44th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first special session, 1999

RELATING TO EDUCATION; ENACTING THE PILOT NEW MEXICO WORKS VOUCHER PROGRAM ACT; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

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] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 5 of this act may be cited as the "Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act"."

Section 2. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act:

A. "program" means a pilot program created pursuant to the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act;

B. "student" means a developmentally disabled three- or four-year-old child or a school-age person for whom a parent or guardian has the legal authority to make decisions; and

C. "voucher" means a note that will be issued to a student's parent or legal guardian through the department of education."

Section 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ADMINISTRATION--PUBLIC AWARENESS--RULES--ELIGIBILITY.--

A. The department of education shall establish and administer a program pursuant to the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act to provide vouchers to students who reside in the Albuquerque public school district or the Santa Fe public school district. The voucher may be used in any public or private school located in New Mexico. The Albuquerque public school district shall authorize up to three thousand students to receive vouchers, and the Santa Fe public school district shall authorize up to one thousand students to receive vouchers. The vouchers shall not be distributed until all applications have been received. If more than three thousand students apply for a voucher in Albuquerque and more than one thousand students apply for a voucher in Santa Fe, the vouchers shall be distributed on a random basis. The program shall run from July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2003. The department of education shall promulgate rules to implement and operate the program. The department of education, the Santa Fe public school district and the Albuquerque public school district shall report to the legislature on the outcome of the program.

B. The department of education, the Santa Fe public school district and the Albuquerque public school district shall embark on a public awareness campaign to inform the public about the program using private and public schools, other government agencies and the media.

C. A student is eligible to participate, in the program if his family is eligible to receive cash assistance or services pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act.

D. At the request of a participant, the human services department shall provide him with written certification that he is eligible to receive cash assistance or services pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act.

E. A student who receives a voucher pursuant to the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act shall participate in the testing required by Subsection B of Section 22-1-6 NMSA 1978. The testing shall be administered by the school district in which the student who receives the voucher resides."

Section 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] ISSUANCE AND USAGE OF VOUCHERS.--

A. Before May 31 of the prior school year, the parent or legal guardian of a student shall apply to the Albuquerque public school district or the Santa Fe public school district to receive a voucher on behalf of the student. The parent or legal guardian shall provide the Albuquerque public school district or the Santa Fe public school district certification that he is a participant pursuant to the New Mexico Works Act.

B. The parent or legal guardian of a student may use a voucher to enroll the student in any public or private school located within New Mexico.

C. The student and his parent or legal guardian shall solely select the public or private school the student chooses to attend.

D. If a student selects a private school, his parent or legal guardian shall be responsible to transport the student to school. The Albuquerque public school district or the Santa Fe public school district may promulgate rules to provide transportation services to those students who select public schools in the students' attendance zones within the school district's boundary."

Section 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] VOUCHERS--REDEMPTION.--

A. The value of each voucher shall be three thousand one hundred dollars ($3,100). The voucher shall be distributed through the school district in which a public school is located that a student would have attended according to the student's attendance zone requirements. If a student selects an accredited private school, the value of the voucher shall be increased by ten percent.

B. The school district in which a student resides shall fund vouchers in its district out of the funds distributed through the state equalization guarantee distribution pursuant to the Public School Finance Act.

C. If a student disenrolls from a school on or after the first day of the month, the school from which he disenrolls shall redeem the value of the voucher for that month.

D. A private school, the Albuquerque public school district or the Santa Fe public school district shall redeem one-twelfth of the value of the voucher from the school district issuing it on the twentieth day of each month of the year.

E. If the unit value generated by a student who uses a voucher to enroll in a private school is greater than three thousand one hundred dollars ($3,100), the school district in the student's attendance zone shall receive the difference.

F. For a student who uses a voucher to enroll in a public school outside of the student's attendance zone, the school district in which the student enrolls shall receive the amount that the student would have generated through the state equalization guarantee distribution provided in the Public School Finance Act, including any size or training and experience adjustment for the school district or the public school, and including a proportionate allocation for the local school district's at-risk funding."

Section 6. Section 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 338, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-1-4. FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS--EXCEPTIONS--WITHDRAWING AND ENROLLING--OPEN ENROLLMENT.--

A. Except as provided by Section 24-5-2 NMSA 1978, a free public school education shall be available to any school-age person who is a resident of this state and has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent.

B. A free public school education in those courses already offered to persons pursuant to provisions of Subsection A of this section shall be available to any person who is a resident of this state and has received a high school diploma or its equivalent if there is available space in such courses.

C. Any person entitled to a free public school education pursuant to provisions of this section may enroll or re-enroll in a public school at any time and, unless required to attend school pursuant to the Compulsory School Attendance Law, may withdraw from a public school at any time.

D. In adopting and promulgating [regulations] rules concerning the enrollment of students transferring from a home school or private school to the public schools, the local school board shall provide that the grade level at which the transferring student is placed is appropriate to the age of the student or to the student's score on a student achievement test administered according to the statewide and local school district testing programs as determined by the state superintendent or both.

