SB0528

SENATE BILL 528

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; AMENDING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE POLICY REQUIREMENTS; SEPARATING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE POLICY REQUIREMENTS FROM THE REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDENT SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF CERTAIN MEDICATIONS.

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

SECTION 1. Section 22-5-4.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-5-4.3. [SCHOOL DISCIPLINE POLICIES] STUDENTS MAY SELF-ADMINISTER CERTAIN MEDICATIONS--LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.--

[A. Local school boards shall establish student discipline policies and shall file them with the department. The local school board shall involve parents, school personnel and students in the development of these policies, and public hearings shall be held during the formulation of these policies in the high school attendance areas within each school district or on a district-wide basis for those school districts that have no high school.

B. Each school district discipline policy shall establish rules of conduct governing areas of student and school activity, detail specific prohibited acts and activities and enumerate possible disciplinary sanctions, which sanctions may include in-school suspension, school service, suspension or expulsion. Corporal punishment shall be prohibited by each local school board and each governing body of a charter school.

C. An individual school within a school district may establish a school discipline policy, provided that parents, school personnel and students are involved in its development and a public hearing is held in the school prior to its adoption. If an individual school adopts a discipline policy in addition to the local school board's school district discipline policy, it shall submit its policy to the local school board for approval.

D. No school employee who in good faith reports any known or suspected violation of the school discipline policy or in good faith attempts to enforce the policy shall be held liable for any civil damages as a result of such report or of the employee's efforts to enforce any part of the policy.

E.] A. All public school and school district [discipline] policies shall allow students to carry and self-administer asthma medication and emergency anaphylaxis medication that has been legally prescribed to the student by a licensed health care provider under the following conditions:

(1) the health care provider has instructed the student in the correct and responsible use of the medication;

(2) the student has demonstrated to the health care provider and the school nurse or other school official the skill level necessary to use the medication and any device that is necessary to administer the medication as prescribed;

(3) the health care provider formulates a written treatment plan for managing asthma or anaphylaxis episodes of the student and for medication use by the student during school hours or school-sponsored activities, including transit to or from school or school-sponsored activities; and

(4) the student's parent has completed and submitted to the school any written documentation required by the school or the school district, including the treatment plan required in Paragraph (3) of this subsection and other documents related to liability.

[F.] B. The parent of a student who is allowed to carry and self-administer asthma medication and emergency anaphylaxis medication may provide the school with backup medication that shall be kept in a location to which the student has immediate access in the event of an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency.

[G.] C. Authorized school personnel who in good faith provide a person with backup medication as provided in this section shall not be held liable for civil damages as a

result of providing the medication."

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

"[NEW MATERIAL] SCHOOL DISCIPLINE POLICIES.--

A. Each local school board and governing body of a charter school shall establish a student discipline policy. For the development of a new or revised school discipline policy, the local school board or governing body shall seek input from parents, school personnel and students and hold a public hearing in the high school attendance area of the school district or on a district-wide basis if there is no high school in the school district. The local school board or governing body shall file the discipline policy with the department.

B. Each school district discipline policy shall establish rules of conduct governing areas of student and school activity, specify prohibited acts and activities and enumerate possible behavior intervention measures, such as counseling or mentoring, and possible disciplinary actions, such as in-school suspension, school service, suspension, expulsion or alternative measures. Corporal punishment shall be prohibited by each local school board and each governing body of a charter school.

C. Each school district or charter school discipline policy shall:

(1) incorporate research-based behavior intervention measures, positive behavioral supports and disciplinary strategies proven to improve the behavior of students and reduce the incidence of disciplinary actions;

(2) offer alternatives to long-term suspension, expulsion or referral to law enforcement agencies, except where those alternatives would pose a substantial threat to school safety;

(3) not require the reporting of petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors to law enforcement agencies; and

(4) require prospective disciplinary actions to be taken on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the particular student, the student's history and the circumstances of the student's acts or omissions, including but not limited to whether:

(a) there have been prior incidents involving the student;

(b) each alleged school discipline policy violation was accidental, mistaken or involuntary; and

(c) the student has been identified or could qualify as a student with disabilities eligible for accommodations or special education.

D. By May 30 of each year, each school district and charter school shall submit a report to the department that includes:

(1) the number of arrests, citations and referrals to the children, youth and families department that law enforcement officers, security guards, school resource officers and school personnel made for any alleged offense on school property;

(2) the alleged offenses on school property for which students were arrested, cited or referred to the children, youth and families department; and

(3) for students arrested, cited or referred to the children, youth and families department for alleged offenses on school property, statistics categorized by offense and:

(a) age;

(b) race;

(d) if applicable, special education eligibility category.

E. To promote equal treatment of all youth in New Mexico, each year the department shall review the information reported by the school districts and charter schools and present to the legislative education study committee a report analyzing whether there is a disparate impact on students who are arrested, cited or referred to the children, youth and families department for alleged offenses based on the age, race, gender or special education eligibility of such students.

F. Each local school board or governing body shall enter into an agreement with its local county sheriff's office, local police department and the juvenile justice division of the children, youth and families department that shall be filed with the public education department, made available to the public and:

(1) require, at a minimum, that if the local school board uses school resource officers, all school resource officers must complete police academy basic training and specific training on the:

(a) role of the school resource officer in the school setting;

(b) requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as it relates to school discipline;

(c) use of research-based strategies and positive behavioral supports proven to decrease the number of disciplinary referrals;

(d) research-based techniques and best practices for interviewing children; and

(e) requirements of the Children's Code;

(2) include a specific complaint process, available to any student taken into custody by a law enforcement agency or referred to the children, youth and families department for an alleged delinquent act that occurs on a school campus, to file a formal complaint with the school district or charter school, the public education department, the law enforcement agency and the juvenile justice division of the children, youth and families department concerning any alleged misconduct by law enforcement or school resource officers;

(3) specify the circumstances under which school personnel or school resource officers are permitted or required to handle school disciplinary incidents without filing a report with a law enforcement agency; and

(4) specify the circumstances under which school personnel or school resource officers are permitted or required to report incidents to a law enforcement agency.

G. An individual school within a school district may establish its own school discipline policy to supplement the school district's school discipline policy, provided that parents, school personnel and students are involved in its development, a public hearing is held in the school prior to its adoption to receive public input, the local school board approves the policy and the policy is provided to students and parents at the beginning of the school year.

H. No school employee who in good faith reports any known or suspected violation of the school discipline policy or in good faith attempts to enforce the policy shall be held liable for any civil damages as a result of such report or of the employee's efforts to enforce any part of the policy."

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