HOUSE BILL 161

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Elaine Sena Cortez

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE; CHANGING THE PROGRAM UNIT CALCULATION FOR K-12 PLUS SCHOOLS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 22-8-23.14 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2023, Chapter 19, Section 3) is amended to read:

     "22-8-23.14. K-12 PLUS PROGRAM UNITS--ADDITIONAL PROGRAM UNITS.--

          A. A public school operating on a five-day calendar that provides more than one hundred eighty days of instruction and more than one thousand one hundred forty hours of instruction, and a public school operating on a four-day calendar that provides more than one hundred fifty-five days of instruction and more than one thousand one hundred forty hours of instruction, shall be considered a "K-12 plus school". Each school district or charter school with a K-12 plus school shall be eligible to receive program units for students in that public school.

          B. The number of K-12 plus program units is determined [by multiplying] as follows:

                (1) for a K-12 plus school providing up to one

thousand one hundred ninety-five instructional hours, by dividing the number of instructional hours provided between one thousand one hundred forty and one thousand one hundred ninety- five instructional hours by five and one-half, multiplying that number by the MEM in department-approved K-12 plus schools and multiplying that number by the cost differential factor of twelve thousandths and the number of instructional days; [provided between;

                (1) one hundred eighty-one and one hundred ninety instructional days for a public school with a five-day school week; and

                (2) one hundred fifty-six and one hundred sixty-five instructional days for a public school with a four-day school week.

          C. The number of K-12 plus program units is determined by multiplying] and

                (2) for a K-12 plus school that provides more than one thousand one hundred ninety-five instructional hours:

                     (a) for a five-day K-12 plus school, by

dividing the number of instructional hours provided between one thousand one hundred ninety-five and one thousand two hundred seventy-seven and one-half by five and one-half, multiplying that number by the MEM in department-approved K-12 plus schools and multiplying that number by the cost differential factor of sixteen thousandths; [and the number of instructional days provided between:

                (1) one hundred ninety-one and two hundred five instructional days for a public school with a five-day school week; and

                (2) one hundred sixty-six and one hundred seventy-five instructional days for a public school with a four-day school week] and

                     (b) for a four-day K-12 plus school, by dividing the number of instructional hours provided between one thousand one hundred ninety-five and one thousand two hundred fifty by five and one-half, multiplying that number by the MEM in department-approved K-12 plus schools and multiplying that number by the cost differential factor of sixteen thousandths.

          [D.] C. A school district is eligible for the total number of program units calculated in this manner for every K-12 plus school in that school district.

          [E.] D. No later than October 15 of each year, a school district or charter school that wishes to establish a new K-12 plus school for the next fiscal year shall submit to the department the actual number of students participating in each of its K-12 plus schools in the current year and an estimate of the number of students that the school district or charter school expects will participate in each K-12 plus school in the next year.

          [F.] E. No later than November 15 of each year, the department shall notify the legislature of the number of students participating in K-12 plus schools in the current school year and the number of students projected to participate in K-12 plus schools in the next school year."

     SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act apply to the 2026-2027 school year and subsequent school years.

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