asa said:
My son is in Kindergarten for the second time due to his disablities. This year there are 24 students in his class. According to the New Mexico statuets 20 students is the max. and an aid is required at 15. The school has asked the state and the local school board for money to hire a new teacher and was denied by both. In my son's IEP he is required a full time aid which the school is currently using for all the students. Even the teacher is telling us that she can not give my son the help he needs with so may kids in the class. He will just be left behide another year. The options that are left to me to help my son are these: a second school in the district that is 34miles away and also has 14 chlidren in its class or a charter school that is 15 miles away and has only 8 students. If my child is to move on with his education he will need help that the school is not able to offer.
It appears there could be an interdistrict agreement to allow both attendance at the charter school and transportation, and you may have a point in that the distance is 1/2 that of the other available schol in the district. Your district will lose your child's aid to the charter school that might be a problem if they couldn't get the funds so it culd make it sticky.
V. TRANSPORTATION BOUNDARY AGREEMENTS:
Pursuant to SBE Regulation 6.42.2 NMAC school districts are authorized to enter into Transportation Boundary Agreements with adjoining districts regarding students living within a specified geographic area where geographic conditions would otherwise make it impractical to transport such students to school within the district where they live. The agreement must be approved by both local school boards prior to a district crossing boundary lines to transport students. The agreement should not duplicate transportation services. If duplication is required specific justification shall be provided within the agreement. Boundary agreements are not authorized to provide services to students who attend school out-of-district as a matter of choice.
The following areas shall be investigated during the transportation boundary agreement evaluation:
1.
Are the boundary agreements signed by both local school boards?
2.
Are the legal descriptions of the adjoining area outside the district included in the agreement?
3.
Are U.S. Geological Survey Maps with the temporary boundary lines and the existing district boundary lines attached to the agreement?
4.
Does the agreement show that both local boards agree to the conditions specified in the agreement?
5.
Does the agreement indicate the duration determined by both local boards is based on length of time that is needed?
6.
Does the original agreement contain the signature of both local board presidents and does it contain the approval of the State Transportation Director and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction?
7.
Are the agreements reviewed annually by the local boards?
8.
Are the extended areas of transportation services being counted in the square miles per student for funding purposes by the district that is providing the transportation service?
9.
Are the students who receive transportation service within the approval area of the agreement being counted for transportation funding by the district in which they attend school?
VI. UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM:
The following areas shall be investigated during the unified transportation system evaluation:
1.
Are all eligible students being transported in a safe and timely manner?
2.
Are students with special needs transported separately only when required by the IEP?
3.
Does IEP identify specific types of related service the child needs?
4.
Is a transportation representative present at IEP meetings, which involves related service at students with disabilities?
5.
Are students with special needs receiving equitable instructional time?
6.
Are students with special needs arriving late to school or leaving early to accommodate route scheduling?
7.
Are all eligible student being served within the requirements of current federal and state laws and regulations including SBE Regulation , Students Rights and Responsibilities and, Special Education State Regulation, Individuals with Disabilities and Education Act (IDEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
8.
Are school bus assistants assigned to those buses that transport students who require transportation as a related service?
9.
Does the district have a contingency plan to accommodate students with special needs if the district does not presently have students that require transportation as a related service?
