0001|                           SENATE BILL 163
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0002|     43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998
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0003|                            INTRODUCED BY
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0004|                          RICHARD M. ROMERO
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0005|     
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0006|                                   
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0007|     
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0008|                                   
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0009|     
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0010|                                AN ACT
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0011|     RELATING TO EDUCATION; CHANGING THE REQUIREMENTS OF A CHARTER
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0012|     SCHOOL.
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0013|     
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0014|     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
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0015|          Section 1.  A new section of the Charter Schools Act is
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0016|     enacted to read:
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0017|          "[<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] CHARTER SCHOOLS.--Local school boards
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0018|     shall not be liable for the actions of a charter school.  A
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0019|     charter school shall not be required to follow the written
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0020|     policy of the school district in which it is located."
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0021|          Section 2.  A new Section 2-5-3.1 NMSA 1978 is enacted to
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0022|     read:
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0023|          "2-5-3.1 [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] ADDITIONAL DUTIES.--The
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0024|     legislative finance committee shall receive applications from
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0025|     charter school applicants and make recommendations to the
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0001|     state department of public education on the application."
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0002|          Section 3.  A new Section 2-10-3.1 NMSA 1978 is enacted
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0003|     to read:
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0004|          "2-10-3.1 [<u>NEW MATERIAL</u>] ADDITIONAL DUTIES.--The
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0005|     legislative education study committee shall receive
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0006|     applications from charter school applicants and make
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0007|     recommendations to the state department of public education on
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0008|     the application."
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0009|          Section 4.  Section 22-8-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
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0010|     Chapter 16, Section 70, as amended by Laws 1993, Chapter 224,
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0011|     Section 3 and also by Laws 1993, Chapter 227, Section 10) is
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0012|     amended to read:
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0013|          "22-8-15.  ALLOCATION LIMITATION.--
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0014|               A.  The department shall determine the allocations
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0015|     to each school district from each of the distributions of the
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0016|     public school fund, subject to the limits established by law.
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0017|               B.  The local school board in each <s>[local]</s> school
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0018|     district with authorized charter schools shall allocate the
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0019|     appropriate distributions of the public school fund to 
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0020|     individual charter schools pursuant to each charter school's
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0021|     school-based budget approved by the local school board and the
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0022|     department.  The local school board may retain an amount not
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0023|     to exceed the school district's <s>[administrative cost relevant
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<s></s>0024| <s>    to that]</s> <u>actual cost incurred by the</u> charter school.
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0025|               C.  The local school board in each <s>[local]</s> school
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0001|     district with authorized charter schools shall establish an
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0002|     individual charter school account to receive public school
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0003|     fund disbursements for each charter school."
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0004|          Section 5.  Section 22-8A-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
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0005|     Chapter 227, Section 5) is amended to read:
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0006|          "22-8A-5.  CHARTER SCHOOLS CREATED.--
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0007|               A.  Individual schools wishing to become charter
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0008|     schools shall apply through <s>[their local school board]</s> <u>the
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<u></u>0009| <u>    legislative education study committee and the legislative
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<u></u>0010| <u>    finance committee</u> to the state board for authorization to
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0011|     become charter schools.  In transmitting the application to
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0012|     the state board, the <s>[local school board]</s> <u>legislative
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<u></u>0013| <u>    education study committee and the legislative finance
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<u></u>0014| <u>    committee</u> may include a recommendation regarding the
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0015|     establishment of that charter school.
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0016|               B.  The state board may authorize the existence of
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0017|     a charter school upon a finding that:
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0018|                    (1)  not less than sixty-five percent of the
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0019|     teachers in the school have signed a petition in support of
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0020|     that school becoming a charter school;
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0021|                    (2)  parents of children in the proposed
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0022|     charter school have had substantial involvement in the
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0023|     development of the charter school proposal and support the
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0024|     establishment of the charter school;
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0025|                    (3)  the school proposing to become a charter
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0001|     school has submitted to the state board a comprehensive plan
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0002|     for implementing alternative education curricula at the
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0003|     school; and
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0004|                    (4)  the school proposing to become a charter
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0005|     school shall provide a detailed proposed budget to meet
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0006|     anticipated educational and administrative costs of the
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0007|     charter school."
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0008|                                  
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