Summary:

 House Bill 94 (HB 94) addresses Public Schools Code to provide for maximum class loads for kindergarten and grades one through three. HB 94 Provides additional requirements for a school district seeking a temporary waiver of maximum class loads and requires school districts to include information about class loads in the school districts’ educational plans for budget purposes. HB 94 makes an appropriation.
 

Legislation Overview:

 House Bill 94 (HB 94) addresses Public Schools Code to provide for maximum class loads for kindergarten and grades one through three as follows:
SECTION 1 amends operating budgets and educational plans in Subsection E to insert Paragraph (2) requiring that a school district shall include the current and previous school years’ class load and the teaching load of each elementary and secondary class provided for in the school district’s operating budget.
SECTION 2 amends staffing patterns regarding class and teaching loads in several subsections to delete individual and average loads and specify maximum class and teaching loads. Subsections C and D are added. Additional changes specify the maximum class sizes at each level and in the case of a waiver. State board is deleted throughout this section and department is inserted as follows:
A. The maximum class load for elementary school teachers shall be 20 students for kindergarten; provided that any teacher in kindergarten with a class load of 15 to 20 students shall be entitled to the assistance of an educational assistant. 
B. The maximum class load for elementary school teachers shall be 20 students for grade one; provided that any teacher in grade one with a class load of 15 to 20 students shall be entitled to the full-time assistance of an educational assistant. 
C. . For the 2026-2027 school year and subsequent school years, the maximum class load for elementary school teachers shall be 20 students for grade two; provided that for the 2025-2026 school year, the maximum class load shall be 22 students for grade two. 
D. For the 2027-2028 school year and subsequent school years, the maximum class load for elementary school teachers shall be 20 students for grade three; provided that for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years, the maximum class load shall be 22 students for grade three.
Subsection G is amended to delete reference to students receiving special education services in elementary schools offering only one grade level. 
Subsection I (formerly G) provides that the secretary may waive the individual school class load requirements upon a school district’s application. A school district seeking a waiver for more than one school shall submit an application for each of the schools. Applications shall be submitted annually, but the secretary shall not grant a waiver for a school for more than two consecutive years. Waivers may only be granted if a school district demonstrates that it meets the the requirements in Paragraphs 1-5. In Paragraph(1), which specifies that no portable classrooms are available, the provision adds or alternative classroom spaces.
Paragraph 5 is inserted as follows: 
(5) the school district has held a public hearing in accordance with the Open Meetings Act to provide affected families with an explanation of the class load requirements, the reason for the school district's waiver application and the school district's plan to comply with the class load requirements after the waiver expires.
J. If a waiver is granted pursuant to this section to an individual school, the class load for elementary school teachers at that school shall not exceed 21 students in kindergarten and grade one, 22 students in grades two and three and 25 students when averaged among grades four, five and six.
K. Each school district shall report to the department the size and composition of classes on the first and second reporting dates. Failure to meet class load requirements within two years shall be justification for the disapproval of the school district's budget by the department.
L. The department shall post approved waivers on the department's website and report to the legislative education study committee by November 30 of each year regarding each school district's ability to meet class load requirements imposed by law. 
The original Subsection K is deleted entirely. This subsection allowed the state board may waive individual class and teaching load requirements as specified in this subsection.
SECTION 3 makes an appropriation of $2,000,000 from the General Fund to the Public School Capital Outlay Fund for expenditure in Fiscal Year 2025 and subsequent fiscal years for grant awards to schools for projects to build or acquire additional classroom space to meet the requirements of Section 22-10A-20 NMSA 1978. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.

 

Current Law:

 House Bill 94 amends current law:
Section 22-8-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 16, Section 60, as amended)
Section 22-10A-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1986, Chapter 33, Section 3, as amended)