Bill > SB516

This bill requires school districts and charter schools to implement a comprehensive financial monitoring system that collects and analyzes detailed data on operational expenses, student demographics, performance, and outcomes. By June 30th after each school year, these educational institutions must publish a financial monitoring report on their websites and submit the data to the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED). Schools are permitted to use commercial data analytics services to meet these requirements, with the option to include the service cost in their budget. The PED is mandated to develop a process for synthesizing this data to understand how school spending impacts student achievement statewide. By October 1st each year, the PED must publish and submit a return on investment report to the governor and legislature, which will outline how educational expenditures correlate with or potentially cause student achievement improvements, and include recommendations for optimizing future spending. To support this initiative, the bill appropriates $10 million from the general fund to the PED for fiscal year 2026 to cover implementation costs, with any unused funds reverting back to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year.

Education

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=516&year=25