New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 61 - SCHOOL PERSONNEL - SPECIFIC LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTRUCTORS › Part 12 - LICENSURE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, PRE K - GRADE 3 › Section 6.61.12.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
"Adaptive
				living skills"
means the development in several skill areas such as
(1)
living skills: eating, dressing, and toileting;
(2)
independence/safety skills: avoiding dangerous situations; and
(3)
environmental adaptation skills: adapting behavior as a
				function of the limitations or demands of the particular environment. Adaptive
				behavior means the effectiveness or degree with which the child meets the
				standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected of
				comparable age and cultural groups.
B.
"Alternative means of
				communication"
means other forms of communication, particularly
				non-vocal; such as the use of sign language with and without speech;
				communication boards; or other technological aids such as computers and speech
				output devices.
C.
"Anti-bias"
means actively confronting, transcending, and
				eliminating personal and institutional barriers based on race, ethnicity,
				language, gender sexual orientation, or ability.
D.
"At risk"
means the following
				as it applies to children birth to two years of age: A biological or medical
				risk is the presence of early medical conditions, which are known to produce
				developmental delays in some children. An environmental risk is the presence of
				physical, social, or economic factors in the environment, which pose a
				substantial threat to development as indicated by a discrepancy between
				chronological age, after correction for prematurity, and developmental age in
				two or more areas of development as documented by the evaluation process. A
				determination of environmental risk shall be made by an interagency team and
				shall not be based upon behavior related to cultural or language
				differences.
E.
"Diverse
				abilities"
means any young child with an identified disability,
				developmental delay, or who may be "at risk" for learning challenges, as well
				as children who may be challenged as second language learners, or with
				cognitive, social/emotional, motor, language, or mental health/well-being
				differences.
F.
"Inclusion/inclusive"
is a philosophically based approach to
				providing accessibility and participation in typical early childhood settings
				for children with diverse abilities.
G.
"Inclusive practices"
are
				those strategies, which educators, administrators, and families implement to
				ensure accessibility and full participation of children with diverse abilities
				in all activities.
H.
"Individual education program"
(IEP) means a plan that describes
				the delivery of services to a child with a disability, age three to 21. The
				plan serves as a communication vehicle between parents and school personnel and
				enables them, as equal participants, to decide jointly what the child's needs
				are, what services will be provided to meet those needs, what the anticipated
				outcomes may be, and how the child's progress towards meeting the projected
				outcomes will be evaluated.
I.
"Individualized family service plan"
(IFSP) means a plan that
				describes the delivery of services to a child with a developmental delay or at
				risk for a developmental delay, birth to two years of age, and the child's
				family. Components of the plan include a statement describing the child's level
				of functioning in developmental areas; major outcomes including criteria,
				procedures, and timelines to determine the degree of progress and revision of
				the plan; specific services needed to achieve outcomes, other services needed
				by the child and family, name of service coordinator, a transition plan, and an
				optional statement of family concerns, priorities and resources.
J.
"Integrated curriculum"
means
				an approach to curriculum that recognizes that content areas in instruction are
				naturally interrelated, as they are in real life experiences. In the resulting
				integrated curriculum, learning is regarded as a process rather than a
				collection of facts. Learning about math, science, social studies, health, and
				other content areas are all connected through meaningful activities.
K.
"Intervention strategies"
means various techniques utilized in teaching a child a particular skill such
				as physical or verbal prompts and cues, visual aids, modeling, imitation,
				repetition, task analysis, environmental or stimulus prompts and cues. These
				strategies are attempts to facilitate learning when the presentation of
				information or the arrangement of an environment is insufficient in assisting
				the developmental learning process. The proper design of intervention
				strategies requires careful observation, individualization, and data keeping.
				The goal of this approach is to systematically fade the particular technique
				utilized as the child demonstrates abilities to practice, initiate, and
				generalize the skill.
L.
"Least restrictive environment"
is that environment which all
				children are most generally found in a public education setting (i.e., general
				education classroom). Children with identified disabilities are to have access
				to the general education curriculum and have the opportunity to participate
				fully with their peers without disabilities to the maximum extent possible.
				Supports may be necessary for the "least restrictive environment" to be most
				successful.
M.
"Variations
				across cultures/cultural diversity"
means the curriculum, environment,
				and learning materials are reflective of distinct groups that may differ from
				one another physically, socially, and culturally.
N.
"A highly qualified beginning early
				childhood teacher"
, under this rule, means a teacher who is fully
				qualified for teaching children from age three to grade 3, who is new to the
				profession, who has pursued a standard route to licensure, and who:
(1) meets the requirements for early
				childhood pre K - grade 3 licensure in Subsections A or B of
				6.61.12.8
				NMAC, and
(2) has no licensure
				requirements waived on an emergency or temporary basis, or for any other
				reason, and
(3) has passed all
				applicable teacher-testing requirements for licensure in
				6.60.5.8
				NMAC.