0001| AN ACT | 0002| RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA | 0003| 1978 TO AUTHORIZE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO LEASE ADVERTISING SPACE ON | 0004| SCHOOL BUSES TO COMMERCIAL VENDORS; CREATING A FUND. | 0005| | 0006| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0007| Section 1. Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter | 0008| 16, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read: | 0009| "22-1-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Code: | 0010| A. "state board" means the state board of education; | 0011| B. "state superintendent" means the superintendent of | 0012| public instruction; | 0013| C. "department of education" means the state department of | 0014| public education; | 0015| D. "certified school instructor" means any person holding a | 0016| valid certificate authorizing the person to teach, supervise an | 0017| instructional program, counsel or provide special instructional | 0018| services in the public schools of the state; | 0019| E. "certified school administrator" means any person | 0020| holding a valid certificate authorizing the person to administer in | 0021| the public schools of the state; | 0022| F. "certified school employee" or "certified school | 0023| personnel" means any employee who is either a certified school | 0024| instructor or a certified school administrator or both; | 0025| G. "non-certified school employee" means any employee who | 0001| is not a certified school employee; | 0002| H. "certificate" means a certificate issued by the state | 0003| board authorizing a person to teach, supervise an instructional | 0004| program, counsel, provide special instructional services or administer | 0005| in the public schools of the state; | 0006| I. "chief" or "director" means the state superintendent or | 0007| his designee unless the context clearly indicates otherwise; | 0008| J. "private school" means a school offering on-site | 0009| programs of instruction not under the control, supervision or | 0010| management of a local school board, exclusive of home instruction | 0011| offered by the parent, guardian or one having custody of the student; | 0012| K. "school district" means an area of land established as a | 0013| political subdivision of the state for the administration of public | 0014| schools and segregated geographically for taxation and bonding | 0015| purposes; | 0016| L. "local school board" means the governing body of a | 0017| school district; | 0018| M. "public school" means that part of a school district | 0019| that is a single attendance center where instruction is offered by a | 0020| certified school instructor or a group of certified school instructors | 0021| and is discernible as a building or group of buildings generally | 0022| recognized as either an elementary, secondary, junior high or high | 0023| school or any combination thereof; | 0024| N. "school year" means the total number of teaching days | 0025| offered by public schools in a school district during a period of | 0001| twelve consecutive months; | 0002| O. "consolidation" means the combination of part or all of | 0003| the geographical area of an existing school district with part or all | 0004| of the geographical area of one or more contiguous existing school | 0005| districts; | 0006| P. "consolidated school district" means a school district | 0007| created by order of the state board by combining part or all of the | 0008| geographical area of an existing school district with part or all of | 0009| the geographical area of one or more contiguous existing school | 0010| districts; | 0011| Q. "state institution" means the New Mexico military | 0012| institute, the New Mexico school for the visually handicapped, the New | 0013| Mexico school for the deaf, the New Mexico boys' school, the New | 0014| Mexico youth diagnostic and development center, the Los Lunas medical | 0015| center, the Fort Stanton hospital, the Las Vegas medical center or the | 0016| Carrie Tingley crippled children's hospital; | 0017| R. "state educational institution" means an institution | 0018| enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New | 0019| Mexico; | 0020| S. "forty-day report" means the report of qualified student | 0021| membership of each school district and of those eligible to be | 0022| qualified students but enrolled in a private school or a home school | 0023| for the first forty days of school; | 0024| T. "school" means any supervised program of instruction | 0025| designed to educate a person in a particular place, manner and subject | 0001| area; | 0002| U. "school-age person" means any person who is at least | 0003| five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of the school | 0004| year and who has not received a high school diploma or its equivalent. | 0005| A maximum age of twenty-one shall be used for persons who are | 0006| classified as special education membership as defined in Section | 0007| 22-8-2 NMSA 1978 or as residents of state institutions; | 0008| V. "home school" means the operation by a parent, guardian | 0009| or other person having custody of a school-age person who instructs a | 0010| home study program that provides a basic academic educational program, | 0011| including but not limited to reading, language arts, mathematics, | 0012| social studies and science; | 0013| W. "school building" means a public school, an | 0014| administration building and related school structure or facilities, | 0015| including teacher housing, as may be owned, acquired or constructed by | 0016| the local school board and as necessary to carry out the powers and | 0017| duties of the local school board; | 0018| X. "commercial advertiser" means a person who advertises a | 0019| product or service for profit or not for profit and has a permitted | 0020| advertisement; and | 0021| Y. "school bus private owner" means a person who owns a | 0022| school bus other than a local school district, the department of | 0023| education, the state or any other political subdivision of the state." | 0024| Section 2. Section 22-16-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter | 0025| 16, Section 220, as amended) is amended to read: | 0001| "22-16-2. STATE TRANSPORTATION DIVISION--DUTIES.--Subject to the | 0002| policies of the state board, the state transportation division of the | 0003| department of education shall: | 0004| A. establish standards for school bus transportation; | 0005| B. establish standards for school bus design and operation | 0006| pursuant to provisions of Section 22-16-11 NMSA 1978; | 0007| C. establish procedures pertaining to the resolution of | 0008| transportation issues in areas where local school districts are | 0009| engaged in school district boundary disputes; | 0010| D. enforce those regulations adopted by the state board | 0011| relating to school bus transportation; | 0012| E. audit records of school bus contractors or school | 0013| district-owned bus operations in accordance with regulations | 0014| promulgated by the state transportation director; | 0015| F. establish standards and certify for safety, vehicles | 0016| that are defined as school buses by the Motor Vehicle Code; and | 0017| G. establish regulations for the purpose of permitting | 0018| commercial advertisements on school buses." | 0019| Section 3. