New Mexico School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Parental Notification

New Mexico School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Parental Notification

Category: Monitoring and Accountability
Subcategory: Parental Notification
State: New Mexico

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New Mexico

LAWS

22-5-4.12. Use of restraint and seclusion; techniques; requirements.

D. Schools shall establish reporting and documentation procedures to be followed when a restraint or seclusion technique has been used on a student. The procedures shall include the following provisions:

(1) a school employee shall provide the student's parent or guardian with written or oral notice on the same day that the incident occurred, unless circumstances prevent same-day notification. If the notice is not provided on the same day of the incident, notice shall be given within twenty-four hours after the incident;

(2) within a reasonable time following the incident, a school employee shall provide the student's parent or guardian with written documentation that includes information about any persons, locations or activities that may have triggered the behavior, if known, and specific information about the behavior and its precursors, the type of restraint or seclusion technique used and the duration of its use.

22-12A-11. Progressive interventions for absent, chronically absent and excessively absent students.

A. A public school shall provide interventions for students who are missing school, depending on the number of absences. The process for notification and interventions is:

(2) for a student who has been identified as in need of early intervention, the attendance team shall notify the parent in writing by mail or personal service on the parent of the student's absenteeism. The notice shall include a date, time and place for the parent to meet with the public school to develop intervention strategies that focus on keeping the student in an educational setting. The attendance team shall be convened to establish a specific intervention plan for the student that includes establishing weekly progress monitoring and a contract for attendance.

(3) for a student who has been identified as in need of intensive support, the attendance team shall:

(a) give written notice to the parent, including a date, time and place for the parent to meet with the school principal and the attendance team.

22-12A-6. Public school attendance policies; reporting.

A. A public school shall maintain an attendance policy that:

(7) requires a public school to document the following for each chronically or excessively absent student:

(a) attempts by the public school to notify a parent that the student was absent from class or the school day.

22-35-3. Bullying prevention policies; adoption and enforcement.

B. Each local school board shall control the content of its policy; provided that the policy includes:

(6) a procedure for prompt investigation of reports of violations of the policy and of complaints of bullying or retaliation, including:

(b) a procedure for notification of the parents of the student alleged to have committed an act of bullying and the parents of the students targeted by the alleged act; provided that if the administrator believes, in the administrator's professional capacity, that notifying the parents would endanger the health or well-being of a student, the administrator may delay such notification as appropriate.

REGULATIONS

6.10.8.8. Requirements.

B. Each local school board and charter school shall develop a written attendance policy that:

(6) provides for early identification of students with unexcused absences, students in need of early intervention, and habitual truants; provides for intervention strategies that focus on keeping students in need of early intervention in an educational setting; and further provides that:

(a) if a student is in need of early intervention, the school district or charter school shall contact the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) to inform them that the student has unexcused absences from school and to discuss possible interventions unless the parent(s)/guardian(s) has contacted the school to explain the absence and the excuse compiles with the school district attendance policy;

(b) a representative of the school district or charter school shall meet with the student in need of early intervention and his or her parent(s)/guardian(s) to identify the causes for the student's unexcused absences, identify what actions can be taken that might prevent the student's unexcused absences, identify possible school district, charter school and community resources to address the causes for the student's unexcused absences, and establish a corrective action plan to address the student's unexcused absences;

(c) the notification to the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) and the meeting with the parent(s)/guardian(s) must be respectful and in a language and in manner that is understandable to the student and the parent(s)/guardian(s);

(d) the corrective action plan must contain follow-up procedures to ensure that the causes for the student's unexcused absences are being addressed;

(e) if the student is a habitual truant, the local school board, charter school or their authorized representatives shall, in addition, give written notice of the habitual truancy by mail to or by personal service on the student's parent(s)/guardian(s); the notice shall include a date, time and place for the parent to meet with the local school district or charter to develop intervention strategies that focus on keeping the student in an educational setting.

6.11.2.12. Procedure for detentions, suspensions, and expulsions.

The authority of the state and of local school boards to prescribe and enforce standards of conduct for public school students must be exercised consistently with constitutional safeguards of individual student rights. The right to a public education is not absolute; it may be taken away, temporarily or permanently, for violations of school rules. The right to a public education is a property right which may only be denied where school authorities have adhered to the minimum procedural safeguards required to afford the student due process of law. This section prescribes minimum requirements for detention, in-school suspension, and temporary, long-term or permanent removal of students from public schools. Local school boards may adopt procedures which afford students more protection than this rule requires. The procedures in this section apply only to disciplinary detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. They do not apply to disenrollment of students who fail to meet immunization, age, residence, or other requirements for valid enrollment, nor to the removal from school membership reports of students who have been absent from school for 10 consecutive school days in accordance with Subsection B of Section 22-8-2 NMSA 1978. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting school boards or administrative authorities from involving other school staff, students, and members of the community in the enforcement of rules of student conduct to the extent they believe is appropriate.

C. Immediate removal. Students whose presence poses a continuing danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of interfering with the educational process may be immediately removed from school, subject to the following rules:

(3) The school shall exert reasonable efforts to inform the student's parent of the charges against the student and the action taken as soon as practicable. If the school has not communicated with the parent by telephone or in person by the end of the school day following the immediate removal, the school shall on that day mail a written notice with the required information to the parent's address of record. [...]

D. Temporary suspension.

(2) A student facing temporary suspension shall be granted a rudimentary hearing in which the student shall first be informed of the charges against the student and, if the student denies them, shall be told what evidence supports the charge(s) and be given an opportunity to present the student's version of the facts. The following rules apply:

(e) the school shall exert reasonable efforts to inform the student's parent(s) of the charges against the student and the possible or actual consequence as soon as practicable. If the school has not communicated with the parent(s) by telephone or in person by the end of the first full day of suspension, the school shall on that day mail a written notice with the required information to the parent's address of record.

6.12.7.8. Bullying Prevention Policies–adoption and enforcement.

B. Each local school board and governing body shall control the content of its policy, provided that the policy includes:

(6) a procedure for prompt investigation of reports of violations of the bullying prevention policy and of complaints of bullying or retaliation, including:

(b) a procedure for notification of the parents of the student alleged to have committed an act of bullying and the parents of the student targeted by the alleged act; provided that if, in the administrator's professional opinion, notifying the parents would endanger the health or well-being of a student, the administrator may delay such notification as appropriate.