A. An operating budget for a school district shall not be approved by the department if the educational plan does not provide for:

(1) a school year and school day as provided in Section 22-2-8.1 NMSA 1978; and

(2) a pupil-teacher ratio or class or teaching load as provided in Section 22-10A-20 NMSA 1978.

B. The department shall, by rule, establish the requirements for an instructional day, the standards for an instructional hour and the standards for a full-time teacher and for the equivalent thereof.

History: 1953 Comp., § 77-6-9, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 63; 1969, ch. 180, § 6; 1979, ch. 32, § 1; 1982, ch. 40, § 1; 1986, ch. 33, § 14; 1988, ch. 64, § 19; 1993, ch. 223, § 1; 1993, ch. 226, § 19; 1994, ch. 68, § 1; 1996, ch. 62, § 1; 1997, ch. 136, § 1; 2001, ch. 285, § 1; 2003, ch. 153, § 29; 2009, ch. 276, § 2; 2019, ch. 206, § 10; 2019, ch. 207, § 10.

Cross references. — For the public education department, see 9-24-4 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, provided that certain information must be included in the school district's educational plan prior to approval of the school district's operating budget; in Subsection A, in the introductory clause, deleted "A" and added "An operating", and after "department", deleted "that" and added "if the educational plan".

Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 10, and Laws 2019, ch. 207, § 10, both effective June 14, 2019, enacted identical amendments to this section. The section was set out as amended by Laws 2019, ch. 207, § 10. See Section 12-1-8 NMSA 1978.

Applicability. — Laws 2019, ch. 206, § 29 and Laws 2019, ch. 207, § 29, provided that the provisions of §§ 2 through 19 apply to the program cost calculation in fiscal year 2020 and subsequent fiscal years.

The 2009 amendment, effective June 19, 2009, in Paragraph (1) of Subsection A, after "a school year", deleted "consisting of at least one hundred eighty full instructional days or the equivalent thereof; exclusive of any release time for in-service training"; and deleted "(2) a variable school year consisting of a minimum number of instructional hours established by the state board" and added the reminder of the sentence.

The 2003 amendment, effective April 4, 2003, deleted "of education" following "department" near the middle of Subsection A; substituted "22-10A-20" for "22-2-8.2" following "Section" near the end of Subsection A(3); in Subsection B substituted "rule" for "regulation" following "shall, by" near the beginning, substituted "an instructional" for "a teaching" following "requirements for" near the middle and substituted "teacher" for "certified school instructor" following "a full-time" near the end; and deleted Subsection C.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, inserted "of education" following "department" in Subsection A; substituted "school instructor" for "classroom instructor" in Subsection B; and deleted Subsection D, which read "The provisions of Subsection C and Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of this section shall apply to school districts with a MEM of one thousand or fewer."

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, deleted former Subsection A(4), which read: "effective July 1, 1997, a full-time, department-certified nurse for each fifty-five teachers employed by a school district or the equivalent part-time, department-certified nurse for less than fifty-five teachers" and in Subsection D, deleted "be construed to" following "shall" and deleted "only" following "apply".

The 1996 amendment, effective May 15, 1996, added Paragraph A(4) and made a stylistic change in Subsection D.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, deleted "effective with the 1987-88 school year" following "in-service training" in Paragraph (1) of Subsection A and substituted "a MEM" for "an ADM" in Subsection D.

The 1988 amendment, effective May 18, 1988, substituted "department" for "division" near the beginning of Subsection A and "an ADM of 1,000 or fewer" for "an ADM of 500 or fewer" in Subsection D.