TITLE 6 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
CHAPTER 19 PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
PART 8 SCHOOL DIFFERENTIATION AND SUPPORT
6.19.8.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: Public
Education Department, hereinafter the department.
[6.19.8.1 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.1 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.2 SCOPE: This
rule shall apply to all public schools in New Mexico. If any part or
application of this rule is held invalid, the remainder of the rule or its
application in other situations shall not be affected.
[6.19.8.2 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.2 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.3 STATUTORY
AUTHORITY: Sections
9-24-8, 22-2-1, 22-2-2, 22-2C-1 through 22-2C-13, and 22-2F-1 through 22-2F-3 NMSA 1978; 20 USC 6303.
[6.19.8.3 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.3 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[6.19.8.4 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.4 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.5 EFFECTIVE
DATE: October
10, 2023, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[6.19.8.5 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.5 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.6 OBJECTIVE: This rule provides for the recognition of
high-performing schools and schools that have exited categories of improvement
or intervention, and for the designation of schools needing improvement or
intervention. This rule complies with requirements for statewide
accountability systems based on challenging academic standards for language
arts and mathematics and for school improvement designations and actions of the
department as detailed by the state’s system of annual meaningful
differentiation and by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as
amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
[6.19.8.6 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.6 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Annual meaningful differentiation” means the state
system of accountability for defining school performance and categorizing
schools in compliance with 20 USC 6303. Performance indicators for all schools include
academic proficiency, progress toward English language proficiency for English
learners, and at least one measure of school quality and student success.
Performance indicators for elementary schools include student growth.
Performance indicators for high schools include graduation rate.
B. “Chronically absent” means a student
who missed ten percent or more of school days in which
they were enrolled during the school year.
C. “College and career readiness indicator” means
an indicator calculated for high schools consisting of the participation rate
and success rate of students in college and career readiness opportunities, as
defined by the department.
D. “Consistently underperforming” means a priority group index score below the threshold
determined by department for two of the most recent three years.
E. “ESSA plan” means the most recent state plan
and any addendums issued by the department pursuant to ESEA, as amended by ESSA,
and approved by the United States department of education in accordance with 20 USC 6303.
F. “Evidence-based practices” means activities,
strategies, and interventions informed and supported by rigorous research that
demonstrate consistent, positive impacts on student outcomes.
G. “Graduation rate” means an indicator equal to the percentage
of students in an assigned cohort who earned a diploma within a specified
number of years.
(1) Four-year
cohort graduation rate means the percentage of students in the four-year cohort
who earned a diploma within four years.
(2) Five-year
cohort graduation rate means the percentage of students in the five-year cohort
who earned a diploma within five years.
(3) Six-year
cohort graduation rate means the percentage of students in the six-year cohort
who earned a diploma within six years.
H. “Identification cycle” means the timeframe determined by the department after which school identification categories shall be reevaluated.
I. “Local education
agency” or “LEA” means a school district or a state-chartered charter
school.
J. “Priority group” means a subgroup of students defined in USC 20 6311(c)(2) as economically disadvantaged students, students from major
racial and ethnic groups; children with disabilities, or English learners.
K. “Priority group index score” means the total score for each priority group in the school based on the accountability model methodology described in department guidance.
L. “Resource
inequity” means difference
in levels of resources, including funding and expenditures, instructional
materials, administration, student-teacher ratios, teacher experience and
credentials, or caseloads for noninstructional staff. Resource inequities may
be between schools or between student priority groups within a school.
M. “School index score”
means the total score a school earns on all required measures as defined by the department according to the state’s system for annual
meaningful differentiation detailed in the state’s ESSA plan.
N. “Statewide assessment” means the collection of instruments administered
annually that assess students’ academic performance and students’ progress
toward meeting content standards in kindergarten through grade 12.
