A. The state board [department] shall adopt rules for the development and implementation of child-centered and developmentally appropriate full-day kindergarten programs. Establishment of full-day kindergarten programs shall be voluntary on the part of school districts and student participation shall be voluntary on the part of parents.

B. The department of education [public education department] shall require schools with full-day kindergarten programs to conduct age-appropriate assessments to determine the placement of students at instructional level and the effectiveness of child-centered, developmentally appropriate kindergarten.

C. The department of education [public education department] shall monitor full-day kindergarten programs and ensure that they serve the children most in need based upon indicators in the at-risk index. If the department of education [public education department] determines that a program is not meeting the benchmarks necessary to ensure the progress of students in the program, the department of education [public education department] shall notify the school district that failure to meet the benchmarks shall result in the cessation of funding for the following school year. The department of education [public education department] shall compile the program results submitted by the school districts and make an annual report to the legislative education study committee and the legislature.

D. Full-day kindergarten programs shall be phased in over a five-year period as follows with priority given to those school districts that serve children in schools with the highest proportion of students most in need based upon indicators in the at-risk index or that serve children by means of grade-level schools that serve an entire school district:

(1) effective with the 2000-2001 school year, one-fifth of New Mexico's kindergarten classes may be full day;

(2) effective with the 2001-2002 school year, two-fifths of New Mexico's kindergarten classes may be full day;

(3) effective with the 2002-2003 school year, three-fifths of New Mexico's kindergarten classes may be full day;

(4) effective with the 2003-2004 school year, four-fifths of New Mexico's kindergarten classes may be full day; and

(5) effective with the 2004-2005 school year, all of New Mexico's kindergarten classes may be full day.

E. School districts shall apply to the department of education [public education department] to receive funding for full-day kindergarten programs. In granting approval for funding of full-day kindergarten programs, the department of education [public education department] shall ensure that full-day kindergarten programs are first implemented in schools that have the highest proportion of students most in need based upon the at-risk index and in schools with available classroom space.

History: Laws 2000, ch. 107, § 3; 2001, ch. 296, § 1; 1978 Comp., § 22-2-19, recompiled as § 22-13-3.2 by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 72.

Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.

Laws 2004, ch. 25, § 27, provided that all references to the superintendent of public instruction shall be deemed references to the secretary of public education and all references to the former state board of education or state department of education shall be deemed references to the public education department. See 9-24-15 NMSA 1978.

Cross references. — For length of school day, see 22-2-8.1 NMSA 1978.

For the legislative education study committee, see 2-10-1 NMSA 1978.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, in Subsection C and D, substituted "at-risk index" for "at-risk factor"; in Subsection D, inserted "school" prior to "districts" and added the language beginning "or that serve" to the end of the subsection; in Subsection E, substituted "and in schools with available classroom space" for "and to schools with available classroom space".