Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Pre-apprenticeship programs shall be provided in accordance with the terms and
conditions of a uniform memorandum of agreement (hereafter
"MOA"), which supersedes all previous agreements, versions and addenda. This
agreement applies to public school districts, including a charter school or
charter school district, a state supported educational institution and a
state-chartered school (hereafter "district"), high school
students who attend public school districts, and pre-apprenticeship providers
(hereafter "providers") in New Mexico. School districts and
charter schools may complete agreements with multiple providers.
B. The MOA shall include provisions stating
the following: The primary purposes of the pre-apprenticeship program are to
allow school districts to provide for industry taught or guided
pre-apprenticeship programs for qualified high school students. The
pre-apprenticeship program will allow for the local school board to approve
providers and pre-apprenticeship programs, including courses of instruction and
industry instructors that meet apprenticeship requirements of the state
apprenticeship council or the apprenticeship requirements of an appropriate
nationally recognized trade organization. Pre-apprenticeship programs shall
meet department content and performance standards and shall be provided at no
cost to students. The pre-apprenticeship program is designed so that
pre-apprentices may earn elective credits toward high school graduation and
meet requirements for apprenticeship-related supplemental instruction or
post-secondary education course credits. The pre-apprenticeship program makes
available licensure exemptions for the provider's industry instructor(s).
Pre-apprenticeship programs may be offered during the school day whenever
possible, may be conducted at industry locations, including union halls or
other industry training facilities; at existing school facilities, if
available; or at any other location approved by the local school
board.
C. The MOA specifies the
means by which the state will provide equal opportunities to all qualifed high
school students who wish to participate in the pre-apprenticeship
program.
D. This MOA shall provide
the following duties and responsibilities of the pre-apprenticeship industry
provider. The industry provider shall:
(1)
provide an industry provider application form that addresses the name of
pre-apprenticeship course of instruction or program offered by provider;
program start date; name of course to include student teacher accountability
reporting system (STARS) course code number, method of delivery, course
alignment and if dual credit is offered; identification of tools needed for
program; identification of supplies provided for program; identification of
instructional materials provided for the program; evaluation process of
program; method of grade reporting; method of attendance recording; how
students are recruited; how students are accepted into program, retained and
dismissed; circumstances under which the program may terminate; continuation
plan for the pre-apprenticeship program that provides the student the
opportunity to complete coursework that will bear the previously agreed upon
semester credit; and identify an industry approved instructor;
(2) provide an industry instructor's
application form to include the name of pre-apprenticeship course of
instruction, or program; instructor's identifying information to include name,
address, phone, gender, date of birth, approving industry entity, instructor
resume and a completed character and fitness questionnaire to include the
following:
(a) have you ever been disciplined,
reprimanded, suspended or discharged, from any employment because of
allegations of misconduct?
(b) have
you ever resigned, entered into a settlement agreement, or otherwise left
employment following an allegation of misconduct?
(c) is any action now pending against you for
alleged misconduct, including application discrepancies?
(d) have you ever failed to fulfill the terms
of a contract?
(e) do you currently
have any outstanding criminal charges, warrants of arrest, or conditions of
probation pending against you in New Mexico or in any other state?
(f) have you ever been fingerprinted as a
result of any arrest or detainment for any crime or violation of the
law?
(g) have you ever pled guilty
to, or been convicted of, any crime or violation of law, including entering a
plea of no contest or receiving a deferred or suspended sentence?
(h) are you currently delinquent in payment
of court-ordered child support?
(i)
have you ever had a court-ordered screening for alcohol or drug
dependence?
(3) employ a
method of qualifying the industry instructor that includes the following
requirements:
(a) background checks:
(i) industry instructors shall be required to
undergo a background check as provided for licensed school employees in Section
22-10A-5
NMSA 1978;
(ii) the school district
or charter school may act on the information received from the background check
and refuse to approve a person as an industry instructor; and
(iii) the district shall not allow persons
who have not been vetted through the background check process to have
unsupervised contact with students;
(b) licensure:
(i) licensure requirements shall not apply to
industry instructors;
(ii) a
complete resume demonstrating expert; verification by experience, license or
certification may qualify as an industry instructor; and
(iii) a department licensed teacher may
qualify as an industry instructor;
(c) adhere to the district confidentiality
guidelines;
(4)
designate a representative to review and sign the completed MOA with the
understanding that only a MOA endorsed by all parties shall constitute a
pre-apprenticeship program;
(5)
determine, in collaboration with the district, the required academic standing
of each student eligible to participate in the pre-apprenticeship
program;
(6) employ a method of
qualifying the student for pre-apprenticeship that demonstrates that the
student has the appropriate skills and maturity to benefit from the instruction
requested;
(7) provide information
and orientation, in collaboration with the district, to the student and parent
or guardian regarding the responsibilities of pre-apprenticeship including
academic rigor, time commitments, and behavioral expectations associated with
taking pre-apprenticeship courses and the importance of satisfactorily
completing the pre-apprenticeship credits attempted in order for credit to be
awarded;
(8) inform students of
course requirement information which includes course content, grading policy,
attendance requirements, course completion requirements, performance standards,
and other related course information;
(9) evaluate progress of pre-apprenticeship
students on the issue of academic performance and provide reports, as needed,
to the district;
(10) retain the
official grade report of the pre-apprenticeship student that records the term
of enrollment, courses/credits attempted, courses/credits completed, grades and
grade point average earned;
(11)
provide final grades to the district for each pre-apprenticeship
student;
(12) deliver final grades
for all pre-apprenticeship students to the district with sufficient time to be
included with final grades; this schedule shall be defined by the parties in
the MOA and shall address the time frame appropriate for determining student
graduation from high school;
(13)
issue to student a certificate of completion acceptable to an apprenticeship
training program; the certificate shall identify:
(a) coursework showing industry standards and
benchmarks completed;
(b)
competency level of skills attained; and
(c) certifying signature from district and
instructor verifying student level of completion;
(14) comply with data collection and
reporting.
