FORTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE

FIRST SESSION, 1999





March 19, 1999





Mr. Speaker:



Your APPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, to whom has been referred



SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL 173, as amended



has had it under consideration and reports same with recommendation that it DO PASS, amended as follows:



1. Strike House Education Committee Amendments 1, 17 and 18.



2. On page 1, line 17, strike "This" and insert in lieu thereof "Sections 1 through 9 of this".



3. On page 4, line 13, after "shall" insert a colon and strike the remainder of the line and all of line 14 and insert in lieu thereof the following paragraphs:



"(1) elect a president, secretary and treasurer; and



(2) adopt such rules as may be necessary and appropriate to implement the Student Alternatives Act, including:



(a) the application process for entities that seek to operate school alternatives;



(b) school alternative contracts;



(c) the admission process for at-risk students who attend school alternatives;



(d) the health and safety of at-risk students who attend school alternatives;



(e) the terms and conditions of employment of employees of school alternatives;



(f) the disbursement of funds to school alternatives; and



(g) the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of school alternatives.".



2. On page 5, between lines 6 and 7, insert the following new sections:



"Section 6. [NEW MATERIAL] APPLICATION TO OPERATE A SCHOOL ALTERNATIVE.--



A. The application process to operate a school alternative shall require the applying entity to provide information, including the following:



(1) identity of the applying entity;



(2) name and location of the school alternative;



(3) academic focus and curriculum of the school alternative;

(4) support service that will be provided by the school alternative;



(5) school year for the school alternative;



(6) target population of at-risk students that the school alternative will be designed to serve;



(7) projected enrollment of at-risk students at the school alternative;



(8) composition, qualifications and method of selection of the governing body of the school alternative;



(9) qualifications and areas of expertise of persons who will provide services to at-risk students at the school alternative;



(10) strategies for achieving parental and community involvement in the operation of the school alternative; and



(11) proposed budget for each school year of the school alternative contract.



B. If the board denies an application for a school alternative, the board shall provide the unsuccessful applicant with a written statement explaining the basis for the denial. An unsuccessful applicant for a school alternative may reapply.



Section 7. [NEW MATERIAL] SCHOOL ALTERNATIVE CONTRACTS.--

A. If the board approves an application a school alternative, the department and the successful applicant shall enter into a school alternative contract.



B. There shall be a provision in the school alternative contract establishing criteria for evaluating the performance of the school alternative, which shall include:



(1) retention, attendance and academic achievement of at-risk students; and



(2) financial management of the school alternative.



Section 8. [NEW MATERIAL] RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF SCHOOL ALTERNATIVES.--



A. A school alternative shall:



(1) comply with the provisions of the Student Alternatives Act, the rules adopted by the board and the school alternative contract;



(2) comply with the following provisions of the Public School Code:



(a) Sections 22-1-6 and 22-1-7 NMSA 1978;



(b) Section 22-2-8.4 NMSA 1978;



(c) Sections 22-10-3 through 22-10-4 and 22-10-22 NMSA 1978; and



(d) Sections 22-12-1 through 22-12-8 NMSA 1978;



(3) not charge at-risk students for education services, support services or materials; and



(4) provide, without charge, transportation for at-risk students residing within a two mile radius of the alternative school.



B. A school alternative shall comply with the rules of the state board of education regarding content standards and benchmarks.



Section 9. [NEW MATERIAL] ADMISSION OF AT-RISK STUDENTS TO SCHOOL ALTERNATIVES.--



A. A person shall be eligible to participate in the at-risk school alternative's pilot program if he:



(1) qualifies as an at-risk student under the Student Alternatives Act and the rules adopted by the board; and



(2) complies with the application process established by the board.



B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, a school alternative shall admit all eligible at-risk students who apply for admission, provided that if the number of such applicants exceeds the number of available spaces, a school alternative shall select eligible at-risk students on a random basis.



C. A school alternative may:





(1) limit admission to a targeted population of at-risk students, provided that such limitation may not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender or religion; and



(2) give priority for admission to at-risk students who were enrolled in the school alternative during the previous school year.



Section 10. Section 22-10-3.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1997, Chapter 238, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-10-3.3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.--



A. An applicant for initial certification or for employment in a school alternative shall be fingerprinted and shall provide two fingerprint cards or the equivalent electronic fingerprints to the department of education to obtain the applicant's federal bureau of investigation record. Convictions of felonies or misdemeanors contained in the federal bureau of investigation record shall be used in accordance with the Criminal Offender Employment Act. Other information contained in the federal bureau of investigation record, if supported by independent evidence, may form the basis for the denial, suspension or revocation of a certificate for good and just cause. Records and any related information shall be privileged and shall not be disclosed to a person not directly involved in the certification or employment decisions affecting the specific applicant. The applicant for initial certification shall pay for the cost of obtaining the federal bureau of investigation record.



B. Local school boards and the student alternatives board shall develop policies and procedures to require background checks on an applicant who has been offered employment, a contractor or a contractor's employee with unsupervised access to students. An applicant for employment who has been initially certified within twelve months of applying for employment with a local school board or a school alternative shall not be required to submit to another background check if the department of education has copies of his federal bureau of investigation records on file. An applicant who has been offered employment, a contractor or a contractor's employee with unsupervised access to students shall provide two fingerprint cards or the equivalent electronic fingerprints to the local school board to obtain his federal bureau of investigation record. The applicant who has been offered employment, contractor or contractor's employee with unsupervised access to students may be required to pay for the cost of obtaining a background check. At the request of a local school board or the student alternatives board, the department of education is authorized to release copies of federal bureau of investigation records that are on file with the department of education and that are not more than twelve months old. Convictions of felonies or misdemeanors contained in the federal bureau of investigation record shall be used in accordance with the Criminal Offender Employment Act; provided that other information contained in the federal bureau of investigation record, if supported by independent evidence, may form the basis for the employment decisions for good and just cause. Records and any related information shall be privileged and shall not be disclosed to a person not directly involved in the employment decision affecting the specific applicant who has been offered employment, contractor or contractor's employee with unsupervised access to students.



[C. The department of education shall implement the provisions of Subsection A of this section on or before July 1, 1998.]"".



3. Renumber the succeeding section accordingly.





Respectfully submitted,







Max Coll, Chairman





Adopted Not Adopted

(Chief Clerk) (Chief Clerk)



Date



The roll call vote was 12 For 1 Against

Yes: 12

No: Heaton

Excused: Buffett, Picraux, Saavedra, Townsend

Absent: None





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