SENATE BILL 26

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; REQUIRING THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO STANDARDIZE STUDENT BATHROOM USE POLICIES; PROHIBITING WITHDRAWAL OF BATHROOM PRIVILEGES AS A FORM OF DISCIPLINE; PROVIDING FOR DIGNIFIED AND INCREMENTAL INTERVENTION BY SCHOOL STAFF DURING STUDENTS' BATHROOM USE.

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

     SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] STANDARDIZATION OF BATHROOM USE POLICIES REQUIRED--DEPARTMENT TO ISSUE RULES.--The department shall issue rules for development of standardized student bathroom use policies by public and charter schools that take into account factors that include the student's age, special needs, psychological and physical abilities and impairments and respect for the dignity and autonomy of the student. The rules shall:

          A. require public and charter schools to adhere to the student bathroom use polices developed pursuant to this section;

          B. include recommendations of parents, pediatricians, child psychologists and early childhood educators;

          C. require that permission for bathroom use be given timely when a child requests it;

          D. prohibit withdrawal or withholding of:

                (1) bathroom use for any reason; or

                (2) any other privilege, including food, rest or outdoor activities, as a means to punish or discipline a student for using or requesting to use the bathroom; and

          E. provide for incremental and respectful intervention, if required, during the bathroom use of a student, which may include actions taken by public school staff to check on or address any issues perceived by staff during a student's bathroom use time, including knocking on the bathroom door, unlocking the bathroom door, entering the bathroom, knocking on a bathroom stall door or speaking to a student."

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