 1978.

          D. A public school that actively enforces the provisions of the Compulsory School Attendance Law within the limits of its resources shall not be graded on the results of standards-based assessments of students who had eight or more unexcused absences in the school year.

          [D.] E. In addition to any rights a parent may have pursuant to federal law, the parent of a student enrolled in a public school rated F for two of the last four years has the right to transfer the student in the same grade to any public school in the state not rated F or the right to have the student continue schooling by means of distance learning offered through the statewide or a local cyber academy. The school district or charter school in which the student is enrolled is responsible for the cost of distance learning.

          [E.] F. The department shall ensure that a local school board or, for a charter school, the governing body of the charter school is prioritizing resources of a public school rated D or F toward proven programs and methods linked to improved student achievement until the public school earns a grade of C or better for two consecutive years.

          [F.] G. The school options available pursuant to the A-B-C-D-F Schools Rating Act are in addition to any remedies provided for in the Assessment and Accountability Act for students in schools in need of improvement or any other interventions prescribed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

          [G.] H. When reporting a school's grade, the department shall include student data disaggregated by ethnicity, race, limited English proficiency, students with disabilities, poverty and gender; provided that ethnicity and race shall be reported using the following categories:

                (1) Caucasian, non-Hispanic;

                (2) Hispanic;

                (3) African American;

                (4) American Indian or Alaska Native;

                (5) Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander;

                (6) Asian;

                (7) two or more races; and

                (8) other; provided that if the sample of students in any category enumerated in Paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection is so small that a student in the sample may be personally identifiable in violation of the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the report may combine that sample into the "other" category."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the School Personnel Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] TEACHER EVALUATIONS--STUDENTS WITH UNEXCUSED ABSENCES--TEST SCORES NOT CONSIDERED.--A teacher's evaluation shall not include the standards-based assessment or end-of-course examination scores of a student who has had eight or more unexcused absences in the school year or four or more unexcused absences in a semester."

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