Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance
committees of the Legislature. LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports if they
are used for other purposes.
F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Garrat
t/Baca/Lara
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/3/25
SHORT TITLE New School Licenses
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 157
ANALYST Mabe/Liu
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected $0.0 $5,200.0 $5,200.0 Re curring General Fund
Total
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to House Bill 110
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) Files
Agency Analysis Received From
Public School Insurance Authority (NMPSIA)
Educational Retirement Board (ERB)
Regional Education Cooperatives (REC)
Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD)
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 157
House Bill 157 (HB157) creates new licenses for site administrators, superintendents, and other
school administrators, with enhanced qualifications and requirements for each. The bill also adds
a section to the Public School Code requiring the Public Education Department (PED) to set
rules and standards for school administrator preparation programs. PED will approve all new
programs and monitor program success through data collection. The bill includes provisions for
out-of-state reciprocity and emergency waivers. This bill is endorsed by LESC. The effective
date of this act is July 1, 2025.
House Bill 157 – Page 2
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
Both the LFC and LESC budget recommendations for FY26 include $2.28 million for educator
and administrator preparation, induction, and evaluation contingent on enactment of this bill or
similar legislation. This bill does not contain an appropriation but an estimate of the costs of the
program is included in the table.
According to Education Research and Development (EdRD), an education consulting firm, the
estimated costs of this bill are primarily for principal residencies at $100 thousand per resident.
For FY25 through FY27, the $60 million government results and opportunity fund appropriation
for educator clinical practice includes funding for principal residencies over a period of three
years. In May 2024, PED reported $2 million of the appropriation would be used for principal
residents in FY25, amounting to about 20 residency slots. EdRD projects the number of
residency slots needed for administrators could be about 200 positions each year based on
historical trends on new administrator hires. In FY24, PED issued 187 level 3-B administrator
licenses, with 32 licenses granted reciprocity for out-of-state applicants. As such, the future
fiscal impact of this bill could be as high as $20 million.
Level 3-B Licenses Issued 2021 2022 2023 2024
Alternative Post-Secondary 10 18 13 14
Approved Educator Preparation Program 175 236 166 127
Reciprocity Out of Country 5 8 4 0
Reciprocity Out of State (USA) 40 59 60 32
Regionally Accredited Preparation Program 19 19 18 14
New Licenses Subtotal 249 340 261 187
Current License Renewals 791 832 659 487
Total Licenses 1,040 1,172 920 674
Source: PED, EdRD Files
New Positions Hired 2020 2021 2022 2023
Annual
Estimate
Assistant principals 133 88 152 154 150
Principals 95 73 128 95 100
Superintendents 32 30 45 34 35
Source: PED, EdRD Files
The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce (GACC) and New Mexico Association of
Colleges and Teacher Education (NMACTE) taskforce recommended scaling up principal
residency programs incrementally over time, beginning with an initial implementation of $2
million for 20 principal residency slots in FY26. Given the existing $2 million appropriation
through the educator clinical practice appropriation is available in both FY26 and FY27, the $2.3 House Bill 157 – Page 3
million appropriation in the LFC and LESC budget recommendations could effectively support
another 23 residency slots.
House Bill 157 Proposal FY26 FY27 FY29
PED Administrative Costs $200,000 $350,000 $350,000
Programs and Projects $2,00 0,000 $4,850,000 $6,050,000
Total $2,200,000 $5, 200,000 $6,400,000
Source: EdRD, LESC Files
Part of EdRD’s proposal included $2.2 million for other expenditures beyond the 20 principal
residency slots, including:
$300 thousand for a research partner to study residency implementation,
$200 thousand for PED to establish a new bureau of school and district leadership,
$440 thousand to create an aspiring superintendents’ academy,
$340 thousand to create induction programs for first-year principals and superintendents,
$225 thousand for data collection, and
$700 thousand for coordinators at each administrator preparation program.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
In FY22, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce (GACC) and the Thornburg
Foundation commissioned an education consulting firm, EdRD, to study the working conditions
of school principals in New Mexico. The study recommended the establishment of a school
leadership office within PED, replacement of administrator preparation programs with principal
residency programs, increase in principal compensation, and creation of a statewide education
coalition. In FY23, GACC formed a taskforce with the New Mexico Association of Colleges and
Teacher Education (NMACTE) to finalize recommendations from EdRD’s 2022 report.
The task force included university deans and directors, researchers, legislators, and staff from
PED, HED, LESC, LFC, LANL Foundation, and Thornburg Foundation, as well as EdRD. The
group’s objective was to recommend changes to school leader preparation program requirements.
It first did so during the 2024 legislative session with House Bill 22, which, in part, created
administrator preparation program and clinical practice requirements aligned with national
standards. House Bill 22 was not heard. During the 2024 interim, the same group plus principals,
superintendents, and charter school leaders came together to recommend changes to statute and
department rules regarding education administration licensure. HB157, endorsed by LESC,
comes out of that work.
