New Mexico Board of Education: Responsibilities and Oversight

The New Mexico educational landscape is shaped by the dedicated efforts of various bodies, including the New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA) and local school boards. These entities play crucial roles in ensuring quality education for all students across the state. Understanding their responsibilities is essential for anyone involved in or affected by the New Mexico education system.

The New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA)

The New Mexico School Boards Association (NMSBA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization representing school boards in New Mexico. The New Mexico School Boards Association aspires to be recognized as the premier source of development and support for local boards of education in New Mexico. As the member organization for all of New Mexico’s school boards, the NMSBA supports their efforts in providing a quality education for all students of New Mexico.

Advocacy and Support

The NMSBA conducts lobbying efforts at the state and federal levels to promote policies it believes will advance its mission. This includes advocating for:

Local Control: Supporting the local decision-making authority of school boards and opposing legislation and executive action that restricts the ability of locally elected school boards and superintendents to respond to the varied and ever-changing needs of their districts, students, and communities.
Core Education Mission: Supporting sufficient, stable, and recurring funding, resources, and the flexibility required to open the doors, meet any new mandates, and fully staff the constitutionally mandated core education program to meet the unique needs of all districts - large, medium, and small, including full funding for student transportation expenses.
Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Curriculum: Supporting legislation that will continue to fund culturally and linguistically responsive training, curriculum, and materials.

Local School Boards: Powers and Duties

Local school boards in New Mexico hold significant responsibilities and powers in shaping the educational experience within their districts. According to state statutes, a local school board has the following powers or duties:

Policy and Personnel

Educational Policies: Subject to the rules of the department, develop educational policies for the school district.
Superintendent Employment: Employ a local superintendent for the school district and fix the superintendent's salary.

Financial Oversight

Budget Approval: Review and approve the annual school district budget.
Contracting: Except for expenditures for salaries, contract for the expenditure of money according to the provisions of the Procurement Code [13-1-28 to 13-1-199 NMSA 1978].

Property and Legal Matters

Property Management: Acquire, lease, and dispose of property.
Legal Capacity: Have the capacity to sue and be sued.
Eminent Domain: Acquire property by eminent domain pursuant to the procedures provided in the Eminent Domain Code [42A-1-1 to 42A-1-33 NMSA 1978].
Bond Issuance: Issue general obligation bonds of the school district.
Property Maintenance: Provide for the repair of and maintain all property belonging to the school district.
Subpoena Power: For good cause and upon order of the district court, subpoena witnesses and documents in connection with a hearing concerning any powers or duties of the local school board.

Administrative Functions

Rule Adoption: Adopt rules pertaining to the administration of all powers or duties of the local school board.
Gifts and Grants: Accept or reject any charitable gift, grant, devise, or bequest. The particular gift, grant, devise, or bequest accepted shall be considered an asset of the school district or the public school to which it is given.
Rewards: Offer and, upon compliance with the conditions of such offer, pay rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction or other appropriate disciplinary disposition by the courts or juvenile authorities of offenders in case of theft, defacement, or destruction of school district property. All such rewards shall be paid from school district funds in accordance with rules promulgated by the department.
Program Approval: Give prior approval for any educational program in a public school in the school district that is to be conducted, sponsored, carried on, or caused to be carried on by a private organization or agency.

