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 Armstrong
/Dow
LAST UPDATED
ORIGINAL DATE 2/19/25
SHORT TITLE Instructional Days in School Year
BILL
NUMBER House Bill 65/ec
ANALYST Liu
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT*
(dollars in thousands)
Agency/Program
FY25 FY26 FY27
3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring or
Nonrecurring
Fund
Affected
School Boards
Indeterminate
but minimal
General Fund
Parentheses ( ) indicate expenditure decreases.
*Amounts reflect most recent analysis of this legislation.
Relates to House Bill 238
Sources of Information
LFC Files
Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) Files
Agency Analysis was Solicited but Not Received From
Public Education Department (PED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of House Bill 65
House Bill 65 amends Section 22-2-8.1. NMSA 1978, making local school boards and governing
bodies of charter schools responsible for determining the total number of instructional days per
year and number of instructional days per week that students will be in school programs. The bill
includes an emergency clause, which would make the law become effective immediately on
signature by the governor.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The bill does not contain an appropriation but requires governing boards for school districts and
charter schools to set school calendars. Extensions of the school calendar through additional
instructional days may pose additional costs to the state from the generation of new K-12 Plus
program units in the public school funding formula; however, general public resistance to longer
school years suggests this is unlikely.
House Bill 65/ec – Page 2
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
In 2008, the Legislature commissioned the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to study and
determine the cost of a sufficient education for all public schools in New Mexico. Findings
suggested at the time that state support for public schools should increase by $335.8 million to
extend the school year, add afterschool hours, provide summer programs, reduce class sizes, and
hire appropriate school personnel. The most expensive component of AIR’s cost proposal was
extending the school year to include 185 instructional days for students and four planning days
for teachers (about 1,512 hours).
In 2009, the Legislature appropriated $14 million to the state equalization guarantee (SEG)
distribution for schools to add one additional instructional day. However, a 2018 LFC evaluation
found school calendars had instead shrunk by about 3 days between FY09 and FY18. Despite
funding to expand the school year, schools had shortened calendars by moving from a 5-day
school week to a 4-day school week schedule or by decreasing total days while adding minutes
to each day.
In 2018, the 1st Judicial District Court ruled in the Martinez-Yazzie education sufficiency lawsuit
that New Mexico’s education system was not constitutionally sufficient nor uniform for all
students. The court found evidence-based interventions that added instructional time like
prekindergarten, K-3 Plus extended school year, summer school, afterschool, and extended
learning time programs could help students close achievement gaps. Additionally, high-quality
teachers serving at-risk students were necessary. However, the state had not provided sufficient
funding to cover programming for all students needing intervention, and administrative hurdles
and timing of funds limited some participation in the interventions. The court also found the state
lacked adequate numbers of quality educators and school leaders to provide appropriate
instruction and support for at-risk students, noting the state should increase compensation and
training for teachers to provide a constitutionally-sufficient education.
In response to the court’s findings, the Legislature significantly increased at-risk funding,
educator pay, and early childhood programming in FY20. Additionally, the state expanded its
existing instructional time intervention, K-3 Plus to K-5 Plus, which allowed all elementary
schools to add 25 school days, and created a new Extended Learning Time (ELT) program,
which allowed any school to add 10 school days, afterschool programming, and 80 hours of
professional development. Additionally, voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2022 that
increased land grant permanent fund distributions to expand early childhood education, boost
funding for at-risk students, raise teacher pay, and extend the school year. Despite these
investments, participation in K-5 Plus and ELT fell short of appropriation levels, and schools
reverted over half a billion dollars from these two programs over the course of four years.
In FY24, the state replaced K-5 Plus and ELT programs with a K-12 Plus funding formula factor
and new annual requirements of 1,140 instructional hours, which allowed elementary schools to
count 60 professional work hours toward the requirement but only 30 hours for middle and high
schools. Legislative amendments in the 2023 legislative session changed the secondary
allowance (originally 60 hours) in response to concerns that staggered transportation schedules in
some districts would require fewer professional work hours for secondary schools.
House Bill 65/ec – Page 3
As a result of “blending” instructional time requirements with professional work hours, PED
flagged in FY24 that nearly half of districts and charter schools had reduced the number of
school hours and days in their calendar that year. Many schools had already provided more
instructional time than the new minimums and had reduced time in response to the new law.
Others began counting more professional work time as instructional time based on the new
definition and provided fewer classroom hours with students. Still, about half of schools
increased instructional days and hours.
In response, the Public Education Department (PED) proposed a new rule requiring schools to
provide at least 180 days of instruction if they failed to meet reading proficiency and growth
targets. The New Mexico School Superintendents Association, in conjunction with 53 school
boards and four charter school governing boards, filed for a temporary restraining order and
injunction of PED’s 180-day rule. On February 3, 2025, the 5
th
Judicial District Court ruled in
favor of the superintendents, nullifying the department’s rule because of conflicts with existing
statutes and legislative intent. Currently, PED has 30 days to respond to the court order.
In general, research suggests both the quantity and quality of instructional time matters for
student academic achievement. Given historic resistance to increasing classroom time and school
calendars, it is unlikely this bill would increase instructional time.
In light of recent reported drops in national student reading and math scores, national research
reports have indicated learning loss and larger achievement gaps were caused by disruptions
during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most studies point to the effects of school closures, high
absenteeism, classroom disruptions, and inefficient teaching practices as variables leading to
lower academic achievement. Recent LFC evaluations on learning time and attendance have
been aligned with these findings, indicating the amount of instructional time and the quality of
that instructional time matter for student achievement—particularly for at-risk students.
In recent years, more school districts have switched to a 4-day school week calendar to reduce
operating costs, attract teachers, increase time for instructional planning, and improve
attendance. In 2009, about 120 districts nationwide were operating a 4-day week compared to
876 districts in 2023. In New Mexico, this transition was stalled between FY19 and FY24 by
language in the General Appropriations Act prohibiting new districts or charters from switching
to a 4-day school week. The surge in shorter school weeks nationwide has increased the number
of studies and attention on the model, which generally suggest the change to the 4-week schedule
may:
Result in lower student achievement, particularly in the long run and in urban areas,
Not save much money, considering employee salaries and benefits,
Not substantively change student attendance rates,
Result in higher staff morale, and
Be associated with fewer fights and bullying incidents in high school.
Notably, schools that deliver an equal amount or more instructional time to their students after
the change do not see the same negative impacts that districts with shorter days see.
House Bill 65/ec – Page 4
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
This bill relates to House Bill 238, which authorizes middle and high schools to count an
additional 30 professional work hours as instructional hours.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The bill amends Section 22-2-8.1. NMSA 1978, a section of law describing powers of PED and
the Public Education Commission, to give governing boards of districts and charters the
authority to set school calendars. As such, this creates more ambiguity about whether governing
boards or PED have jurisdiction over instructional time. For example, in Subsection E of this
section, the statute refers to PED’s secretary having the authority to waive the minimum length
of school days.
OTHER SUBSTANT IVE ISSUES
The average number of school days has continued to increase in recent years, following a dip in
days reported in 2018. However, new reported calendar data beginning in FY24 includes
professional workdays, which masks potential net increases in classroom days.
SL/hj