HOUSE BILL 21

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Helen Garcia

AN ACT

RELATING TO EDUCATION; LIMITING GRADE PROMOTIONS; PROVIDING THAT A STUDENT WHO IS NOT PROFICIENT IN READING AT THE END OF GRADE THREE SHALL NOT BE PROMOTED TO GRADE FOUR; LIMITING PROMOTION TO EIGHTH GRADE.

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

     SECTION 1. Section 22-2C-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:

     "22-2C-6. REMEDIATION PROGRAMS--PROMOTION POLICIES--RESTRICTIONS.--

          A. Remediation programs, academic improvement programs and promotion policies shall be aligned with school-district-determined assessment results and requirements of the state assessment and accountability program.

          B. Local school boards shall approve school- district-developed remediation programs and academic improvement programs to provide special instructional assistance to students in grades one through eight who do not demonstrate academic proficiency. The cost of remediation programs and academic improvement programs shall be borne by the school district. Remediation programs and academic improvement programs shall be incorporated into the school district's educational plan for student success and filed with the department.

          C. The cost of summer and extended day remediation programs and academic improvement programs offered in grades nine through twelve shall be borne by the parent; however, where parents are determined to be indigent according to guidelines established by the department, the school district shall bear those costs.

          D. Diagnosis of weaknesses identified by a student's academic achievement may serve as [criteria] a criterion in assessing the need for remedial programs or retention.

          E. A parent shall be notified no later than the end of the second grading period that the parent's child is not academically proficient, and a conference consisting of the parent and the teacher shall be held to discuss possible remediation programs available to assist the student in becoming academically proficient. Specific academic deficiencies and remediation strategies shall be explained to the student's parent and a written intervention plan developed containing time lines, academic expectations and the measurements to be used to verify that a student has overcome academic deficiencies. Remediation programs and academic improvement programs include tutoring, extended day or week programs, summer programs and other research-based interventions and models for student improvement.

          F. Except as provided in Subsection G of this section, at the end of grades one through [seven] six, three options are available, dependent on a student's academic proficiency:

                (1) the student is academically proficient and shall enter the next higher grade;

                (2) the student is not academically proficient and shall participate in the required level of remediation. Upon certification by the school district that the student is academically proficient, the student shall enter the next higher grade; or

                (3) the student is not academically proficient after completion of the prescribed remediation program and upon the recommendation of the teacher and school principal shall either be:

                     (a) retained in the same grade for no more than one school year with an academic improvement plan developed by the student assistance team in order to become academically proficient, at which time the student shall enter the next higher grade; or

                     (b) promoted to the next grade if the parent refuses to allow the child to be retained pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this paragraph. In this case, the parent shall sign a waiver indicating the parent's desire that the student be promoted to the next higher grade with an academic improvement plan designed to address specific academic deficiencies. The academic improvement plan shall be developed by the student assistance team outlining time lines and monitoring activities to ensure progress toward overcoming those academic deficiencies. Students failing to become academically proficient at the end of that year as measured by grades, performance on school district assessments and other measures identified by the school district shall be retained in the same grade for no more than one year in order to have additional time to achieve academic proficiency.

          G. If a student is not academically proficient in reading by the end of grade three, the student shall not be promoted to grade four unless the student meets proficiency before the start of the fourth grade school year. Parents shall be notified at the end of the grade three school year that the student will not be promoted to grade four and a parental waiver shall not be allowed for the student. The student assistance team shall immediately develop an academic improvement plan for the student that outlines time lines and monitoring activities to ensure progress toward overcoming the student's academic deficiencies.

          [G.] H. At the end of the [eighth] seventh grade, a student who is not academically proficient shall be retained in the [eighth] seventh grade for no more than one school year to become academically proficient, or if the student assistance team determines that retention of the student in the [eighth] seventh grade will not assist the student to become academically proficient, the team shall design a high school graduation plan to meet the student's needs for entry into the work force or a post-secondary educational institution. If a student is retained in the [eighth] seventh grade, the student assistance team shall develop a specific academic improvement plan that clearly delineates the student's academic deficiencies and prescribes a specific remediation plan to address those academic deficiencies.

          [H.] I. A student who does not demonstrate academic proficiency for two successive school years shall be referred to the student assistance team for placement in an alternative program designed by the school district. Alternative program plans shall be filed with the department.

          [I.] J. Promotion and retention decisions affecting a student enrolled in special education shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the individual educational plan established for that student.

          [J.] K. For the purposes of this section:

                (1) "academic improvement plan" means a written document developed by the student assistance team that describes the specific content standards required for a certain grade level that a student has not achieved and that prescribes specific remediation programs such as summer school, extended day or week school and tutoring;

                (2) "school-district-determined assessment results" means the results obtained from student assessments developed or adopted by a local school board and conducted at an elementary grade level or middle school level;

                (3) "educational plan for student success" means a student-centered tool developed to define the role of the academic improvement plan within the public school and the school district that addresses methods to improve student learning and success in school and that identifies specific measures of a student's progress; and

                (4) "student assistance team" means a group consisting of a student's:

                     (a) teacher;

                     (b) school counselor;

                     (c) school administrator; and

                     (d) parent."

     SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY.--This act is applicable to the 2011-2012 and subsequent school years.

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