Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 24, December 23, 2024
A. Upon approval by the commission, a state-chartered charter school may operate as the New Mexico school for the arts ("the school"), which shall be a statewide residential charter school for grades nine through 12 offering intensive preprofessional instruction in the performing and visual arts combined with a strong academic program that leads to a New Mexico diploma of excellence.
B. An application to the commission for approval of a charter shall contain assurances of compliance together with a plan for how the school will accomplish the following requirements contained in the New Mexico School for the Arts Act, Sections 22-15F-1 et seq. NMSA 1978:
(1) paying for all expenses associated with outreach activities and for room and board costs for students unable to pay all or part of the cost of room and board from a foundation or other private funding sources;
(2) working with a foundation or soliciting other private funding sources to obtain gifts, grants, and donations to ensure that the school has adequate revenue to make the payments described in Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of 6.80.4.17 NMAC;
(3) not using money received from the state other than charter school stimulus funds to make the payments described in Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of 6.80.4.17 NMAC;
(4) admitting an equal number of students from each of the state's congressional districts, to the greatest extent possible and without jeopardizing admissions standards;
(5) conducting its admissions process in a way that provides equal opportunity regardless of a student's prior exposure to artistic training and to the student's ability to pay for room and board; and
(6) conducting admissions criteria-free outreach activities throughout the state each year that acquaint potential students with the programs at the school, to include programs specifically for middle school students and workshops for teachers.
C. By July 1 after the first year the school has provided preprofessional instruction in the performing and visual arts and by July 1 every year thereafter, the school shall submit a report simultaneously to the division and the commission containing:
(1) non-personally identifiable demographic information about both applicants and students admitted to the school delineated by counties, congressional districts, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity; and
(2) the number of students who requested financial assistance for room and board, the total amount of financial assistance provided, and the amounts distributed delineated by the source of gifts, grants, and donations received by the school.
D. During the planning year, the school shall develop a sliding-fee scale subject to the following considerations:
(1) the purpose of the sliding-fee scale is to defray all or part of the costs of room and board for students whose parents or guardians are financially unable to pay these fees;
(2) in determining ability to pay, the school may use a variety of methods including but not limited to:
(a) self-disclosures in a financial aid application developed by the school;
(b) poverty thresholds as maintained by the United States census bureau;
(c) poverty guidelines as maintained by the United States department of health and human services;
(d) whether the public school that the student applicant most recently came from was a recipient of funds under Title I, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended;
(e) whether the student applicant for enrollment was eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals at the public school previously attended; and
(f) the amount or percentage of assistance an enrolled student received for room and board the prior school year from the school; and
(3) the school shall submit its sliding-fee scale to the commission for initial approval during the planning year and may request changes at subsequent commission meetings for good cause shown.
E. It shall be the responsibility of the school to obtain adequate funding from private sources to pay annual outreach costs and to defray all or part of room and board fees for students financially unable to pay. No state funds except for charter school stimulus funds received and used during the planning year may be used for these purposes. Private funding sources available to the school shall include the use of a foundation or the soliciting and receipt of gifts, grants, and donations. Failure to secure adequate funding for these purposes shall constitute grounds for denial or revocation of a charter
F. Except for provisions of this rule related to admission of students by lottery, admission on a first-come, first-serve basis, the ability to charge for residential fees, admissions criteria, and location of the school anywhere in the state, all other provisions of this rule related to state-chartered charter schools shall apply to the school.
