New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Chapter 11 - PUBLIC SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION - STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Part 2 - RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
Section 6.11.2.7 - DEFINITIONS
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. "Administrative authority" means the school district superintendent, the head administrator of a state-chartered charter school, a principal, or their delegate to act officially in a matter involving school discipline or the maintenance of order. The term may include school security officers, but only to the extent of their authority as established under written local school board policies.
B. "Child with a disability" or "student with a disability" means a child who meets all requirements of 34 CFR Sec. 300.8 and:
C. "Criminal acts" means acts defined as criminal under federal and state law, and any applicable municipal or county criminal ordinances.
D. "Delinquent acts" means acts as defined in Subsection A of Section 32A-2-3 NMSA 1978, the Delinquency Act.
E. "Detention" means requiring a student to remain in a designated area in the student's school outside of instructional time, such as before school, during recess, during lunch, or after school. No detained student shall be denied an opportunity to eat lunch or reasonable opportunities to go to the restroom.
F. "Disciplinarian" means a person or group authorized to impose consequence(s) after the facts of a case have been determined by a hearing authority.
G. "Disruptive conduct" means willful conduct that is unruly, disruptive, or abusive and interferes with a school teacher's or school administrator's ability to communicate with the students in a classroom, with a student's ability to learn, or with the operation of a school or a school-sponsored activity.
H. "Expulsion" means the removal of a student from school either permanently or for an indefinite time exceeding 10 school days or a locally established shorter period.
I. "Hearing authority" means a person or group designated to hear evidence and determine the facts of a case at a required formal hearing.
J. "Immediate removal" means the removal of a student from school for one school day or less under emergency conditions and without a prior hearing.
K. "In-school suspension" means requiring a student to spend time in a designated area at the same school or in an environment where the student is allowed to continue with their academic learning.
L. "Legal limits" include the requirements of the federal and state constitutions and governing statutes, standards, and regulations, and include the fundamental common-law requirement that rules of student conduct be reasonable exercises of the schools' authority in pursuance of legitimate educational and related functions. There are special limitations arising from constitutional guarantees of protected free speech and expression which shall be balanced against the schools need to foster an educational atmosphere free from undue disruptions to appropriate discipline.
M. "Local school board" includes the governing body of a charter school.
N. "Local school district" or "school district" includes a state-chartered charter school.
O. "Long-term suspension" means the removal of a student from school for a specified time exceeding either 10 school days or a locally established shorter period.
P. "Mechanical restraint" means the use of any device or material attached or adjacent to the student's body that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to any portion of the student's body and that the student cannot easily remove, but "mechanical restraint" does not include mechanical supports or protective devices.
Q. "Parent" means the natural parent, legal guardian, or other person having custody and control of a student who is subject to Section 22-12A-1 et seq. NMSA 1978, the Attendance for Success Act, or the student if the student is not subject to compulsory attendance.
R. "Physical restraint" means the use of physical force without the use of any device or material that restricts the free movement of all or a portion of a student's body, but "physical restraint" does not include physical escort.
S. "Public school" means the campus and any building, facility, vehicle, or other item of property owned, operated, controlled by or in the possession of a local school district. For purposes of student discipline, the term also includes any non-school premises being used for school-sponsored activities.
T. "Refusal to cooperate with school personnel" means a student's willful refusal to obey the lawful instructions or orders of school personnel whose responsibilities include supervision of students.
U. "Refusal to identify self" means a person's willful refusal, upon request from school personnel known or identified as such to the person, to identify themselves accurately.
V. "Restraint" when not otherwise modified means mechanical or physical restraint.
W. "Review authority" means a person or group authorized by the local school board to review a disciplinarian's final decision to impose a long-term suspension or expulsion.
X. "Seclusion" means the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a room from which egress is prevented. "Seclusion" does not mean the use of a voluntary behavior management technique, including a timeout location, as part of a student's education plan, individual safety plan, behavioral plan or individualized education program that involves the student's separation from a larger group for purposes of calming.
Y. "Sexual harassment," regarding students, means unwelcome or unwanted conduct of a sexual nature (verbal, non-verbal or physical) when:
Z. "School personnel" means all members of the staff, faculty, and administration employed by the local school board. The term includes school security officers, school bus drivers, and their aides, and also authorized agents of the schools, such as volunteers or chaperones, whose responsibilities include supervision of students.
AA. "Student" means a person who is enrolled in one or more classes at a public school.
BB. "Student experiencing homelessness" means children and youth as defined by Section 725(2) of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
CC. "Superintendent of a school district" includes the head administrator of a state-chartered charter school.
DD. "Temporary suspension" means the removal of a student from school for a specified period of 10 or fewer school days after a rudimentary hearing.
EE. "Weapon," as set forth in Section 22-5-4.7 NMSA 1978, means: