HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL 177
54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2020
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; CREATING A REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT; CREATING A FUND; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
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] REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT CREATED--REPORTING AND EVALUATION--FUND CREATED.--
A. As used in this section:
(1) "demonstration project" means the regional partnership school demonstration project;
(2) "elementary education" means fourth through eighth grades;
(3) "residency program" means a pre-service clinical teacher candidate residency program in the demonstration project whereby selected teacher candidates serve a two-year teaching residency in elementary education, including mentoring by experienced teachers and other informal and formal professional development; and
(4) "teacher candidates" means undergraduate juniors and seniors in the school of education at New Mexico highlands university who are participating in the residency program.
B. The "regional partnership school demonstration project" is created as a five-year demonstration project involving a partnership among the Pojoaque Valley public school district, New Mexico highlands university school of education and Los Alamos national laboratory, beginning in the summer of 2020 and ending at the end of fiscal year 2025. The purpose of the demonstration project is to show that comprehensive, coordinated and concentrated efforts will positively affect student achievement as well as teacher recruitment and professional satisfaction, leading to greater retention and fewer teaching vacancies, by:
(1) assisting undergraduates in colleges and schools of education and licensed teachers to improve their teaching skills;
(2) providing targeted core subject extended learning opportunities for elementary students; and
(3) providing supports for parents and families of students.
C. The primary component of the demonstration project is the establishment of a "pre-service clinical teacher candidate residency program" for teacher candidates who will serve their residency in the Pojoaque Valley public school district teaching in one or more grades in elementary education. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate that immersing teacher candidates in a highly innovative, comprehensive and systemic approach to teacher training will result in:
(1) more undergraduates interested in the teaching profession;
(2) beginning teachers better prepared for the rigors of classroom teaching;
(3) beginning teachers who are able to advance from level one to level two licensure earlier than normal; and
(4) teachers who will make a long-term commitment to public education.
D. The residency program costs may include tuition scholarships and residency stipends for participating teaching candidates, training and stipends for teacher mentors and instructional materials.
E. Other components of the demonstration project include:
(1) the "professional development program", which will concentrate on integrated, coordinated professional development for licensed teachers in fourth through eighth grades, and for licensed teachers in other grades if funding allows. The intent of this program is to demonstrate that providing intensive informal and formal professional development for classroom teachers will improve teaching quality and mitigate teacher burn-out. The program costs may include salaries for instructional coaches; substitute teachers; funds for experts to lead summer and school-year professional development sessions; per diem and mileage for off-site professional development attendees, if necessary; and instructional materials;
(2) the "core subject enrichment program" for elementary education students that includes month-long mindset mathematics summer camps and other topical summer camps and after-school core subject development sessions. The intent of this program is to demonstrate that providing extended learning time, particularly in mathematics and language arts, through after-school and summer programs will instill core subject skills, improve learning habits and strategies and mitigate the educational loss that normally occurs over summer vacation. The program costs may include salaries for licensed teachers who elect to work beyond their regular school-year contracts to plan, prepare and implement one or more summer camps or after-school core subject development sessions; student transportation, if necessary; and instructional materials and supplies; and
(3) the "family engagement program" will be targeted toward providing ways to engage and support parents and families of elementary education students. The intent of this program is to demonstrate that family engagement and support will result in increased student achievement and satisfaction and, more importantly for the long term, foster a cultural shift toward valuing education not just within a family, but within the community.
F. The demonstration project partners shall submit project design and implementation plans to the department for its review.
G. Elementary education students participating in the demonstration project shall be evaluated at the beginning of the project and their progress shall be evaluated each year, which shall include both quantitative and qualitative indicators of improvement.
H. The demonstration project shall include external evaluation of the programs and overall project over the life of the project, including a study of the effect of the demonstration project on the school district as a whole. Periodic reports shall be provided to the department and the legislature, and a final report shall be provided to the department, the governor and the legislature.
I. The "regional partnership school demonstration project fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury during the life of the demonstration project. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations and any other money credited to the fund. The fund shall be administered by the department of finance and administration. Money in the fund is appropriated to the department of finance and administration and shall be expended to pay the expenses of the demonstration project, subject to limitations of the appropriation. Expenditures from the fund shall be on warrant of the secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the superintendent of the Pojoaque Valley public school district or the superintendent's authorized representative. Money remaining in the fund at the end of fiscal year 2025 shall revert to the general fund."
SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Three million three hundred thirty-five thousand dollars ($3,335,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the regional partnership school demonstration project fund for expenditure in fiscal years 2020 through 2025 to design, implement and evaluate the regional partnership school demonstration project. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2025 shall revert to the general fund.
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