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HOUSE BILL 365
57
TH LEGISLATURE
-
STATE
OF
NEW
MEXICO
-
FIRST SESSION
,
2025
INTRODUCED BY
Joy Garratt
AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; PROVIDING STAFF TO THE PUBLIC
EDUCATION COMMISSION; TRANSFERRING THE CHARTER SCHOOLS DIVISION
FROM THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO THE COMMISSION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 9-24-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004,
Chapter 27, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"9-24-4. DEPARTMENT CREATED.--
A. The "public education department" is created in
the executive branch. The department is a cabinet department
and includes the following divisions:
(1) the administrative services division;
(2) the assessment and accountability
division;
[(3) the charter schools division;
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(4)] (3) the educator quality division;
[(5)] (4) the Indian education division;
[(6)] (5) the information technology division;
[(7)] (6) the instructional support and
vocational education division;
[(8)] (7) the program support and student
transportation division;
[(9)] (8) the quality assurance and systems
integration division;
[(10)] (9) the rural education division; and
[(11)] (10) the vocational rehabilitation
division.
B. The secretary may organize the department and
divisions of the department and may transfer or merge functions
between divisions and bureaus in the interest of efficiency and
economy."
SECTION 2. Section 9-24-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004,
Chapter 27, Section 9) is amended to read:
"9-24-9. PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMISSION.--
A. The "public education commission" is created
pursuant to Article 12, Section 6 of the constitution of New
Mexico. [The commission shall be administratively attached to
the department, with administrative staff provided by the
department. Additional requests for staff services shall be
made through the secretary. ] The commission shall advise the
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department on policy matters and shall perform other functions
as provided by law.
B. The commission shall consist of ten members
elected from public education districts as provided in the
decennial educational redistricting act. Members shall be
entitled to receive per diem and mileage as provided in the Per
Diem and Mileage Act, but shall receive no other perquisite,
compensation or allowance.
C. The commission shall annually elect a [chairman ]
chair, vice [chairman] chair and secretary from among its
membership. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for
the conduct of business. The commission shall keep a record of
all proceedings of the commission.
D. The commission shall meet at the call of the
[chairman] chair at least quarterly. Meetings of the
commission shall be held in Santa Fe and at other sites within
the state at the direction of the commission. The [chairman ]
chair in consultation with the secretary shall call a meeting
at the request of a majority of the members. Commission
members shall not vote by proxy.
E. No member of the commission shall be appointed
secretary or be employed by the department on either a full- or
part-time basis.
F. The "state charter schools office" is created to
staff the commission in carrying out its statutory duties as
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the state chartering authority. The commission shall appoint a
director of the office, and the director shall recommend to the
commission the employment of such technical and other staff as
necessary to carry out the duties of the office. The director
is exempt and technical and clerical staff are classified as
provided in the Personnel Act. The commission and office shall
be provided with adequate quarters by the department. The
office shall provide objective, nonpartisan advice to the
commission regarding state chartering of public schools,
monitor state-chartered charter schools for compliance with the
Public School Code and the charter schools' charter contract,
make periodic reports to the commission on the activities of
the office and perform such other duties as required by the
commission."
SECTION 3. Section 22-2-2.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2004,
Chapter 27, Section 17) is amended to read:
"22-2-2.2. COMMISSION--DUTIES.--
A. The commission shall oversee and direct the
activities of the state charter schools office and shall:
(1) be the chartering authority for state-
chartered charter schools;
(2) cooperate with the department and enter
into data-sharing agreements as necessary to provide seamless
administration and oversight of public schools and give the
office access to relevant data and reports of the department;
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and
(3) make recommendations to the department.
[A.] B. The commission shall work with the
department to develop the five-year strategic plan for public
elementary and secondary education in the state. The strategic
plan shall be updated at least biennially. The commission
shall solicit the input of persons who have an interest in
public school policy, including local school boards, school
districts, charter school governing bodies and charter schools
and school employees; home schooling associations; parent-
teacher associations; educational organizations; the
[commission on] higher education department ; colleges,
universities and vocational schools; state agencies responsible
for educating resident children; juvenile justice agencies;
[work force] workforce development providers; and business
organizations.
[B.] C. In addition to the duty provided in
Subsection [A] B of this section, the commission shall:
(1) solicit input from local school boards,
school districts and the public on policy and governance issues
and report its findings and recommendations to the secretary
and the legislature; and
(2) recommend to the secretary conduct and
process guidelines and training curricula for local school
boards."
