44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999
RELATING TO EDUCATION; PROVIDING FOR THE EXPANSION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY SUPPORT EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS; MAKING APPROPRIATIONS.
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] EARLY CHILDHOOD AND FAMILY SUPPORT EDUCATION PROGRAM.--
A. The department of education, upon approval of a program in early childhood and family support education, shall distribute money to those school districts that address program elements, including:
(1) initial implementation or expansion of full-day kindergarten;
(2) initial implementation or expansion of half-day programs for children ages three through five; and
(3) initial implementation or expansion of summer programs or transition programs for children ages three through five.
B. In requesting funding for early childhood and family support education programs, school districts shall establish partnerships with local community-based public or private programs. Each funded proposal shall include and demonstrate a family involvement component that is based on family support principles for each of the program elements described in Subsection A of this section. School districts shall maintain fiscal agent responsibility in a partnership.
C. In requesting funding for early childhood and family support education programs, school districts shall demonstrate a plan for a three-year phase-in as follows:
(1) effective with the 1999-2000 school year, the district shall serve those children most in need based upon the indicators in the at-risk factor;
(2) effective with the 2000-2001 school year, the district shall expand services to additional children in need or provide additional services to those children most in need; and
(3) effective with the 2001-2002 school year, the district shall expand services to the remainder of children in need or provide additional services to those children most in need."
Section 2. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] PROGRAM APPROVAL.--
A. An approved early childhood and family support education program shall reflect the employment and economic development needs of the local community and encompass health, safety and nutrition. The program shall support the educational and developmental needs of children, address cultural diversity and provide family support.
B. School districts that receive funding for an early childhood and family support education program shall evaluate and document the results of the program in terms of the number of children and families served, the services provided and the gains achieved by the children and their families and then report those results to the department of education.
C. School districts that receive funding for an early childhood and family support education program shall implement or expand a program for job skills and leadership development for mothers and fathers of participants who are recipients of federal and state support. To satisfy federal and state temporary assistance for needy families block grant maintenance of effort requirements, school districts that receive funding shall identify and report families participating in the program who are eligible pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act.
D. Student and family participation in an early childhood and family support education program shall be voluntary on the part of parents."
Section 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:
"[NEW MATERIAL] DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.--
A. By July 1, 1999, the department of education shall develop guidelines for the approval process for early childhood and family support education programs, disseminate those guidelines to all school districts and provide technical assistance in developing proposals. The department, in partnership with other agencies and interested persons, shall define approval criteria inclusive of at-risk indicators, quality performance indicators and benchmarks that ensure positive results for participants and provide accountability to the public.
B. The department of education shall monitor early childhood and family support education programs, compile the program results submitted by the school districts and make an annual report to the legislative education study committee."
Section 4. Section 22-2-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-2-2. STATE BOARD--DUTIES.--Without limiting those powers granted to the state board pursuant to Section 22-2-1 NMSA 1978, the state board shall perform the following duties:
A. properly and uniformly enforce the provisions of the Public School Code;
B. determine policy for the operation of all public schools and vocational education programs in the state;
C. appoint a state superintendent;
D. purchase and loan instructional material to
students pursuant to the Instructional Material Law and adopt
[regulations] rules relating to the use and operation of
instructional material depositories in the instructional
material distribution process;
E. designate courses of instruction to be taught in all public schools in the state;
F. assess and evaluate all state institutions and those private schools that desire state accreditation;
G. determine the qualifications for and issue a certificate to any person teaching, assisting teachers, supervising an instructional program, counseling, providing special instructional services or administering in public schools, according to law and according to a system of classification adopted and published by the state board;
H. suspend or revoke a certificate held by a certified school instructor or certified school administrator, according to law, for incompetency, immorality or for any other good and just cause;
I. make full and complete reports on consolidation of school districts to the legislature;
J. prescribe courses of instruction, requirements for graduation and standards for all public schools, including early childhood and family support education programs offered by the public schools, for private schools seeking state accreditation and for the educational programs conducted in state institutions other than the New Mexico military institute;
K. adopt [regulations] rules for the
administration of all public schools and bylaws for its own
administration;
L. require periodic reports on forms prescribed by it from all public schools and attendance reports from private schools;
M. authorize adult educational programs to be
conducted in schools under its jurisdiction and adopt and
promulgate [regulations] rules governing all such adult
educational programs;
N. require any school under its jurisdiction that sponsors athletic programs involving sports to mandate that the participating student obtain catastrophic health and accident insurance coverage, such coverage to be offered through the school and issued by an insurance company duly licensed pursuant to the laws of New Mexico;
O. require all accrediting agencies for public schools in the state to act with its approval;
P. accept and receive all grants of money from the federal government or any other agency for public school purposes and disburse the money in the manner and for the purpose specified in the grant;
