0001| SENATE BILL 64 | 0002| 43RD LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 1998 | 0003| INTRODUCED BY | 0004| RAMSAY L. GORHAM | 0005| | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| AN ACT | 0011| RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AMENDING SECTION 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 | 0012| (BEING LAWS 1975, CHAPTER 338, SECTION 1, AS AMENDED) TO | 0013| PROVIDE FOR OPEN ENROLLMENT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. | 0014| | 0015| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0016| Section 1. Section 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, | 0017| Chapter 338, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read: | 0018| "22-1-4. FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS--EXCEPTIONS--WITHDRAWING | 0019| AND ENROLLING--|OPEN ENROLLMENT|.-- | 0020| A. Except as provided by Section 24-5-2 NMSA 1978, | 0021| a free public school education shall be available to any | 0022| school-age person who is a resident of this state and has not | 0023| received a high school diploma or its equivalent. | 0024| B. A free public school education in those courses | 0025| already offered to persons ~[under]~ |pursuant to provisions | - 1 - 0001| of| Subsection A of this section shall be available to any | 0002| person who is a resident of this state and has received a high | 0003| school diploma or its equivalent if there is available space | 0004| in such courses. | 0005| C. Any person entitled to a free public school | 0006| education ~[under]~ |pursuant to provisions of| this section | 0007| may enroll or re-enroll in a public school at any time and, | 0008| unless required to attend school pursuant to the Compulsory | 0009| School Attendance Law, may withdraw from a public school at | 0010| any time. | 0011| D. ~[Local school boards shall promulgate | 0012| regulations concerning the enrollment and re-enrollment of | 0013| all persons]~ In adopting and promulgating ~[non- | 0014| discriminatory]~ regulations concerning the enrollment of | 0015| students transferring from a home school or private school | 0016| to the public schools, the local school board shall provide | 0017| that the grade level at which the transferring student is | 0018| placed is appropriate to the age of the student |or| to the | 0019| student's score on a student achievement test administered | 0020| according to the statewide and local school district testing | 0021| programs as determined by the state superintendent or both. | 0022| |E. A local school board shall adopt and | 0023| promulgate regulations governing enrollment and re- | 0024| enrollment at schools within the district. These | 0025| regulations shall include:| | - 2 - 0001| |(1) definition of the district boundary | 0002| and the boundaries of attendance areas for each school; | 0003| (2) for each school, definition of the | 0004| boundaries of areas outside the district boundary or within | 0005| the district but outside the school's attendance area, and | 0006| within a distance of the school that would not be served by | 0007| a school bus route as determined pursuant to Section 22-16-4 | 0008| NMSA 1978 if enrolled, which areas shall be designated as | 0009| "walk zones"; | 0010| (3) priorities for enrollment of students | 0011| as follows: | 0012| (a) first, persons residing within the | 0013| district and within the attendance area of a school; | 0014| (b) second, persons residing within | 0015| the district and not residing within the attendance area but | 0016| residing within the walk zone of a school; | 0017| (c) third, persons not residing within | 0018| the district and not residing within the school's attendance | 0019| area but residing within the school's walk zone; and | 0020| (d) fourth, persons not residing | 0021| within the district or the school's walk zone; and | 0022| (4) establishment of maximum allowable | 0023| class size if smaller than that permitted by law and | 0024| ratification and description of the maximum class size in | 0025| the charter of all charter schools within the district. | - 3 - 0001| F. As long as the maximum allowable class size | 0002| established by law, by regulation of a local school board or | 0003| in the charter of a charter school, whichever is lower, is | 0004| not met or exceeded in a school by enrollment of first- | 0005| priority persons, the school shall enroll other persons | 0006| applying in the priorities stated in the district | 0007| regulations adopted pursuant to Subsection E of this | 0008| section. As long as classroom space is available, persons | 0009| shall be enrolled on a first-come, first-served basis, but | 0010| if that maximum would be exceeded by enrollment of an | 0011| applicant in the second, third or fourth priority, the | 0012| school shall establish a waiting list starting within | 0013| priorities on a first-come, first-served basis. As | 0014| classroom space becomes available, persons highest on the | 0015| waiting list within the highest priority on the list shall | 0016| be notified and given the opportunity to enroll.|" | 0017|  |