N.M. Admin. Code § 6.10.5.8 - REQUIREMENTS

All students shall be in a minimum of 1,140 instructional hours per school year, exclusive of lunch, lunch recess, and lunch passing periods. Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year:

A. Secondary students shall attend a minimum of three and one-half instructional hours per instructional day, unless a secondary student provides evidence of participating for an equivalent amount of time in an apprenticeship, a work study program, a dual-credit program, in employment, in community service or other similar activities. Instructional hour requirements for students with individualized education programs (IEPs) shall follow the requirements of the IEPs.

B. All public schools that are not exempt shall have calendars with at least 180 instructional days.

C. Early college high schools shall be exempt from the minimum 180 instructional day requirement.

D. Reading, language arts is foundational to student achievement in core subject areas; school districts and charter schools will be exempt from the minimum 180 instructional day requirement if they meet certain proficiency and growth targets in reading, language arts as determined by the secretary.

E. The length of instructional days and school days shall be a minimum of five and one-half instructional hours per full day and a minimum of three and one-half instructional hours per half day. Instructional days shall be no longer than seven and one-half instructional hours.

F. Student lunch time shall be a minimum of 30 minutes. Lunch recess and passing periods to and from lunch do not qualify as instructional hours.

G. Remote instruction may comprise no more than four instructional days, or 32 hours per school year, and at least fifty percent of remote instruction must be synchronous remote instruction, except for:

(1) hardships included in Subsection I of this section; or

(2) optional instructional programs, charter schools in accordance with the contract between the school and its chartering authority, or schools without attendance boundaries.

H. When instructional hours are lost to weather or other events that cause the total school year instructional hours to drop below 1,140, or that cause a reduction in the total number of instructional days or school days, the school calendar shall be amended so that students receive a full school year and so that the number of scheduled K-12 plus days are maintained.

I. Due to hardship, the secretary may waive, on a case-by-case basis, for a current school year, the length of instructional days and the number of instructional days with students provided that that school year is adjusted to ensure that the students receive a minimum of 1,140 instructional hours per school year. Hardships shall include but not be limited to:

(1) severe acts of nature;

(2) natural disasters that affect a community after which rescue, repair, and grieving are critical to the community's recovery;

(3) community or statewide health emergencies, where warnings about pandemics or epidemics have been issued by the department of health or the department;

(4) the passing or prolonged illness of key school staff; or

(5) violent or other disruptive acts committed on school property that necessitate a lockdown or necessitate total or partial closure of a school.

J. Up to 60 instructional hours per school year for primary grades and up to 30 instructional hours for secondary grades may be used for professional work hours, provided that professional work hours are scheduled before, after, or on a day other than the required minimum 180 instructional days. When calculating a school's total number of instructional hours, time shall not be double counted as both instructional hours with students and professional work hours.

Notes

N.M. Admin. Code § 6.10.5.8

12-31-98; 6.10.5.8 NMAC - Rn, 6 NMAC 11.4.8, 12-29-00; A, 11-13-09; A, 03-31-10, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXV, Issue 06, March 26, 2024, eff. 7/1/2024