E. Subject to the provisions of the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act, a local school board shall adopt and promulgate [regulations] rules governing enrollment and re-enrollment at schools within the district. These [regulations] rules shall include:

(1) definition of the district boundary and the boundaries of attendance areas for each school;

(2) for each school, definition of the boundaries of areas outside the district boundary or within the district but outside the school's attendance area, and within a distance of the school that would not be served by a school bus route as determined pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 if enrolled, which areas shall be designated as "walk zones";

(3) priorities for enrollment of students as follows:

(a) first, persons residing within the district and within the attendance area of a school;

(b) second, persons who previously attended the school; and

(c) third, all other applicants; and

(4) establishment of maximum allowable class size if smaller than that permitted by law and ratification and description of the maximum class size in the charter of all charter schools within the district.

F. As long as the maximum allowable class size established by law, by [regulation] rule of a local school board or in the charter of a charter school, whichever is lower, is not met or exceeded in a school by enrollment of first-priority persons, the school shall enroll other persons applying in the priorities stated in the district [regulations] rules adopted pursuant to Subsection E of this section. If the maximum would be exceeded by enrollment of an applicant in the second or third priority, the school shall establish a waiting list. As classroom space becomes available, persons highest on the waiting list within the highest priority on the list shall be notified and given the opportunity to enroll."

Section 7. Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 128, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-8-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Finance Act:

A. "ADM" or "MEM" means membership;

B. "membership" means the total enrollment of qualified students on the current roll of a class or school on a specified day and all students who have qualified for receipt of vouchers pursuant to the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act. The current roll is established by the addition of original entries and reentries minus withdrawals. Withdrawals of students, in addition to students formally withdrawn from the public school, include students absent from the public school for as many as ten consecutive school days;

C. "basic program ADM" or "basic program MEM" means the MEM of qualified students but excludes the full-time-equivalent MEM in early childhood education and three- and four-year-old students receiving special education services;

D. "cost differential factor" is the numerical expression of the ratio of the cost of a particular segment of the school program to the cost of the basic program in grades four through six;

E. "department" or "division" means the state

department of public education;

F. "early childhood education ADM" or "early childhood education MEM" means the full-time-equivalent MEM of students attending approved early childhood education programs;

G. "full-time-equivalent ADM" or "full-time- equivalent MEM" is that membership calculated by applying to the MEM in an approved public school program the ratio of the number of hours per school day devoted to the program to six hours or the number of hours per school week devoted to the program to thirty hours;

H. "operating budget" means the annual financial plan required to be submitted by a local school board;

I. "program cost" is the product of the total number of program units to which a school district is entitled multiplied by the dollar value per program unit established by the legislature;

J. "program element" is that component of a public school system to which a cost differential factor is applied to determine the number of program units to which a school district is entitled, including but not limited to MEM, full-time-equivalent MEM, teacher, classroom or public school;

K. "program unit" is the product of the program element multiplied by the applicable cost differential factor;

L. "public money" or "public funds" means all money from public or private sources received by a local school board or officer or employee of a local school board for public use;

M. "qualified student" means a public school student who:

(1) has not graduated from high school;

(2) is regularly enrolled in one-half or more of the minimum course requirements approved by the state board for public school students; and

(3) is at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of the school year; or

(4) is at least three years of age at any time during the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to regulation of the state board; or

(5) has not reached his twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year and is receiving special education services pursuant to regulation of the state board; and

N. "state superintendent" means the superintendent of public instruction or his designee."

Section 8. Section 22-12-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 172, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-l2-5. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.--

A. Subject to the provisions of the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act, local school boards may admit school-age persons who do not live within the school district to the public schools within the school district when there are sufficient school accommodations to provide for them.

B. Subject to the provisions of the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act, local school boards may permit school-age persons to transfer to a school outside the [child's] students' attendance [zone] zones but within the school district when there are sufficient school accommodations to provide for them.

C. Local school boards may charge a tuition fee for the right to attend public school within the school district only to those school-age persons who do not live within the state. The tuition fee shall not exceed the amount generated by the public school fund for a school-age person similarly situated within the school district for the current school year.

D. When the parent or guardian of a student not living in the state pays an ad valorem property tax for school purposes within the district, the amount of the tuition payable for the school year shall be reduced by the district average ad valorem tax per [pupil] student as determined by the ad valorem tax credit utilized in calculating state equalization guarantee distribution."

Section 9. APPROPRIATION.--Thirteen million two hundred thousand dollars ($13,200,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the state equalization guarantee distribution for expenditure in fiscal year 2000 for the funding only of those students counted in membership, pursuant to the Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act, who were not enrolled in a public school in New Mexico in the prior school year. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2000 shall revert to the general fund.

Section 10. DELAYED REPEAL.--The Pilot New Mexico Works Voucher Program Act is repealed effective July 1, 2003.

Section 11. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.