E. The MOA
shall provide the following duties and responsibilities of the district. The
district shall:
(1) work collaboratively with
approved provider to recruit students;
(2) make available its facility for
recruitment;
(3) ensure adequate
information is available to students regarding participation in a
pre-apprenticeship program;
(4)
ensure the pre-apprenticeship course of instruction is identified in the next
step plan and shows that the student has committed or intends to commit
necessary electives;
(5) ensure
that upon successful completion of coursework designated as elective
coursework, the student may be awarded elective credit toward high school
graduation;
(6) ensure that upon
successful completion of coursework designated as core coursework, the student
may be awarded core credit toward high school graduation;
(7) employ a method of qualifying the student
for pre-apprenticeship based on factors which may include academic performance
review, use of next step plan, assessments, advisement and career guidance, and
recommend enrollment in the pre-apprenticeship program with evidence that the
student has the appropriate skills and maturity to benefit from the instruction
requested;
(8) provide information
and orientation to students about career opportunities within the apprenticable
occupation during student advisement and formulation of annual next step
plan;
(9) ensure counselors or
advisors to pre-apprenticeship students shall have working knowledge about
pre-apprentice programs;
(10)
identify the location for delivery of the pre-apprenticeship program;
(11) designate a representative to
collaborate with the provider to reach agreement on student participation in
the pre-apprenticeship program;
(12) approve student participation in the
pre-apprenticeship program on a semester by semester basis;
(13) provide information and orientation, in
collaboration with the pre-apprenticeship industry provider, to the student and
student's family regarding the responsibilities of pre-apprenticeship
enrollment including academic rigor, time commitments, and behavioral
expectations associated with taking pre-apprenticeship courses and the
importance of satisfactorily completing the credits attempted in order for
pre-apprenticeship to be awarded;
(14) inform students of course requirement
information which includes course content, grading policy, attendance
requirements, course completion requirements, performance standards, and other
related course information;
(15)
make clear to students that if they fail or withdraw from pre-apprenticeship
classes that they were intending to use for elective high school credit that
they will have to make up those credits in order to graduate; the
pre-apprenticeship course grade will appear on the student high school
transcript; and
(16) record,
unchanged, the grade given to the pre-apprenticeship student by the
pre-apprenticeship provider on each student high school transcript.
F. The MOA shall provide the
following data collection and reporting:
(1)
Each semester, the student application form shall be used to document each
student request for enrollment in pre-apprenticeship courses and the review and
approval process within the district and pre-apprenticeship provider. The
pre-apprenticeship provider may require additional forms and information from
the student.
(2) In the event of
scheduling changes, the pre-apprenticeship provider may change course
information upon mutual agreement with the school district.
(3) Data and reporting will be tracked with
student teacher accountability reporting system (STARS) codes by assigning a
numeric identifier to a pre-apprenticeship course.
(4) Each district and pre-apprenticeship
provider shall devise procedures for reporting pre-apprenticeship data from the
both the provider application and student application forms utilizing the
public school student identification numbers.
G. Term and limitations of agreement
(1) Initial term. MOA shall identify the
initial implementation term of the pre-apprenticeship program and contain
signatures from all parties.
(2)
Program cessation. A provider wishing to cease its pre-apprenticeship program
shall notify the superintendent according to the agreed upon timeframe in the
provider's application form.
(3)
Program continuation. Upon notification of cessation of a pre-apprenticeship
program, the local school district and provider must agree on a continuation
plan for the pre-apprenticeship program that provides the student the
opportunity to complete coursework that will bear the previously agreed upon
semester credit.
(4) The MOA shall
automatically renew for additional fiscal years unless either party notifies
the other party of their intent not to renew 60 days before the end of the
fiscal year.
