Manual addresses full-service community schools, which address non-academic and out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers for integrated student supports.

A.  A “family and youth resources program” may be created in any public school in the state. Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, the department shall accept applications for grants from public schools in which eighty percent of the students are eligible for the free or reduced-fee lunch program to fund their program.

B.  The purpose of the program is to provide an intermediary for students and their families at public schools to access social and health care services. The goal of the program is to forge mutual long-term relationships with public and private agencies and community-based, civic and corporate organizations to help students attain high academic achievement by meeting certain nonacademic needs of students and their families.

A. Subject to the availability of funding, grants are available to a public school or group of public schools that meets department eligibility requirements.

B. Applications for grants shall be in the form prescribed by the department and shall include the following information:

• (1) a statement of need, including demographic and socioeconomic information about the area to be served by the program;
• (2) goals and expected outcomes of the program;
• (3) services and activities to be provided by the program;
• (4) written agreements for the provision of services by public and private agencies, community groups and other parties;
• (5) a work plan and budget for the program, including staffing requirements and the expected availability of staff;
• (6) hours of operation;
• (7) strategies for dissemination of information about the program to potential users;
• (8) training and professional development plans;
• (9) plans to ensure that program participants are not stigmatized for their use of the program;
• (10) a physical description of the place in the school or adjacent to the school in which the program will be located;
• (11) letters of endorsement and commitment from community agencies and organizations and local governments; and
• (12) any other information the department requires.

C. Grants shall not be awarded for applications submitted that supplant funding and other resources that have been used for purposes similar to the program.

The Community Schools Act [Chapter 22 Article 32 NMSA 1978] is enacted to provide a strategy to organize the resources of a community to ensure student success while addressing the needs, including cultural and linguistic needs, of the whole student from early childhood programs and voluntary public pre-kindergarten through high school graduation; to partner federal, state and local and tribal governments with community-based organizations to improve the coordination, delivery, effectiveness and efficiency of services provided to students and families; and to coordinate resources, in order to align and leverage community resources and integrate funding streams.

A. A community schools initiative may be created in any public school in the state and may be created as a consortium of public schools.

B. A community schools initiative shall include the following:

• (1) a lead partner agency, including a public or private agency or community-based organization, to help coordinate programs and services;
• (2) an annual assessment that is a meaningful and collaborative inquiry process to develop a comprehensive understanding of local needs and assets and of community resources that is conducted by the community school coordinator and informed by the site-based leadership team and that relates to the effective alignment and delivery of programs and services within the community school; and
• (3) the community school framework.

C. A lead partner agency for more than three public schools shall provide a full-time position that supports the community school coordinators at those public schools.

D. Where early childhood services and supports are indicated as a need, a community school site-based leadership team shall prioritize strong partnerships and integration with early childhood providers located both on and off the public school campus, including transportation to meet community needs.

A. A school district shall bear any indirect costs associated with the establishment and implementation of a community school within the school district.

B. Subject to the availability of funding, grants for community schools initiatives are available to a school district, a group of public schools or a single public school that has demonstrated partnerships with the local community to establish, operate and sustain the community school framework and that meets department eligibility requirements.

C. The department shall promulgate rules and procedures to distribute funds through a competitive grant program developed and designed in partnership with the coalition for community schools.

D. Applications for grants for community schools initiatives shall be in the form prescribed by the department to support a continuum of community school development.

E. A school district, a group of public schools or a single public school that uses funds under this section to transform a public school into an evidence-based community schools initiative shall:

• (1) use rigorous, transparent, equitable and evidence-based evaluation systems to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the community schools initiative;
• (2) provide ongoing, high-quality professional development that:
• (a) aligns with the community school’s instructional program;
• (b) facilitates effective teaching and learning; and
• (c) supports the implementation of school reform strategies; and
• (3) give the community school sufficient operational flexibility in programming, curriculum, staffing, budgeting and scheduling so that the community school can fully implement a comprehensive community school framework designed to focus on improving the community school climate, student academic achievement, attendance, behavior, family engagement and, for high schools, graduation rates and readiness for college or a career.

F. If a grantee receives funding to implement the community schools initiative at three or more public school sites, the school district shall employ a community schools director or manager to oversee and coordinate implementation across all of the covered school sites and ensure the employment of a community school coordinator by the lead partner agency at each school site.

G. A school district or public school may use Title 1 funds for its community schools initiative and the department may use Title 1 funds to invest in community schools statewide.

H. The department is authorized to provide planning, implementation and renewal grants to eligible applicants as follows:

• (1) a one-year, one-time planning grant of up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for each eligible public school to conduct an initial school and community needs assessment, identify community supports and services through asset mapping and establish a site-based leadership team; and
• (2) annual implementation grants of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) each year for a period of three years for each eligible school; and
• (3) at the conclusion of the initial three-year grant period, applicants may apply for a renewal grant for one year in an amount determined by the department.

I. Eligible applicants shall provide satisfactory documentation required by the department that the applicant intends to apply for an implementation grant within six months of receiving a planning grant.

J. Eligible applicants shall submit an application for an implementation or renewal grant to the department for each eligible community school through the grant authorization process.

As used in the Community Schools Act [Chapter 22 Article 32 NMSA 1978]:

• A. “community school” means a public school that partners with families and the community, including tribal partners, nonprofit community-based organizations and local businesses, to provide well-rounded educational opportunities and supports for student success through the implementation of a community school framework;

A. The community school framework shall ensure the use of research- and evidence-based strategies and best practices that support students, families and communities in ensuring student success and shall include:

• (1) integrated student supports that address non-academic and out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers that may include school-based or school-linked health care, case management services and family stability supports coordinated by a community school coordinator and that are culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of students and their families;

Site provides information on collaborations between NM Public Education Department and New Mexico Department of Health to address school and adolescent health.