NM
New Mexico Senate Bill SB256

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

New Mexico Senate Bill SB256 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11 underscored material = new
22 [bracketed material] = delete
33 1
44 2
55 3
66 4
77 5
88 6
99 7
1010 8
1111 9
1212 10
1313 11
1414 12
1515 13
1616 14
1717 15
1818 16
1919 17
2020 18
2121 19
2222 20
2323 21
2424 22
2525 23
2626 24
2727 25
2828 SENATE BILL 256
2929 57
3030 TH LEGISLATURE
3131 -
3232
3333 STATE
3434
3535 OF
3636
3737 NEW
3838
3939 MEXICO
4040
4141 -
4242 FIRST SESSION
4343 ,
4444
4545 2025
4646 INTRODUCED BY
4747 Anthony L. Thornton and Nicholas A. Paul
4848 AN ACT
4949 RELATING TO SCHOOL SAFETY; ENACTING THE SCHOOL TEACHERS ON-SITE
5050 PROTECTION ACT; REQUIRING THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
5151 CONDUCT SCHOOL EMPLOYEE FIREARM TRAINING; ESTABLISHING
5252 PROCEDURES FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TO BE LICENSED AND APPOINTED TO
5353 CARRY HANDGUNS ON SCHOOL PREMISES; ADDING SCHOOL EMPLOYEES
5454 LICENSED AND APPOINTED TO CARRY A HANDGUN TO EXCEPTIONS TO
5555 UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF A DEADLY WEAPON ON SCHOOL PREMISES.
5656 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
5757 SECTION 1. A new section of the Public School Code is
5858 enacted to read:
5959 "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 4 of this
6060 act may be cited as the "School Teachers On-Site Protection
6161 Act"."
6262 SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
6363 .228751.2 underscored material = new
6464 [bracketed material] = delete
6565 1
6666 2
6767 3
6868 4
6969 5
7070 6
7171 7
7272 8
7373 9
7474 10
7575 11
7676 12
7777 13
7878 14
7979 15
8080 16
8181 17
8282 18
8383 19
8484 20
8585 21
8686 22
8787 23
8888 24
8989 25
9090 enacted to read:
9191 "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the School
9292 Teachers On-Site Protection Act:
9393 A. "appointed school employee" means a school
9494 employee who has successfully completed the school employee
9595 firearm training program, is licensed to carry a handgun
9696 pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act and is appointed by
9797 the local superintendent of a school district or head
9898 administrator of a charter school to carry a handgun on school
9999 premises; and
100100 B. "trainee" means a person who is licensed to
101101 carry a handgun pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act and
102102 is a participant in the school employee firearm training
103103 program."
104104 SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
105105 enacted to read:
106106 "[NEW MATERIAL] SCHOOL EMPLOYEE FIREARM TRAINING AND
107107 LICENSURE PROGRAM.--
108108 A. The department of public safety shall establish
109109 and maintain a school employee firearm training program open to
110110 any employee of a school district, charter school or private
111111 school who holds a license to carry a handgun issued under the
112112 Concealed Handgun Carry Act. The training shall be conducted
113113 by department of public safety staff or a provider approved by
114114 the department of public safety.
115115 .228751.2
116116 - 2 - underscored material = new
117117 [bracketed material] = delete
118118 1
119119 2
120120 3
121121 4
122122 5
123123 6
124124 7
125125 8
126126 9
127127 10
128128 11
129129 12
130130 13
131131 14
132132 15
133133 16
134134 17
135135 18
136136 19
137137 20
138138 21
139139 22
140140 23
141141 24
142142 25
143143 B. The department of public safety shall collect
144144 from each employee who participates in the school employee
145145 firearm training program identifying information that includes
146146 the person's name and date of birth, the license number of the
147147 license issued to the person pursuant to the Concealed Handgun
148148 Carry Act and the address of the school district, charter
149149 school or private school that employs the person.
150150 C. The school employee firearm training program
151151 shall include forty hours of instruction designed to:
152152 (1) emphasize strategies for preventing school
153153 shootings and for securing the safety of potential victims of
154154 school shootings;
155155 (2) educate a trainee about legal issues
156156 relating to the duties of peace officers and the use of force
157157 or deadly force in the protection of others;
158158 (3) introduce the trainee to effective law
159159 enforcement strategies and techniques;
160160 (4) improve the trainee's proficiency with a
161161 handgun; and
162162 (5) enable the trainee to respond to an
163163 emergency situation requiring deadly force, such as a situation
164164 involving an active shooter.
165165 D. The department of public safety, in consultation
166166 with a psychologist or psychiatrist, shall devise and
167167 administer a psychological examination to each trainee to
168168 .228751.2
169169 - 3 - underscored material = new
170170 [bracketed material] = delete
171171 1
172172 2
173173 3
174174 4
175175 5
176176 6
177177 7
178178 8
179179 9
180180 10
181181 11
182182 12
183183 13
184184 14
185185 15
186186 16
187187 17
188188 18
189189 19
190190 20
191191 21
192192 22
193193 23
194194 24
195195 25
196196 determine whether the trainee is psychologically fit to carry
197197 out the duties of an appointed school employee in an emergency
198198 shooting or active shooter situation.
