CREATE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

SB 64
Page 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; ENACTING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION
ACT; CREATING THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE PUBLIC
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING FOR A DEPUTY SECRETARY OF
SPECIAL EDUCATION; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; REMOVING
GIFTED STUDENTS FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION; RECOMPILING CURRENT
SPECIAL EDUCATION STATUTES INTO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION ACT;
AMENDING, REPEALING, ENACTING AND RECOMPILING SECTIONS OF THE
NMSA 1978.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 153, Section 3, as amended by Laws 2019, Chapter 206,
Section 1 and by Laws 2019, Chapter 207, Section 1) is
amended to read:
"22-1-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School
Code:
A. "academic proficiency" means mastery of the
subject-matter knowledge and skills specified in state
academic content and performance standards for a student's
grade level;
B. "charter school" means a school authorized by a
chartering authority to operate as a public school;
C. "commission" means the public education
commission;
SB 64
Page 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
D. "department" means the public education
department;
E. "exceptional child" means a school-age person
whose abilities render regular services of a public school
inconsistent with the student's educational needs;
F. "gifted child" means a school-age person
determined to be gifted pursuant to Section 22-13-6.1 NMSA
1978 and standards adopted by the department in accordance
with that section. Nothing in this subsection precludes a
school district or charter school from offering additional
gifted programs for students who fail to meet the eligibility
criteria; however, the state shall only provide state funds
for department-approved gifted programs for those students
who meet the established criteria;
G. "home school" means the operation by the parent
of a school-age person of a home study program of instruction
that provides a basic academic educational program, including
reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and
science;
H. "instructional support provider" means a person
who is employed to support the instructional program of a
school district, including educational assistant, school
counselor, social worker, school nurse, speech-language
pathologist, psychologist, physical therapist, occupational
therapist, recreational therapist, marriage and family
SB 64
Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
therapist, interpreter for the deaf and diagnostician;
I. "licensed school employee" means teachers,
school administrators and instructional support providers;
J. "local school board" means the policy-setting
body of a school district;
K. "local superintendent" means the chief
executive officer of a school district;
L. "multilayered system of supports" means a
coordinated and comprehensive framework of evidence-based
academic and behavioral supports that address a student's
educational needs with graduated intensity based on data
collected about the student;
M. "parent" includes a guardian or other person
having custody and control of a school-age person;
N. "private school" means a school, other than a
home school, that offers on-site programs of instruction and
that is not under the control, supervision or management of a
local school board;
O. "public school" means that part of a school
district that is a single attendance center in which
instruction is offered by one or more teachers and is
discernible as a building or group of buildings generally
recognized as either an elementary, middle, junior high or
high school or any combination of those and includes a
charter school;
SB 64
Page 4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
P. "school" means a supervised program of
instruction designed to educate a student in a particular
place, manner and subject area;
Q. "school administrator" means a person licensed
to administer in a school district and includes school
principals, central district administrators and charter
school head administrators;
R. "school-age person" means a person who is at
least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of
the school year, who has not received a high school diploma
or its equivalent and who has not reached the person's
twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year
and meets other criteria provided in the Public School
Finance Act;
S. "school building" means a public school, an
administration building and related school structures or
facilities, including teacher housing, that is owned,
acquired or constructed by the school district as necessary
to carry out the functions of the school district;
T. "school bus private owner" means a person,
other than a school district, the department, the state or
any other political subdivision of the state, that owns a
school bus;
U. "school district" means an area of land
established as a political subdivision of the state for the
SB 64
Page 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
administration of public schools and segregated
geographically for taxation and bonding purposes;
V. "school employee" includes licensed and
nonlicensed employees of a school district;
W. "school principal" means the chief
instructional leader and administrative head of a public
school;
X. "school year" means the total number of
contract days offered by public schools in a school district
during a period of twelve consecutive months;
Y. "secretary" means the secretary of public
education;
Z. "state agency" or "state institution" means the
New Mexico military institute, New Mexico school for the
blind and visually impaired, New Mexico school for the deaf,
New Mexico boys' school, girls' welfare home, New Mexico
youth diagnostic and development center, Sequoyah adolescent
treatment center, Carrie Tingley crippled children's
hospital, New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas
and any other state agency responsible for educating resident
children;
AA. "state educational institution" means an
institution enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the
constitution of New Mexico;
BB. "student" means a school-aged person who is
SB 64
Page 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
enrolled in a public school;
CC. "student assistance team" means a school-based
group whose purpose is to provide additional educational
support to students who are experiencing difficulties that
are preventing them from benefiting from general instruction;
DD. "substitute teacher" means a person who holds
a certificate to substitute for a teacher in the classroom;
EE. "teacher" means a person who holds a level
one, two or three-A license and whose primary duty is
classroom instruction or the supervision, below the school
principal level, of an instructional program or whose duties
include curriculum development, peer intervention, peer
coaching or mentoring or serving as a resource teacher for
other teachers;
FF. "certified school instructor" means a licensed
school employee; and
GG. "certified school employee" or "certified
school personnel" means a licensed school employee."
SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"SHORT TITLE.--Sections 2 through 6 of this act may be
cited as the "Special Education Act"."
SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Special Education Act:
SB 64
Page 7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
A. "deputy secretary" means the deputy secretary
for special education;
B. "dyslexia" means a specific learning disability
that is neurobiological in origin and characterized by
difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor
spelling and decoding abilities, which characteristics
typically result from a deficit in the phonological component
of language that is often unexpected in relation to other
cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom
instruction and may result in problems in reading
comprehension and reduced reading experience that may impede
the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge;
C. "office" means the office of special education;
D. "school district" includes charter schools;
E. "special education" means the provision of
services additional to, supplementary to or different from
those provided in the regular school program by a systematic
modification and adaptation of instructional techniques,
materials and equipment to meet the needs of three- and
four-year-old children and students with disabilities; and
F. "student with disabilities" means a student
with physical or mental impairments or specific learning
disabilities who, as a result of those impairments or
specific learning disabilities, requires special education
and related services in accordance with the federal
SB 64
Page 8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."
SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:
"OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION--CREATED--DUTIES.--
A. The "office of special education" is created in
the department. The "deputy secretary for special education"
shall be appointed by the secretary on the basis of education
and experience in special education. The deputy secretary
shall direct the activities of the office and shall directly
report to the secretary.
B. The office shall:
(1) ensure that students with disabilities
are provided with the same opportunity for education as
students without disabilities;
(2) verify that all students with
disabilities receive a free appropriate public education,
regardless of the nature or severity of the disabilities;
(3) ensure stability and consistency of
services for students with disabilities;
(4) develop and maintain a statewide uniform
online system for the formulation of individualized education
programs and require all school districts to use the system
to document services, monitor progress and ensure
consistency, fidelity and compliance with the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act time lines and
SB 64
Page 9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
safeguards;
(5) enforce laws regarding the education of
students with disabilities, including the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act and the Special Education
Act, and monitor compliance with laws that prohibit
discrimination against students with disabilities; and
(6) consult with a committee of school
district superintendents and charter school head
administrators selected by their peers on a quarterly basis
to plan and implement continuous improvement measures related
to the systems and services provided to students with
disabilities throughout the state."
SECTION 5. Section 22-13-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1972,
Chapter 95, Section 3, as amended) is recompiled in the
Special Education Act and is amended to read:
"SPECIAL EDUCATION--RESPONSIBILITY.--
A. The office shall make, adopt and keep current a
state plan for special education policy, programs and
standards.
B. The department shall set standards for
diagnosis and screening of and educational offerings for
students with disabilities in public schools, developmentally
delayed three- and four-year-old children and eligible
children in private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training centers
and in state institutions under the authority of the
SB 64
Page 10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
secretary of health.
C. The department shall establish and maintain an
evaluation program of the system that monitors the
implementation and impact of all special education programs
for three- and four-year-old developmentally delayed children
and students with disabilities in the public schools. The
system shall be operated with the cooperation of school
districts. Portions of the system may be subcontracted, and
periodic reports regarding the efficacy of special education
programs for children and students with disabilities shall be
made to the governor and the legislative education study
committee.
D. The office shall coordinate programming related
to the transition of students with disabilities from
secondary and post-secondary education programs to employment
or vocational placement in accordance with the Special
Education Act."
SECTION 6. Section 22-13-32 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010,
Chapter 59, Section 2, as amended) is recompiled in the
Special Education Act and is amended to read:
"SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS DISPLAYING CHARACTERISTICS OF
DYSLEXIA.--
A. Within the course of the 2019-2020 and
2020-2021 school years and in each subsequent school year,
all first grade students shall be screened for dyslexia.
SB 64
Page 11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
B. A student whose dyslexia screening demonstrates
characteristics of dyslexia and who is having difficulty
learning to read, write, spell, understand spoken language or
express thoughts clearly shall receive appropriate classroom
interventions through a multilayered system of supports or be
referred to a student assistance team.
C. In accordance with department procedures for a
multilayered system of supports, guidelines and policies,
each school district shall provide timely, appropriate,
systematic, scientific, evidence-based interventions
prescribed by the student assistance team, with progress
monitoring to determine the student's response or lack of
response to interventions.
D. A parent of a student referred to a student
assistance team shall be informed of the parent's right to
request an initial special education evaluation at any time
during the school district's implementation of the
interventions prescribed by the student assistance team. If
the school district agrees that the student may have a
disability, the student assistance team shall refer the child
for an evaluation. The student shall be evaluated within
sixty days of receiving the parental consent for an initial
evaluation. If the school district refuses the parent's
request for an initial evaluation, the school district shall
provide written notice of the refusal to the parent,
SB 64
Page 12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
including notice of the parent's right to challenge the
school district's decision as provided in state and federal
law and rules.
E. Within the course of the 2019-2020 and
2020-2021 school years, every school district shall develop
and implement a literacy professional development plan that
includes a detailed framework for structured literacy
training by a licensed and accredited or credentialed teacher
preparation provider for all elementary school teachers and
for training in evidence-based reading intervention for
reading interventionists and special education teachers
working with students demonstrating characteristics of
dyslexia or diagnosed with dyslexia. The plan shall continue
to be implemented each school year and may be updated as
necessary. The department shall provide lists of recommended
teacher professional development materials and opportunities
for teachers and school administrators regarding
evidence-based reading instruction for students at risk for
reading failure and displaying the characteristics of
dyslexia.
F. School districts shall train school
administrators and teachers who teach reading to implement
appropriate evidence-based reading interventions. School
districts shall train special education teachers to provide
structured literacy training for students who are identified
SB 64
Page 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
with dyslexia as a specific learning disability and who are
eligible for special education services.
G. The department shall provide technical
assistance for special education diagnosticians and other
special education professionals regarding the formal special
education evaluation of students suspected of having a
specific learning disability, such as dyslexia.
H. The department shall adopt rules, standards and
guidelines necessary to implement this section."
SECTION 7. TEMPORARY PROVISION--RECOMPILATION.--Section
22-13-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2009, Chapter 162, Section 1)
is recompiled in the Special Education Act.
SECTION 8. REPEAL.--Section 22-13-6 NMSA 1978 (being
Laws 1972, Chapter 95, Section 2, as amended) is repealed.
SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.