Q. require prior approval for any educational program in a public school that is to be conducted, sponsored, carried on or caused to be carried on by a private organization or agency;
R. approve or disapprove all rules [or
regulations] promulgated by any association or organization
attempting to regulate any public school activity and
invalidate any rule [or regulation] in conflict with any
[regulation] rule promulgated by the state board. The state
board shall require any association or organization attempting
to regulate any public school activity to comply with the
provisions of the Open Meetings Act and be subject to the
inspection of the Public Records Act. The state board may
require performance and financial audits of any association or
organization attempting to regulate any public school
activity. The state board shall have no power or control over
the rules [or regulations] or the bylaws governing the
administration of the internal organization of the association
or organization;
S. review decisions made by the governing board or officials of any organization or association regulating any public school activity, and any decision of the state board shall be final in respect thereto;
T. accept or reject any charitable gift, grant, devise or bequest. The particular gift, grant, devise or bequest accepted shall be considered an asset of the state;
U. establish and maintain regional centers, at its discretion, for conducting cooperative services between public schools and school districts within and among those regions and to facilitate regulation and evaluation of school programs;
V. assess and evaluate for accreditation purposes at least one-third of all public schools each year through visits by department of education personnel to investigate the adequacy of pupil gain in standard required subject matter, adequacy of pupil activities, functional feasibility of public school and school district organization, adequacy of staff preparation and other matters bearing upon the education of the students;
W. provide for management and other necessary
personnel to operate any public school or school district that
has failed to meet requirements of law, state board standards
or state board [regulations] rules; provided that the
operation of the public school or school district shall not
include any consolidation or reorganization without the
approval of the local board of that school district. Until
such time as requirements of law, standards or [regulations]
rules have been met and compliance is assured, the powers and
duties of the local school board shall be suspended;
X. establish and implement a plan that provides for technical assistance to local school boards through workshops and other in-service training methods; provided, however, that no plan shall require mandatory attendance by any member of a local school board;
Y. submit a plan applying for funds available under Public Law 94-142 and disburse these funds in the manner and for the purposes specified in the plan; and
Z. enforce requirements for home schools. Upon
finding that a home school is not in compliance with law, the
state board [shall have] has authority to order that a student
attend a public school or a private school."
Section 5. Section 22-2-8.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-2-8.1. LENGTH OF SCHOOL DAY--MINIMUM.--
A. Regular students shall be in school-directed programs, exclusive of lunch, for a minimum of the following:
(1) pre-kindergarten, for half-day programs, two and one-half hours per day or four hundred fifty hours per year;
[(1)] (2) kindergarten, for half-day
programs, two and one-half hours per day or four hundred fifty
hours per year or, for full-day programs, five hours per day
or nine hundred hours per year;
[(2)] (3) grades one through six, five and
one-half hours per day or nine hundred ninety hours per year;
and
[(3)] (4) grades seven through twelve, six
hours per day or one thousand eighty hours per year.
B. Nothing in this section precludes a local school board from setting length of school days in excess of the minimum requirements established by Subsection A of this section.
C. The state superintendent may waive the minimum length of school days in those districts where such minimums would create undue hardships as defined by the state board."
Section 6. Section 22-8-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1974, Chapter 8, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8-19. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM UNITS.--
A. The number of early childhood education program units is determined by multiplying the early childhood education MEM by the cost differential factor 1.44. No early childhood education student shall be counted for more than 0.5 early childhood education MEM.
B. For the purpose of calculating early childhood and family support education units, effective with school year 1999-2000, the early childhood education 1.0 MEM as determined in Subsection A of this section, but not including developmentally disabled three- and four-year-old students, shall be multiplied by 0.24; effective with school year 2000-2001, the early childhood education 1.0 MEM as determined in Subsection A of this section, but not including developmentally disabled three- and four-year old students, shall be multiplied by 0.48; and effective with school year 2001-2002, the early childhood and family support education MEM shall be determined by the number of students being served and shall be multiplied by 0.72.
[B.] C. For the purpose of calculating early
childhood education program units, developmentally disabled
three- and four-year-old students shall be counted in early
childhood education membership. No developmentally disabled
three- or four-year-old student shall be counted for more than
0.5 early childhood education MEM."
Section 7. [NEW MATERIAL] DUTIES OF THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT.--The human services department shall assist the state department of public education and the local school districts in identifying and tracking children in families eligible pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act. The human services department shall also provide technical assistance to local school districts implementing or expanding a job skills program pursuant to Subsection C of Section 2 of this act.
Section 8. APPROPRIATIONS.--
A. Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the state department of public education for expenditure in fiscal years 2000 and 2001 to develop and disseminate application guidelines and otherwise carry out the administration of Sections 1 through 7 of this act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2001 shall revert to the general fund.
B. Fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the state department of public education for expenditure in fiscal year 2000 for the purpose of funding additional program units in early childhood education at the program unit value established by the superintendent of public instruction. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2000 shall not revert to the general fund.
Section 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 1999.