199199 E. The department of public safety shall charge
200200 each trainee a reasonable fee to cover the cost of conducting
201201 the school employee firearm training program.
202202 F. The department of public safety shall issue a
203203 school employee firearm license to a trainee who is eligible
204204 for appointment to carry a firearm on school premises if the
205205 trainee:
206206 (1) completes training under this section to
207207 the satisfaction of department of public safety staff; and
208208 (2) is psychologically fit to carry out the
209209 duties of an appointed school employee as indicated by the
210210 results of the psychological examination administered under
211211 this section.
212212 G. A school employee firearm license issued or
213213 renewed pursuant to the provisions of the School Teachers On-
214214 Site Protection Act shall expire on July 31 following the
215215 second anniversary of the date the department of public safety
216216 issued that license.
217217 H. A school employee licensed to carry a firearm on
218218 school premises may renew a school employee firearm license by:
219219 (1) successfully completing a school employee
220220 firearm license renewal course designed and administered by the
221221 .228751.2
222222 - 4 - underscored material = new
223223 [bracketed material] = delete
224224 1
225225 2
226226 3
227227 4
228228 5
229229 6
230230 7
231231 8
232232 9
233233 10
234234 11
235235 12
236236 13
237237 14
238238 15
239239 16
240240 17
241241 18
242242 19
243243 20
244244 21
245245 22
246246 23
247247 24
248248 25
249249 department of public safety that shall not exceed sixteen hours
250250 of combined classroom and simulation training;
251251 (2) demonstrating appropriate knowledge on an
252252 examination designed and administered by the department of
253253 public safety;
254254 (3) demonstrating handgun proficiency to the
255255 satisfaction of department of public safety staff; and
256256 (4) demonstrating psychological fitness on the
257257 examination described in Subsection D of this section.
258258 I. The department of public safety shall revoke a
259259 person's school employee firearm license if the person's
260260 license to carry a handgun issued pursuant to the Concealed
261261 Handgun Carry Act has been suspended or revoked. A person
262262 whose school employee firearm license is revoked may obtain
263263 recertification by:
264264 (1) furnishing proof that the person's handgun
265265 license pursuant to the Concealed Handgun Carry Act has been
266266 reinstated; and
267267 (2) completing the initial training pursuant
268268 to Subsection C of this section to the satisfaction of
269269 department of public safety staff, paying the fee for the
270270 training and demonstrating psychological fitness on the
271271 psychological examination described in Subsection D of this
272272 section.
273273 J. For each person issued a school employee firearm
274274 .228751.2
275275 - 5 - underscored material = new
276276 [bracketed material] = delete
277277 1
278278 2
279279 3
280280 4
281281 5
282282 6
283283 7
284284 8
285285 9
286286 10
287287 11
288288 12
289289 13
290290 14
291291 15
292292 16
293293 17
294294 18
295295 19
296296 20
297297 21
298298 22
299299 23
300300 24
301301 25
302302 license, the department of public safety shall submit the
303303 identifying information collected pursuant to Subsection B of
304304 this section to the:
305305 (1) secretary of public safety;
306306 (2) school district, charter school or private
307307 school that employs the person; and
308308 (3) chief law enforcement officer of the local
309309 municipal law enforcement agency where the school district,
310310 charter school or private school is located; provided that when
311311 there is no municipal law enforcement agency, identifying
312312 information shall be submitted to the county sheriff in the
313313 county in which the school district, charter school or private
314314 school is located.
315315 K. The department of public safety shall
316316 immediately report the expiration or revocation of a school
317317 employee firearm license to each entity listed in Subsection J
318318 of this section.
319319 L. Information collected or submitted under this
320320 section is submitted for security purposes as part of a
321321 confidential tactical plan or procedure and shall not be
322322 disclosed in a request made pursuant to the Inspection of
323323 Public Records Act."
324324 SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
325325 enacted to read:
326326 "[NEW MATERIAL] SCHOOL EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT AND HANDGUN
327327 .228751.2
328328 - 6 - underscored material = new
329329 [bracketed material] = delete
330330 1
331331 2
332332 3
333333 4
334334 5
335335 6
336336 7
337337 8
338338 9
339339 10
340340 11
341341 12
342342 13
343343 14
344344 15
345345 16
346346 17
347347 18
348348 19
349349 20
350350 21
351351 22
352352 23
353353 24
354354 25
355355 CARRYING PROCEDURES.--
356356 A. The local superintendent of a school district or
357357 head administrator of a charter school may appoint one or more
358358 school employees to carry handguns for each school campus.