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SECTION 4. Section 22-8B-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
Chapter 281, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8B-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Charter Schools
Act:
A. "charter school" means a conversion school or
start-up school authorized by the chartering authority to
operate as a public school;
B. "chartering authority" means either a local
school board or the commission;
C. "commission" means the public education
commission;
D. "conversion school" means an existing public
school within a school district that was authorized by a local
school board to become a charter school prior to July 1, 2007;
[E. "division" means the charter schools division
of the department;
F.] E. "enrollment preference" means filling a
charter school's openings with students, or siblings of
students, who have already been admitted to the school through
an appropriate admission process or are continuing through
subsequent grades;
[G.] F. "governing body" means the governing
structure of a charter school as set forth in the school's
charter;
[H.] G. "governing body training" means the
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training required pursuant to Section 22-8B-5.1 NMSA 1978 to
educate governing body members and ensure compliance with all
applicable laws, which training may be obtained from any
source, individual or entity that has been approved by the
department;
[I.] H. "management" means authority over the
hiring, termination and day-to-day direction of a school's
employees or contractors, whether they are licensed or not;
[J.] I. "material violation" means the act of
failing to accomplish a requirement of a law, rule or contract
or a charter school's bylaws that substantially affects the
charter school's employees' or students' rights or privileges;
[K.] J. "nondiscretionary waiver" means a waiver of
requirements or rules and the provisions of the Public School
Code that the department shall grant pursuant to Section
22-8B-5 NMSA 1978 and for which a charter school shall not
require separate approval by the department;
K. "office" or "division" means the state charter
schools office;
L. "performance indicator" means a measurement tool
that enables selected issues or conditions to be monitored over
time for the purposes of evaluating progress toward or away
from a desired direction;
M. "performance target" means the specific rating
to which the data from a school's performance indicators shall
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be compared to determine whether the school exceeds, meets,
does not meet or falls far below that rating;
N. "siblings" means:
(1) students living in the same residence at
least fifty percent of the time in a permanent or semipermanent
situation, such as long-term foster care placements; or
(2) students related to each other by blood,
marriage or cohabitation; and
O. "start-up school" means a public school
developed by one or more parents, teachers or community members
authorized by the chartering authority to become a charter
school."
SECTION 5. Section 22-8B-13 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1999,
Chapter 281, Section 13, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-8B-13. CHARTER SCHOOL FINANCING.--
A. The amount of funding allocated to a charter
school shall be not less than ninety-eight percent of the
school-generated program cost. The school district or
[division] office may withhold and use two percent of the
school-generated program cost for its administrative support of
a charter school.
B. That portion of money from state or federal
programs generated by students enrolled in a locally chartered
charter school shall be allocated to that charter school
serving students eligible for that aid. Any other public
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school program not offered by the locally chartered charter
school shall not be entitled to the share of money generated by
a charter school program.
C. When a state-chartered charter school is
designated as a board of finance pursuant to Section 22-8-38
NMSA 1978, it shall receive state and federal funds for which
it is eligible.
D. Charter schools may apply for all federal funds
for which they are eligible.
E. All services centrally or otherwise provided by
a local school district, including custodial, maintenance and
media services, libraries and warehousing, shall be subject to
negotiation between the charter school and the school district.
Any services for which a charter school contracts with a school
district shall be provided by the district at a reasonable
cost."
SECTION 6. Section 22-8B-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2006,
Chapter 94, Section 30) is amended to read:
"22-8B-17. STATE CHARTER SCHOOLS [DIVISION ] OFFICE--
DUTIES.--[The "charter schools division" is created in the
department] The [division] office shall:
A. provide staff support to the commission for
state chartering of charter schools ;
B. provide technical support to [all ] state-
chartered charter schools;
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C. review and approve state-chartered charter
school budget matters; and
D. make recommendations to the commission regarding
the approval, denial, suspension or revocation of the charter
of a state-chartered charter school."
SECTION 7. Section 22-8B-17.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2011,
Chapter 14, Section 9) is amended to read:
"22-8B-17.1. [DIVISION ] OFFICE--ANNUAL REPORT.--By
December 1 annually, the [division ] office, under the direction
of the commission, shall issue to the governor, the legislative
finance committee, [and ] the legislative education study
committee and the legislative library a report on the state's
charter schools for the school year ending in the preceding
calendar year, drawing from the annual reports submitted by
every chartering authority as well as any relevant data
compiled by the [division ] office. The annual report shall
include a comparison of the performance of charter school
students with the performance of academically, ethnically and
economically comparable groups of students in noncharter public
schools. The report shall also include an assessment of the
successes, challenges and areas for improvement in meeting the
purposes of the Charter Schools Act, including the [division's ]
office's assessment of the sufficiency of funding for charter
schools, the efficacy of the state formula for chartering
authority funding and any suggested changes to state law or
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policy necessary to strengthen the state's charter schools.
The annual report shall be published on the department's [web
site] website."
SECTION 8. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL,
APPROPRIATIONS, MONEY, RECORDS AND OTHER PROPERTY--CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATIONS--STATUTORY REFERENCES.--On the effective date of
this act:
A. all personnel, appropriations, money, records,
equipment, furniture, supplies and other property of the
charter schools division of the public education department
shall be transferred to the state charter schools office of the
public education commission;
B. contractual obligations of the charter schools
division shall be obligations of the state charter schools
office; and
C. statutory references to the charter schools
division of the public education department shall be deemed to
be references to the state charter schools office of the public
education commission.
SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.
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