Chapter 22 — Chapter 22

History: Laws 1989, ch. 344, § 2; 1978 Comp., § 22-1-7, recompiled and amended as § 22-10A-33 by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 54; repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 65, § 4.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-8-7, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 112; 1977, ch. 45, § 1; 1993, ch. 226, § 26; 1978 Comp., § 22-10-10, recompiled as § 22-10A-34 by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 72; 2015, ch. 116, § 3; repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 87, § 31.

A local school board may provide as part of its compensation plan a program of sabbatical leave for its certified employees. The governing authority of a state agency may provide a program of sabbatical leave for its certified school instructors. History: 1953 Comp., § 77-8-20, e…

Sabbatical leave may be granted only upon the presentation and approval by the state department of education [public education department] of a full program of study or travel related to the certified employee's duties and showing direct benefit to the instructional program. Hist…

Any sabbatical leave program adopted by a local school district or a state agency shall provide the following as minimum conditions: A. only those certified employees who have completed at least six years of continuous service in a certified capacity with the school district or t…

Sabbatical leave pay may be allowed in any amount up to one-half of the employee's regular salary for the year immediately preceding the leave and payment shall be made by one of the two following methods: A. one-half to be paid at the end of the first year after return and one-h…

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 50-4-22 NMSA 1978, a local school district shall pay a minimum wage rate of six dollars ($6.00) per hour to all noncertified school personnel. History: Laws 1994, ch. 95, § 1; 1978 Comp., § 22-10-27, recompiled as § 22-10A-39 by Laws 2003…

licensure levels; salary alignment. A. Teaching and school administration are recognized as professions, with all the rights, responsibilities and privileges accorded professions, having their first responsibility to the public they serve. The primary responsibilities of the teac…

training. A. As used in this section: (1) "firearm" means a handgun recommended by the department of public safety and authorized by the public school insurance authority; (2) "local school board" includes governing bodies of charter schools; (3) "school district" includes charte…

Nothing in this 2019 act shall be construed as: A. allowing an armed school security personnel to carry firearms on school premises if doing so would be a violation of state or federal law; or B. applying to school resource officers. History: Laws 2019, ch. 189, § 4.

confidentiality; alleged ethical misconduct; reporting required; penalty for failure to report. A. To investigate the suitability of an applicant for licensure from the department, the department shall have access to criminal history record information furnished by the department…

investigate ethical misconduct; ethical misconduct report coordination. A. School district personnel, a school employee, a contractor or a contractor's employee who knows or has a reasonable suspicion that a child or student has been subject to ethical misconduct by school distri…

volunteer positions; requirements for work history and other information. A. A public school shall require an applicant for employment to provide: (1) a list of the applicant's current and former employers that were schools or that employed the applicant in a position involving u…

A. The department shall require a person seeking licensure or reciprocity in elementary, special, early childhood or secondary education to have completed the following minimum requirements in the college of arts and sciences: (1) nine semester hours in communication; (2) six sem…

A. A level one license is a provisional five-year license for beginning teachers that requires as a condition of licensure that the licensee undergo a formal mentorship program for at least one full school year and an annual intensive performance evaluation by a school administra…

A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the department shall issue an alternative level one license to a person who is at least eighteen years of age and who: (1) has completed a baccalaureate degree at an accredited institution of higher education and has received…

Persons holding alternative level one special education licenses on July 1, 2022 are not required to apply for a new license. History: Laws 2021, ch. 129, § 2.

A. A level one license is a provisional three-year license for beginning registered nurses who do not have at least three years of nursing experience satisfactory to the department prior to being licensed as a school nurse and that requires as a condition of licensure that the li…

purpose; department duties. A. The purpose of the teacher mentorship program is to provide beginning teachers with an effective transition into the teaching field, to build on their initial preparation and to ensure their success in teaching; to improve the achievement of student…

This act [22-10B-1 to 22-10B-9 NMSA 1978] may be cited as the "Teacher Residency Act". History: Laws 2020, ch. 25, § 1.

As used in the Teacher Residency Act: A. "department-approved teacher preparation program" means a department- approved teacher preparation program at a public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college; B. "program" means a teacher residency program created pursuan…

A. On or before July 1 of each year, the secretary, in partnership with a department- approved teacher preparation program, shall establish and maintain department- approved New Mexico teacher residency programs at public post-secondary educational institutions and tribal college…

A teacher residency program established pursuant to the Teacher Residency Act shall include: A. competitive admission requirements with multiple criteria; B. rigorous department-approved teacher preparation program coursework, which shall be offered while the teaching resident un…

To be eligible to be admitted and hired as a teaching resident under the program, an individual shall not hold a level one, two or three-A teaching license and shall: A. be in the final year of a department-approved undergraduate teacher preparation program; or B. hold a bachelor…

requirements. The public post-secondary educational institution or tribal college shall establish criteria for selection of individuals to participate in the program. The selection criteria shall include: A. a demonstration of comprehensive subject area knowledge or a record of a…

The department shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the Teacher Residency Act. History: Laws 2020, ch. 25, § 7.