Current state law has the same requirements and license (level 3B) for all administrators—every
position from superintendents to school principals to charter school heads of school to special
education coordinators. HB157 separates administrative licensure into five different categories
and adds the definition of site administrator to the School Personnel Act. The bill defines
requirements for site administrators and superintendent licenses (detailed below) but leaves the
option open for PED to establish new requirements for school administrators that are not site
administrators nor superintendents.
The bill outlines five different licenses, three site administrator licenses and two superintendent
licenses. Both the provisional site administrator license and the provisional superintendent House Bill 157 – Page 4
license are useful in areas with staffing shortages because they allow an individual to complete a
program while working as a site administrator or superintendent. All new licenses will need to
complete a criminal history record check.
1. Provisional site administrator license: a one-year license, renewable for up to three
years.
Requirements: a level 2 or 3-A teaching license, current enrollment in a department
approved site administrator preparation program, and acceptance in a department-
approved site administrator induction and mentoring program in the school district.
2. Initial site administrator license: a three-year license, renewable for two one-year
intervals.
Requirements: three years of experience as a teacher or instructional support provider, a
post-baccalaureate degree or national board for professional teaching standards
certification, successful completion of a department-approved site administrator
preparation program and a department-approved clinical experience in New Mexico.
3. Provisional site administrator license: a five-year license.
Requirements: at least one year of experience as a site-administrator, a post-baccalaureate
degree or national board for professional teaching standards certification, successful
completion of a department-approved site administrator program, successful completion
of a department-approved site administrator induction program.
4. Provisional superintendent license: a one-year license, renewable up to three times.
Requirements: at least one year of experience as a school administrator, current
enrollment in a department-approved aspiring superintendent academy current enrollment
in a department-approved superintendent induction and mentoring program
5. Superintendent license: a five-year license.
Requirements: at least one year of experience as a site administrator, successful
completion of department-approved aspiring superintendent academy, currently enrolled
in a department approved superintendent induction and mentoring program, which must
be successfully completed before license renewal.
The bill grandfathers existing school administrators into the new licenses. Any current school
administrator who holds a valid level 3-B license on July 1, 2028, shall be granted a professional
site administrator license, and anyone who has worked as a superintendent and holds a valid
level 3-B license on July 1, 2028, shall be granted a superintendent license.
The bill does not change the administrator salary minimums, which are indexed to a
responsibility factor that is then multiplied by the level 3-A teacher minimum salary level.
As stated above, the bill leaves it up to PED to create new requirements for school administrators
who are not licensed as site administrators or superintendents. The bill also sets up limited
reciprocity with administrators licensed in other states. Additionally, schools may request a
waiver if they need to immediately fill a site administrator position and the selected candidate
does not meet all requirements. Likewise, school districts can request a waiver for
superintendents. Waivers are for one year and nonrenewable.
The bill lays out new criteria for all new administrator preparation programs. PED will develop
new rules for all programs that include comprehensive curriculum aligned to national and state
standards, deliberate candidate recruitment and selection, robust clinical experience, trained
coaches, formal partnerships between programs and school districts and charter schools. All House Bill 157 – Page 5
programs must be approved by PED by July 1, 2026.
PED is also required to convene a task force, create a rule process for approving new and revised
programs, and monitor program success and candidate outcomes through educator accountability
report indicators.
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
According to New Mexico State University’s 2024 Educator Vacancy Report, 25 principal and
assistant principal positions were vacant. Additionally, turnover among administrators is high.
During 2022 and 2023, 24 percent of superintendents, 28 percent of principals, and 41 percent of
vice principals in New Mexico were new to their jobs. New Mexico is not alone. A national
study of public school principals from 2016-2017 found 35 percent of principals were at a school
for less than two years.
When school and district leaders stay in their jobs, they have the ability to implement long-term
solutions. According to the Learning Policy Institute, principals are key to a positive
environment for students and teachers and are the number one factor in teacher retention, which
also affects student outcomes. Furthermore, consistent leadership is essential to respond to
findings in the Martinez-Yazzie education sufficiency lawsuit, which highlighted deficiencies in
high quality teachers and leadership. Hiring new administrators is also expensive. LESC analysis
notes a low estimate in replacing a principal is $75 thousand.
Just like teachers, administrators are shown to stay in their jobs longer when they are better
prepared. Separating the level 3-B license into separate site administrator and superintendent
licenses and revising preparation programs and clinical practice would require schools to better
tailor curriculum and support, which may lead to improved retention rates.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The bill requires site administrator preparation programs to align with PED rules and apply for
approval by July 1, 2026. Currently there are seven institutions that offer programs: Western
New Mexico University, University of the Southwest, University of New Mexico, New Mexico
State University, New Mexico Highlands University, Eastern New Mexico University, and
Cooperative Educational Services.
The bill requires PED outline rules for site administrator preparation programs, evaluate site
administrator programs by July 1, 2026, convene a task force, monitor program success and
student outcomes, and create new requirements for school administrators who are not licensed as
site administrators or superintendents.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
HB157 relates to House Bill 110, which creates an interstate teacher mobility compact to allow
teachers to obtain initial licensure in member compact states.
RM/sl/hg/sgs