359359 B. The school district or charter school may
360360 reimburse the amount paid by the appointed school employee to
361361 participate in the school employee firearm training program
362362 pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of the School Teachers
363363 On-Site Protection Act.
364364 C. A school district or charter school that
365365 appoints a school employee to carry a handgun on school
366366 premises shall enact policies to provide for the safe carrying
367367 of a concealed handgun by the school employee, and the policies
368368 shall require that:
369369 (1) an appointed school employee may carry a
370370 concealed handgun on the school employee's person or possess
371371 the handgun on the physical premises of a school in a locked
372372 and secured safe or other locked and secured location; and
373373 (2) a handgun carried or possessed by a
374374 licensed and appointed school employee may be loaded only with
375375 frangible duty ammunition approved for that purpose by the
376376 department of public safety.
377377 D. An appointed school employee may carry a
378378 concealed handgun or possess a handgun on the physical premises
379379 of a school; provided that:
380380 .228751.2
381381 - 7 - underscored material = new
382382 [bracketed material] = delete
383383 1
384384 2
385385 3
386386 4
387387 5
388388 6
389389 7
390390 8
391391 9
392392 10
393393 11
394394 12
395395 13
396396 14
397397 15
398398 16
399399 17
400400 18
401401 19
402402 20
403403 21
404404 22
405405 23
406406 24
407407 25
408408 (1) the appointed school employee shall act in
409409 accordance with the policies for carrying a handgun by school
410410 employees adopted by the school district or charter school; and
411411 (2) the appointed school employee shall only
412412 carry a concealed handgun at the specific school as specified
413413 in writing by the local superintendent of the school district
414414 or the head administrator of the charter school.
415415 E. An appointed school employee may use a handgun
416416 that the appointed school employee is authorized to carry or
417417 possess only under circumstances that would justify the use of
418418 deadly force pursuant to Section 30-2-7 NMSA 1978.
419419 F. A school district or charter school employee's
420420 status as an appointed school employee to carry a handgun on
421421 school premises becomes inactive upon:
422422 (1) expiration of the employee's school
423423 employee firearm license;
424424 (2) suspension or revocation of the employee's
425425 license to carry a handgun issued pursuant to the Concealed
426426 Handgun Carry Act;
427427 (3) termination of the employee's employment
428428 with the school district or charter school; or
429429 (4) written notice from the school district or
430430 charter school that the employee's services as an appointed
431431 school employee are no longer required.
432432 G. The identity of an appointed school employee
433433 .228751.2
434434 - 8 - underscored material = new
435435 [bracketed material] = delete
436436 1
437437 2
438438 3
439439 4
440440 5
441441 6
442442 7
443443 8
444444 9
445445 10
446446 11
447447 12
448448 13
449449 14
450450 15
451451 16
452452 17
453453 18
454454 19
455455 20
456456 21
457457 22
458458 23
459459 24
460460 25
461461 under this section is part of a confidential tactical plan or
462462 procedure and shall not be disclosed in a request made pursuant
463463 to the Inspection of Public Records Act."
464464 SECTION 5. Section 30-7-2.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
465465 Chapter 232, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
466466 "30-7-2.1. UNLAWFUL CARRYING OF A DEADLY WEAPON ON SCHOOL
467467 PREMISES.--
468468 A. Unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school
469469 premises consists of carrying a deadly weapon on school
470470 premises except by:
471471 (1) a peace officer;
472472 (2) school security personnel;
473473 (3) a student, instructor or other school-
474474 authorized personnel engaged in army, navy, marine corps or air
475475 force reserve officer training corps programs or state-
476476 authorized hunter safety training instruction;
477477 (4) a school employee licensed and appointed
478478 to carry a handgun on school premises pursuant to the School
479479 Teachers On-Site Protection Act;
480480 [(4)] (5) a person conducting or participating
481481 in a school-approved program, class or other activity involving
482482 the carrying of a deadly weapon; or
483483 [(5)] (6) a person older than nineteen years
484484 of age on school premises in a private automobile or other
485485 private means of conveyance, for lawful protection of the
486486 .228751.2
487487 - 9 - underscored material = new
488488 [bracketed material] = delete
489489 1
490490 2
491491 3
492492 4
493493 5
494494 6
495495 7
496496 8
497497 9
498498 10
499499 11
500500 12
501501 13
502502 14
503503 15
504504 16
505505 17
506506 18
507507 19
508508 20
509509 21
510510 22
511511 23
512512 24
513513 25
514514 person's or another's person or property.
515515 B. As used in this section, "school premises"
516516 means:
517517 (1) the buildings and grounds, including
518518 playgrounds, playing fields and parking areas and any school
519519 bus of any public elementary, secondary, junior high or high
520520 school in or on which school or school-related activities are
521521 being operated under the supervision of a local school board;
522522 or
523523 (2) any other public buildings or grounds,
524524 including playing fields and parking areas that are not public
525525 school property, in or on which public school-related and
526526 sanctioned activities are being performed.
527527 C. Whoever commits unlawful carrying of a deadly
528528 weapon on school premises is guilty of a fourth degree felony."
529529 - 10 -
530530 .228751.2