The "teacher residency fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations to the fund. Money in the fund is subject to appropriation by the legislature to implement the provisions of the Teacher Residenc…

Public post-secondary educational institutions and tribal colleges shall collaborate with their partner school district or charter school to submit data to the department no later than July 1 of each year. The department shall compile data from all residency sites and submit a re…

This act [22-10C-1 to 22-10C-4 NMSA 1978] may be cited as the "National Board Certification Scholarship Act". History: Laws 2020, ch. 26, § 1.

As used in the National Board Certification Scholarship Act, "school principal" includes a charter school head administrator. History: Laws 2020, ch. 26, § 2.

qualifications; applications; preferences; reports. A. The department may award a "national board certification scholarship" to an eligible teacher seeking certification from the national board for professional teaching standards, which scholarship shall be equal to the certifica…

The "national board certification scholarship fund" is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury. The fund consists of appropriations, gifts, grants and donations. The fund is subject to appropriation by the legislature. Money in the fund shall be expended solely for t…

Chapter 22, Article 10D NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "School Administrator Development Act". History: 1978 Comp., § 22-10D-1, enacted by Laws 2025, ch. 148, § 12.

As used in the School Administrator Development Act: A. "program" means a department-approved school administrator preparation program; and B. "site administrator" means a school principal, assistant school principal or charter school head administrator. History: 1978 Comp., § 22…

programs; requirements; department approval. A. A public post-secondary education institution, tribal college or other qualified entity that wants to offer a school administrator preparation program is required to have the program approved by the department in accordance with cri…

Chapter 22, Article 11 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Educational Retirement Act". History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-1, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 125; 1991, ch. 118, § 2.

A. The amount of salaries and fees to be paid by the board shall be fixed by the regulations of the board. B. Salaries and fees paid, and all other necessary expenditures of the board, shall be paid out of the fund unless otherwise provided by law. History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-10,…

A. The "educational retirement fund" and the "educational retirement suspense fund" are created. B. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds, and the board shall be the trustee of the funds. C. All membership fees, contributions from members and local administrativ…

The state treasurer shall make disbursements from the educational retirement fund or the educational retirement suspense fund only on warrants issued by the department of finance and administration or through any other process as approved by the department of finance and administ…

standard; indemnification of board. A. The board is authorized to invest or reinvest the fund in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act [45-7-601 to 45-7-612 NMSA 1978]. B. The board shall provide quarterly performance reports to the legislative finance committee and th…

A. No member of the board or employee of the board shall have any interest, directly or indirectly, in the gains or profits of any investments made by the board, except for regular salaries and per diem and mileage allowances authorized pursuant to the Educational Retirement Act.…

A. After filing written demand with the director, a member is entitled to a refund of the total amount of the member's contributions plus interest at a rate set by the board, reduced by the sum of any disability benefits previously received by the member, if: (1) the member termi…

Except as otherwise provided in the Educational Retirement Act, being a regular member shall be a condition of employment and shall exclude membership and participation in any other state retirement program. History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-16, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 140.

employees. Notwithstanding Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of Section 22- 11-2 NMSA 1978, a regular member who is an employee of a local administrative unit that is a state educational institution named in Article 12, Section 11 of the constitution of New Mexico…

An employee engaged on a day-to-day basis to replace another employee who is temporarily absent shall be considered a substitute and shall not be covered under the Educational Retirement Act. An employee engaged to fill a vacant position, including a position vacated by a leave o…

A provisional member is a person who is employed by the board, the department, the New Mexico school for the deaf, the northern New Mexico state school, the New Mexico school for the blind and visually impaired, the girls' welfare home, the New Mexico boys' school or the Los Luna…

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-9-17.1, enacted by Laws 1971, ch. 73, § 1; repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 21, § 20.

A. Any person qualified to be a regular or provisional member covered by a retirement program established for federal civil service employees shall have six months after the commencement of employment to file a written notice with the director of his election not to be covered by…

Comprehensive Employment and Training Act.] All participants covered under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (Public Law 95-524) are exempt from coverage under the Educational Retirement Act, effective July 1, 1979, except for those employees who have vested in the pl…

cooperatives. Any person employed by a regional education cooperative and qualified to be a regular or provisional member shall have the right to acquire earned service credit for periods of employment with the regional education cooperative when the member was neither covered no…