New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 29 - STANDARDS FOR EXCELLENCE › Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 6.29.1.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
"Accreditation"
means the official recognition that a school or
				school district meets required standards. Schools are accredited by voluntary
				regional accrediting associations or by state government. Accreditation also
				refers to the process of certifying that institutions of higher education meet
				certain standards in relation to such matters as the qualifications of their
				faculty, the condition of their facilities, and the appropriateness of their
				curriculum.
B.
"Advanced
				placement (AP)"
means a course taught by high school teachers trained in
				advanced placement course delivery provided through the college board. These
				courses are more difficult and involve more work than a standard class. AP
				courses are considered college-level courses and may allow a student to earn
				college credit, depending on college or university policies.
C.
"Bilingual multicultural
				education"
means a program of instruction using two languages, including
				English and the home or heritage language, as a medium of instruction in the
				teaching and learning process.
D.
"Career and technical education"
means organized programs offering
				a sequence of courses, including technical education and applied technology
				education, which are directly related to the preparation of individuals for
				paid or unpaid employment in current or emerging occupations requiring an
				industry-recognized credential, certificate, or degree. This phrase is also
				referred to as "vocational education" at Section
				22-14-1 NMSA 1978.
E.
"Career cluster"
means a
				grouping of occupations in industry sectors based on recognized commonalities.
				Career clusters provide an organizing tool for developing instruction within
				the educational system.
F.
"Career pathways"
means a sub-grouping used as an organizing tool
				for curriculum design and instruction of occupations or career specialties that
				share a set of common knowledge and skills for career success.
G.
"Caseload"
means the total
				number of students receiving special education and speech-only services as
				special education, for whom a special education teacher or speech language
				pathologist has responsibility for developing and monitoring the students'
				IEPs. "Caseload" may also mean the number of students for which individual
				support services staff members are responsible.
H.
"Certified district reviewer"
means an LEA employee who is certified to review and approve an LEA's NM School
				DASH plans.
I.
"Chartering
				authority"
means a local school board or the commission that approves
				and oversees a charter school.
J.
"Commission"
means the public education commission.
K.
"Class load"
means the number
				of students for whom a teacher structures activities at a given time.
L.
"Content standard"
means a
				statement about performance that describes what students should know and be
				able to do in content areas at each grade level.
M.
"Correspondence course"
means
				a form of distance learning conducted via traditional mail. A correspondence
				course is used to teach non-resident students by mailing them lessons and
				exercises, which upon completion, are returned to the correspondence school for
				grading.
N.
"Dual credit
				program"
means a program that allows high school students to enroll in
				college-level courses offered by a post-secondary educational institution that
				may be academic or career-technical but not be remedial or developmental, and
				simultaneously to earn credit toward high school graduation and a
				post-secondary degree or certificate.
O.
"Education plan"
is the
				strategic plan written by all school districts, locally chartered and
				state-chartered charter schools to improve student performance.
P.
"English language learner"
means a student whose first or heritage language is not English and who is
				unable to read, write, speak, or understand English at a level comparable to
				grade-level English proficient peers and native English speakers.
Q.
"Free appropriate public education
				(FAPE)"
means special education and related services that are provided
				at public expense, under public supervision and direction without charge, which
				meet the standards of the department in providing appropriate preschool,
				elementary or secondary education in New Mexico; and which are provided in
				conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) that meets the
				requirements of 34 CFR
				Sections 300.320 through
				300.324.
R.
"Family Educational Rights and
				Privacy Act (FERPA)"
means rights, pursuant to 20 U.S. Code 1232(g) and
				34 CFR Part 99 , afforded to parents and students over 18 years of age with
				respect to the student's education records, that include: the right to inspect
				and review the student's education records within 45 days, the right to request
				amendment to the student's education records for various reasons, the right to
				consent or refuse to consent to disclosures of personally identifiable
				information in the student's records (except for those records that FERPA
				authorizes for disclosure without consent) and the right to file a complaint
				with the U.S. department of education concerning non-compliance with
				FERPA.
S.
"Heritage
				language"
means a language other than English that is inherited from a
				family, tribe, community, or country of origin.
T.
"Home language"
means a
				language other than English that is the primary or heritage language spoken at
				home or in the community.
U.
"Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
				(IDEA)"
means the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
				Improvement Act of 2004, 20 U.S. Code Secs. 1401 et seq., including future
				amendments.
V.
"Individualized education program (IEP)"
means a written statement
				for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in
				accordance with 34 CFR Secs.
				300.320 through
				300.324.
W.
"Laboratory component"
means
				an experience in the laboratory, classroom or the field that provides students
				with opportunities to interact directly with natural phenomena or with data
				collected by others using tools, materials, data collection techniques and
				models. Throughout the process, students should have opportunities to design
				investigations, engage in scientific reasoning, manipulate equipment, record
				data, analyze results, and discuss their findings.
X.
"Local educational agency
				(LEA)"
means a local educational agency as defined in
				34 CFR Sec.
				300.28. The LEA may be a public school
				district, a state-chartered charter school, or a state educational
				institution.
Y.
"MLSS
				Self-assessment"
means analysis of MLSS implementation that each school
				shall submit in a form and by a due date determined by the department. The MLSS
				Self-assessment shall contribute to a school's NM School DASH, but it shall not
				be a component in the evaluation of a school by the department.
Z.
"Multi-layered system of supports
				(MLSS)"
means a coordinated and comprehensive framework that uses
				increasingly intensive evidence-based academic and behavioral supports that
				address student needs as evidenced by student data. It is a model for holistic
				school improvement that provides progress measures for additional supports such
				as school-based team structures, professional development, health and wellness,
				and family and community engagement. MLSS satisfies the definition of
				"multi-tiered system of supports" contained within the ESSA.
AA.
"NM School DASH"
means the
				strategic plan written by schools to improve student outcomes. It contains the
				annual plan, both 90-day plans, and functions as a school site improvement
				plan.
AB.
"Performance
				standard"
means the statement of a standard that describes the specific
				level of mastery expected in achieving the New Mexico content standards with
				benchmarks.
AC.
"Prior
				written notice (PWN)"
means the written notice that goes to parents from
				the school district, informing them the district proposes or refuses to
				initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of
				their child, or the provision of FAPE to the child, and which meets the
				requirements of 34 CFR
				Sections 300.503 and
				300.504.
AD.
"Short-cycle assessment"
is
				a formative assessment that is regularly used to assess student performance
				over a short time period.
AE.
"Small group setting"
means a planned intervention group
				containing no more than 15 students.
AF.
"Socioeconomic status"
means
				the stratification of groups of people by status ascribed through social
				constructs such as race, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment, economic
				resources, language, and national origin.
AG.
"State educational
				institution"
means a school that is under the direction of a state
				agency other than the department or a separate board of regents.
AH.
"Student assistance team
				(SAT)"
means a school-based group of people whose purpose is to provide
				additional educational support to students experiencing difficulties preventing
				them from benefitting from general education.
AI.
"System of assessments"
means the collection of instruments that assess student academic performance
				annually and the students' progress toward meeting the New Mexico content
				standards with benchmarks and performance standards.
AJ.
"Transition plan"
means a
				coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability, which specifies
				special education and related services designed to meet a student's unique
				needs and to prepare the student for future education, employment, and
				independent living. The use of individualized educational program (IEP)
				transition planning, graduation planning and post-secondary transitions is
				described in Subparagraph (a) of Paragraph (13) of Subsection J of
				6.29.1.9 NMAC.