Key Considerations Regarding School Board Authority

Open Meetings Act: Charges of multiple intentional violations of the Open Meetings Act, which permitted policy decisions concerning the respective roles of the superintendent and the school board without public participation, were a form of misconduct for which recall was provided.
Teaching Positions: A local school board may add or abolish teaching positions in performing its fiscal responsibilities.
Supervision and Control: Section makes local board's supervision and control of public school in district "subject to the regulations of state board."
No Eleventh Amendment Immunity: School districts and their governing boards in New Mexico are not arms of the state entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.
Legislative Intent: The New Mexico legislature intended school districts or boards to be political subdivisions or local public bodies, not arms of the state.
Authority over Personnel: A local board is the only entity with power to terminate employees; the purpose of former Subsection D is to require input of a superintendent before a personnel decision is made, and not to render a board powerless to act except in accordance with the recommendation of its superintendent.
Procurement Code Exemptions: The provision of Subsection N(now Subsection J) requires school boards to contract according to all but two sections of the entire Procurement Code; this means that all bidding requirements of the Code, including the exemptions in Section 13-1-98 NMSA 1978, apply to school district contracts.
Ultra Vires Acts: Any attempt by a local school board to enter into a contract or formulate a policy that violates the specific statutory provisions governing school boards is ultra vires and void. Thus, any attempt by a school board to enter into a contract or promulgate a termination policy through manuals which give an employee rights in conflict with the School Personnel Act is ultra vires and void.
Collective Bargaining: The local school board, as the policy maker of the public employer, is the proper party to engage in collective bargaining negotiations and to review employee grievances.
Superintendent Supervision: Inherent in the power given to the school board to employ a superintendent is the ability for the board to supervise and discharge a superintendent.
Employment of Administrators: The school board effectively terminated the plaintiffs' employment as school administrators by declaring the jobs vacant, and therefore met the obligations under this section. The plaintiffs could reasonably infer from the board's actions that they were not reemployed for the next year.
Policy Making Body: A school board is the policymaking body of its local school district and retains the responsibility of formally approving expenditures during board meetings.
No Police Department: A local school board does not have the authority to create and fund an independent police department without specific legislative authority.
Misconduct Defense: Public funding may be used to defend public school districts, boards and employees in legal actions involving misconduct if the charges arise from the discharge of an official duty in which the government has an interest; the public employee was acting in good faith when the alleged wrongful conduct occurred; the employing government entity has express or implied legal authority to pay the employee's legal expenses; the employee is exonerated of the charges; and the decision to pay the legal fees is made by an impartial official or official body.
Facility Use: A local board of education may permit a particular religious denomination or private group to use public school buildings or facilities after school hours where such use, in the opinion of the school board, will not interfere with normal school activities, but the board may not in any respect sanction or give endorsement to such religious denominational programs.
Equal Treatment: A local school board must, in exercising its discretion as to whether a particular religious denomination may use public school facilities after school hours, either make the use of school facilities available to all religious groups on an equal basis and without preference as to any particular group or not permit such use at all.
Reimbursement: Since a school district may not in any manner lend its financial or other support to any private religious denominations, it is incumbent upon school authorities to obtain reimbursement for any actual expenses occasioned from a religious group's private use of public school facilities.
Employee Compensation: A local school district employee who serves on the state board of education may draw salary from the district and per diem and expenses from the state department of education; however, he may not be paid for time spent away from his duties with the district unless he takes authorized leave with pay.
Property Leases: Where a local school board desires to enter into a lease of real property to any private party or religious group and proposes to give exclusive right of possession and occupancy to school lands or buildings, the state board of finance must give its approval pursuant to Section 13-6-2 NMSA 1978. Where, however, the use permitted is temporary or brief and limited to hours when the property is not needed for school purposes, the approval of the state board of finance is not necessary, and the local board of education may or may not authorize such usage according to its discretion.
Attendance Allocation: So long as the statutory and constitutional minimum educational standards are satisfied, the local school board may allocate attendance within the district.
Student Regulations: School boards have authority to enact reasonable regulations relating to the suspension or expulsion of students.
Married Students: A rule or regulation prohibiting married students from participating in band, glee club, dramatic events, school newspapers, school clubs, school sponsored trips and school athletics is arbitrary and unreasonable and therefore void.
Pregnant Students: A rule which would require the withdrawal of a student when it is known that she is pregnant and when the school officials do not believe that such attendance is proper clearly violates the compulsory attendance law; therefore if the girl is physically capable of attending school, the local school board may not prohibit her attendance by rule or regulation merely because she is pregnant.
Smoking Bans: School boards have authority to ban smoking.

Charter School Governance

Charter school governing bodies in New Mexico also play a vital role in upholding the vision of their respective schools through effective governance.

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Governing Body Member Training

Governing body member training fulfills the Organizational Performance Framework training requirement for continuing governing body members pursuant to NMSA § 22-8B-5.1. These trainings are appropriate for governing board members, charter school leaders, and charter school business managers. Administrators and other charter school leaders are also welcome to attend. The training provided must meet the requirements of this regulation. A schedule of trainings for continuing board members is available on the Trainings Offered page.

Additional Responsibilities and Considerations

Beyond the core duties and powers, New Mexico boards of education and charter school governing bodies are responsible for various other aspects of school operations and student well-being. These include:

Student Support and Intervention

Student Intervention System: Implementing a multi-layered system of supports (MLSS) to provide targeted interventions for students who demonstrate academic or behavioral needs. This includes screening students, providing layers of support, and monitoring progress.
Advanced Instruction: Providing services for students who demonstrate a need for advanced instruction.
Special Education: Ensuring that students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment, in accordance with federal and state regulations. This includes developing and implementing individualized education programs (IEPs).

Curriculum and Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements: Establishing graduation requirements that meet state standards, while also providing flexibility for students to pursue their individual interests and goals. This includes offering a variety of elective courses, such as driver education, service learning, and financial literacy.
Next Step Plan: Developing a next step plan for each student to help them prepare for post-secondary education, career, or other life goals.
Credit Transfer: Establishing policies for the transfer of credits between schools and programs.
Dual Credit Program: Offering dual credit programs that allow students to earn both high school and college credit simultaneously.
Distance Learning: Providing distance learning courses to expand access to educational opportunities.
Standardized Grading System: Implementing a standardized grading system to ensure consistency and fairness in evaluating student performance.

Accountability and Assessment

Statewide Accountability Program: Participating in the statewide accountability program, which includes accreditation, program/budget review and approval, and accountability indicators.
Statewide Student Assessment System: Administering the statewide student assessment system to measure student learning and identify areas for improvement.
English Language Learners (ELLs): Providing appropriate accommodations and support for English language learners, including language assessments and individualized learning plans.

Other Important Areas

Indigent Identification and Guidelines: Identifying and providing support for indigent students.
School Facilities and Grounds: Maintaining safe and healthy school facilities and grounds, including implementing integrated pest management plans.
Budgeting: Managing school district finances responsibly and transparently.
Records and Reports: Maintaining accurate and complete student records and reports.
School Safety: Addressing school safety concerns, including developing emergency response plans and preventing bullying and harassment.

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