O. “Supplemental
accountability model school” or “SAM school” means a school for which the department uses
alternate school quality and student success indicators for differentiation as defined
in the ESSA plan subject to a federally approved waiver and in which, based
on the 40th day reporting, the
following categories of students total thirty percent or more of the
student population:
(1) students age 19 or older;
(2) non-gifted students who require class C or D special education programs;
(3) pregnant or parenting teens; or
(4) return-to-school students who are currently enrolled in school but have been chronically absent from school or have earned fewer than the minimum required units typical for their age and are off track to graduate.
P. “Support threshold” means the school index score differentiating the lowest
performing group of schools as defined by the department in each identification
cycle.
[6.19.8.7 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.7 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.8 [RESERVED]
[6.19.8.8 NMAC - Repealed, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.9 DETERMINATION OF A SCHOOL INDEX SCORE:
A. Each public school shall earn a school index score
as calculated by the department according to the
state’s system for annual meaningful differentiation detailed in the state’s
ESSA plan or department guidance. The
school’s index score and priority group index scores will be used to annually differentiate schools and to identify schools in
need of comprehensive support and improvement as specified in this rule.
B. All enrolled students in
eligible grades and courses, as determined by the department, must be assessed
with the appropriate state assessment, including the state-approved alternate
assessment when applicable. At least ninety-five percent of all eligible
students shall participate in statewide assessment.
[6.19.8.9 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.9 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.10 PRIORITIZATION OF RESOURCES: Pursuant to Sections 22-8-11 and 22-8-18 NMSA 1978, the
department may disapprove or make corrections, revisions, or amendments to the
budget of a school district or charter school that does not prioritize
resources toward evidence-based practices, interventions, and methods required
by department guidance and linked to improved student achievement.
[6.19.8.10 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.10 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.11 ANNUAL DIFFERENTIATION CYCLE: Pursuant to 20 USC 6303,
the department shall annually differentiate categories for school support and
improvement. School designation categories differentiated annually include spotlight
schools, traditional support schools, schools in need of targeted support and
improvement (TSI), and schools in need of additional targeted support and
improvement (ATSI).
A. Spotlight
school identification. A
school shall be identified as a spotlight school if its school index score is above
the seventy-fifth percentile of all public schools and the school is not in
need of improvement or intervention due to specific priority group index
scores. Spotlight schools shall develop and implement school-level plans in
accordance with department guidance.
B. Traditional support school
identification. A school shall be identified as a traditional
support school if the school index score is above the support threshold, at or
below the seventy-fifth percentile, and does not meet criteria for TSI or ATSI
schools. Traditional support schools shall develop and implement school-level
plans in accordance with department guidance.
C. TSI school identification. A
school shall be identified as a TSI school if one or more priority groups meet
the department’s definition of consistently underperforming. A TSI
school shall develop and implement a school-level, targeted support and
improvement plan that includes evidence-based practices and is in accordance
with department guidance.
D. ATSI school identification. A Title
I school shall be identified as an ATSI school if one or more priority groups
has an index score that falls below the support threshold. An ATSI school shall
develop and implement a school-level targeted support and improvement plan that
includes evidence-based practices, identifies resource inequities to be
addressed through implementation of the plan, and is in accordance with
department guidance.
[6.19.8.11 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.11 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.12 MULTI-YEAR
IDENTIFICATION CYCLE: In a multi-year
identification cycle, using the system of annual meaningful differentiation, the
department shall designate cohorts of schools in the following categories:
comprehensive support and improvement (CSI), and more rigorous interventions
(MRI). For each CSI and MRI school, an LEA shall submit to the department a
school improvement plan. The school improvement plan shall follow department
guidance and be submitted in a format and on a due date specified by the
department. Improvement plans shall include but not be limited to a description
of how the LEA will monitor improvement, an assurance that funds will not be
supplanted, and a description of a rigorous review process to recruit, screen,
select, and evaluate any external partners for school improvement.
