SENATE BILL 637

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; MANDATING THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT ESTABLISH A CALENDAR THAT INCLUDES THREE SESSIONS PER YEAR UNLESS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ALREADY OPERATES ON A YEAR-ROUND CALENDAR.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. 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. Except as otherwise provided in this section, regular students shall be in school-directed programs, exclusive of lunch, for a minimum of the following:

                (1) 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 and one-half hours per day or nine hundred ninety hours per year;

                (2) grades one through six, five and one-half hours per day or nine hundred ninety hours per year; and

                (3) grades seven through twelve, six hours per day or one thousand eighty hours per year.

          B. Thirty-three hours of the full-day kindergarten program may be used for home visits by the teacher or for parent-teacher conferences. Twenty-two hours of grades one through five programs may be used for home visits by the teacher or for parent-teacher conferences.

          C. A local school board shall establish three sessions per calendar year for school attendance, each separated by a break of a minimum of five school days, for a school district with ten thousand or more students, unless the school district currently operates on a year-round calendar.

          [C.] D. 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.

          [D.] E. The [state superintendent] secretary may waive the minimum length of school days in those districts where such minimums would create undue hardships as defined by the [state board] department."

     Section 2. Section 22-8-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 63, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-8-9. BUDGETS--MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.--

          A. A budget for a school district shall not be approved by the department that does not provide for:

                (1) a school year consisting of at least one hundred eighty full instructional days or the equivalent thereof, exclusive of any release time for in-service training; or

                (2) a variable school year consisting of a minimum number of instructional hours established by the [state board] department, except as provided in Subsection B of this section; and

                (3) a pupil-teacher ratio or class or teaching load as provided in Section 22-10A-20 NMSA 1978.

          B. A budget for a school district that has ten thousand or more students shall not be approved unless it establishes a school year consisting of three sessions separated by a break of a minimum of five school days and a minimum number of instructional hours established by the department.

          [B.] C. The [state board] department shall, by rule, establish the requirements for an instructional day, the standards for an instructional hour and the standards for a full-time teacher and for the equivalent thereof."

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