A. A local superintendent shall not initially employ or approve the initial employment in any capacity of a person who is the spouse, father, father-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, sister or sister-in-law of a member of the local school board or the local superintendent. The local school board may waive the nepotism rule for family members of a local superintendent.

B. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the continued employment of a person employed on or before July 1, 2008.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-4-3.1, enacted by Laws 1971, ch. 199, § 1; 1981, ch. 86, § 1; 2003, ch. 153, § 22; 2009, ch. 195, § 1.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, after "daughter-in-law", added "brother, brother-in-law, sister or sister-in-law" and in Subsection B, changed March 1, 2003 to July 1, 2008.

The 2003 amendment, effective April 4, 2003, in Subsection A substituted "superintendent" for "school board" following "local" near the beginning and inserted "or the local superintendent. The local school board may waive the nepotism rule for family members of a local superintendent." at the end; and substituted "2003" for "1981" at the end of Subsection B.

Object of section is to prevent nepotism in initial hiring of school employees. The hiring of a teacher closely related to a member of the school board justifiably arouses public suspicion that the teacher was hired on the basis of relationship rather than merit. Such suspicions, however, relate only to the initial hiring of the teacher. There is no reason to suspect nepotism in the continued employment of a tenured teacher whose competency has been established by years of service, merely because a family member is elected to the school board at some time during the teacher's career. N.M. State Bd. of Educ. v. Board of Educ., 1981-NMSC-031, 95 N.M. 588, 624 P.2d 530 (decided prior to 1981 amendment).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Validity, construction, and effect of state constitutional or statutory provision regarding nepotism in the public service, 11 A.L.R.4th 826.