A. CSI school identification. A school
shall be identified as a CSI school if the school:
(1) is
a Title I school that has not improved sufficiently to exit ATSI status in the
previous identification cycle;
(2) is a Title I school that has a school
index score below the support threshold; or
(3) has
a four-year graduation rate less than or equal to sixty-six and two-thirds
percent for two of the most recent three years;
B. CSI school exit criteria. A
CSI school may exit CSI status in the next identification cycle by attaining the
following improvements:
(1) Title
I schools identified as CSI schools due to insufficient priority group scores
may exit CSI status when all the school’s priority group index scores exceed
the support threshold.
(2) Title I
schools with school index scores previously below the support threshold may
exit CSI status by raising the school index score above
the support threshold.
(3) High
schools identified due to low graduation rates may exit CSI status by
increasing the four-year graduation rate above sixty-six and two-thirds percent
for two of the previous three years.
C. MRI school identification. A school
shall be identified as an MRI school if by the end of an identification cycle
it has not demonstrated sufficient improvement to exit CSI status as described in Subsection B of this section.
D. MRI school plans. The LEA shall submit
to the department an MRI school intervention plan to
significantly restructure and redesign the school. Interventions for
restructure and redesign shall be evidence-based and include significant restructure
and redesign through:
(1) implementation of evidence-based
strategies;
(2) restart; or
(3) school closure.
E. MRI plan approval. If an LEA does not
identify and obtain department approval for a school’s intervention plan, the
department will select the intervention for the school. The department may
approve or deny any MRI plan chosen and developed by an
LEA. The department may monitor and require execution of the approved MRI plan
for the duration of the identification cycle.
F. MRI exit criteria. An MRI school shall
exit MRI status in the next identification cycle upon
attaining improvements defined in Subsection B of this section for CSI
school exit criteria.
[6.19.8.12 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.12 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.13 SUPPLEMENTAL
ACCOUNTABILITY MODEL: When calculating a
SAM school index score, the department may include the rate of senior
completion in the four-year graduation cohort and may include additional
department-approved assessments in the college and career readiness indicator. Schools
eligible for SAM school status remain subject to the assessment participation
requirement described in 6.19.8.9 NMAC.
[6.19.8.13 NMAC - Rp, 6.19.8.13 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
[6.19.8.14 NMAC – N/E, 6.19.8.14 NMAC, 5/23/2023; Repealed, 10/24/2023]
6.19.8.15 OVERSIGHT AND
SUPPORT FOR CSI AND MRI SCHOOLS: CSI
and MRI schools may exit department oversight before the end of a multi-year
identification cycle by meeting exit criteria described in Section 12 of this
rule, but shall continue to receive support from the department for the
remainder of the identification cycle, at which time they may exit CSI or MRI
status.
A. For oversight
of schools designated CSI or MRI, the department may require LEAs to:
(1) implement the use of
department-approved, high-quality instructional materials, best practices, and
evidence-based programs;
(2) conduct department-approved LEA
support and readiness assessments and publicly post summary findings;
(3) conduct department-approved
school support and readiness assessments and publicly post summary findings;
(4) participate in department
monitoring and technical assistance visits;
(5) require schools to redirect or
repurpose funds in accordance with their department-approved CSI or MRI plan;
(6) for MRI schools, require a
department-provided transformational coach; or
(7) for
MRI schools, require restart or closure of an MRI school that has failed to
exit MRI status within three school years.
B. The department will continue to provide the support to CSI and MRI schools until the end of the
multi-year identification cycle as described in department guidance and ESSA
plan.
[N 6.19.8.15 NMAC, 10/24/2023]
HISTORY OF 6.19.8
NMAC:
6.19 .8 NMAC – School Improvement
Designations, filed 5/23/2023 was repealed and replaced by 6.19.8 NMAC – School
Differentiation and Support, effective 10/24/2023.
6.19.8.8 NMAC, filed 12/31/2018 was repealed
via emergency rulemaking, effective 5/23/2023.
6.19.8.14 NMAC, filed via emergency
rulemaking on 5/23/2023 was repealed, effective 10/24/2023.