Bill > HB238

This bill modifies existing New Mexico law regarding school instructional hours by adjusting the provisions for professional work hours in middle and high schools. Specifically, the bill eliminates the current language that limits professional work hours to thirty hours for middle and high school grades and replaces it with a provision allowing up to sixty instructional hours per school year for these grade levels to be used for professional work hours, which can be embedded during the normal school day. A "professional work hour" is defined as time when teachers engage in activities like home visits, parent-teacher conferences, educator training, professional development, mentorship, coaching, and collaboration between school employees. The bill maintains the existing requirement that students must receive a minimum of 1,140 instructional hours per year (except for half-day kindergarten, which requires 550 hours), and allows these professional work hours to be integrated into the instructional time. The bill does not change other aspects of the existing law, such as the ability of local school boards to set school years or days longer than the minimum requirements, or the secretary's ability to waive minimum day lengths in cases of undue hardship.

Education

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=H&legtype=B&legno=238&year=25