1. By the end of the 2028-2029 school year and at least every five years thereafter, the department shall evaluate all full-time distance learning programs to certify that the programs are in compliance with the Public School Code and related rules, including provisions related to instructional hours, class load and teaching load limits. If the department determines that a full-time distance learning program was not in compliance during the period preceding the evaluation, the department may withhold up to one hundred percent of allotments of funding for distance learning students from the school district or state-chartered charter school that operates the full-time distance learning program until the local superintendent or head administrator submits, and the department approves, a plan by which the school district or state-chartered charter school will come into compliance with the Public School Code and related rules.

History: Laws 2026, ch. 8, § 12.

ANNOTATIONS

Effective dates. — Laws 2026, ch. 8, § 15 made Laws 2026, ch. 8, § 12 effective July 1, 2026.

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2026, ch. 8, § 13 effective February 25, 2026, provided:

A. For the purposes of the Public School Finance Act [Chapter 22, Article 8 NMSA 1978] in fiscal year 2026, a school district with MEM over eight thousand whose MEM on the first reporting date of fiscal year 2026 is at least ten percent lower than the school district's MEM on the first reporting date of fiscal year 2025 shall calculate the total number of program units to which the school district is entitled by averaging the school district's MEM on the first reporting date of fiscal year 2025 and the school district's MEM on the first reporting date of fiscal year 2026.

B. For the purposes of the Public School Finance Act in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, a school district is not eligible for enrollment growth program units pursuant to Section 22-8-23.1 NMSA 1978 for students enrolled in a full-time distance learning program.

C. For fiscal year 2027, a school district or charter school shall not reorganize to create a school district, school or school program that has a majority of students enrolled in a full-time distance learning program.

D. The legislative education study committee, in collaboration with the legislative finance committee and the public education department, shall conduct a comprehensive study on virtual instruction in the state. The study shall evaluate the status of full-time distance learning programs or similar programs and assess the outcomes of students enrolled in the programs, with particular focus on those students who are in kindergarten through fifth grade, the cost of operating the programs and potential legislative action regarding full-time distance learning programs. On or before November 1, 2026, the legislative education study committee shall submit a final report on the comprehensive study to the governor, the public education department and the legislative finance committee.

E. As used in this section, "full-time distance learning program" means a public school instructional program in which students receive virtual instruction and are not required to attend school at a school building.