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0020| read: | 0021| "BUS ADVERTISEMENTS AUTHORIZED--LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.-- | 0022| A. The state transportation division of the department of | 0023| education shall authorize local school boards to sell advertising | 0024| space on the interior and exterior of school buses. The local school | 0025| board shall develop guidelines for the type of advertisements that | 0001| will be permitted. There shall be no advertisements that involve: | 0002| (1) obscenity, sexual material, gambling, tobacco, | 0003| alcohol, political campaigns or causes, religion or promoting the use | 0004| of drugs; or | 0005| (2) general content that is harmful or inappropriate | 0006| for school buses as determined by the state board. | 0007| B. All school bus advertisements shall be painted or | 0008| affixed by decal on the bus in a manner that does not interfere with | 0009| national and state requirements for school bus markings, lights and | 0010| signs. The commercial advertiser that contracts with the school | 0011| district for the use of the space for advertisements shall be required | 0012| to pay the cost of placing the advertisements on the bus and shall pay | 0013| for its removal after the term of the contract has expired. | 0014| C. The right to sell advertising space on school buses | 0015| shall be within the sole discretion of the local school board, except | 0016| as required by Section 3 of this act. | 0017| D. An officer or employee of a school district or of the | 0018| department of education who fails to comply with the obligations or | 0019| restrictions created by this act shall be subject to discipline, | 0020| including the possibility of being terminated from employment. A | 0021| school bus private owner that fails to comply with the obligations or | 0022| restrictions created by this act is in breach of contract and the | 0023| contract is subject to cancellation after notice and hearing before | 0024| the director of the state transportation division." | 0025| Section 4. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0001| read: | 0002| "SCHOOL BUS TITLE--LEASING SPACE.-- | 0003| A. All school bus private owners that have legal title to | 0004| school buses used and operated pursuant to an existing bus service | 0005| contract with a school district may lease space on their buses to the | 0006| school district for the purpose of selling commercial advertisements. | 0007| In exchange for leasing the space, the school bus private owners shall | 0008| receive ten percent of the total value of the amount of the contract | 0009| between the school district and the commercial advertiser. | 0010| B. The amount of space that will be available for | 0011| commercial advertisements on school buses shall be established by | 0012| regulations of the department of education consistent with national | 0013| and state requirements for school bus markings, lights and signs. | 0014| C. Space for advertising on school buses owned by the | 0015| department of education shall be provided to school districts without | 0016| cost for the purpose of selling advertising space to commercial | 0017| advertisers." | 0018| Section 5. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0019| read: | 0020| "SOLICITATION--LEASE--RENT PAYMENT.-- | 0021| A. A school district shall be permitted to solicit offers | 0022| from commercial advertisers for the use of space on the school buses | 0023| that service their school district. The school district may enter | 0024| into a lease agreement with a commercial advertiser for the use of any | 0025| designated advertising space on a school bus that services the school | 0001| district. | 0002| B. In a lease agreement with a commercial advertiser, the | 0003| school district shall establish the rental amount, schedule and term. | 0004| The term of any lease agreement shall not be for a period longer than | 0005| the time remaining on the school district's bus service contract with | 0006| a school bus private owner who owns the bus that is the subject of the | 0007| lease agreement. | 0008| C. A school district shall not enter into a lease agreement | 0009| with a commercial advertiser that seeks to display an advertisement | 0010| that is prohibited by local school board guidelines." | 0011| Section 6. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0012| read: | 0013| "SCHOOL BUS ADVERTISING FUND.--The "school bus advertising fund" | 0014| is created in the state treasury and shall be administered by the | 0015| department of education. The fund shall consist of money raised | 0016| pursuant to this act. Balances in the fund at the end of any fiscal | 0017| year shall not revert to the general fund. Income from investment of | 0018| the fund shall be credited to the fund." | 0019| Section 7. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0020| read: | 0021| "DISTRIBUTION.-- | 0022| A. Funds raised from commercial advertisement shall be | 0023| distributed from the school bus advertising fund after the required | 0024| payment is made to school bus private owners. | 0025| B. Sixty percent of the proceeds raised shall be | 0001| distributed to each school district to use in accordance with the | 0002| school district's technology plan in amounts proportionate to the | 0003| amount that each school district contributed to the school bus | 0004| advertising fund. | 0005| C. Forty percent of the proceeds raised shall be | 0006| distributed on a per membership basis of middle and junior high | 0007| schools by the state superintendent to school districts for | 0008| extracurricular activities. If a school district does not expend | 0009| money from the school bus advertising fund for extracurricular | 0010| activities, it shall revert back to the fund. | 0011| D. School districts shall report to the department of | 0012| education on how the funds were used in the technology plans and for | 0013| extracurricular activities." | 0014| Section 8. A new section of the Public School Code is enacted to | 0015| read: | 0016| "ACCOUNTABILITY.--Funds raised by a school district from lease | 0017| agreements relating to the use of advertising space on school buses by | 0018| commercial advertisers shall be fully accounted for and subject to | 0019| review and examination by the department of education." | 0020| Section 9. TEMPORARY PROVISION.--The state department of | 0021| public education may request budget increases in fiscal year 1998 | 0022| for the school bus advertising fund. |