On March 9, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law four education bills putting years of investment and measurable student gains into permanent state law. The four bills are intended to bolster reading and math instruction, establish a state Office of Special Education and significantly reduce health insurance premiums for educators. The four bills cover literacy instruction, math teacher preparation, special education services and school employee insurance. All four bills passed both chambers of the legislature with near-unanimous or unanimous bipartisan support.
Following is a summation of the legislation Governor Lujan Grisham signed into law:
SB 37 (HIGH QUALITY LITERACY INSTRUCTION ACT)
Senate Bill 37 is known as the High Quality Literacy Instruction Act. It seeks to improve how the state’s schools teach reading by using a grade-specific testing system for early readers and requiring teachers to use approved instructional materials from the Public Education Department. SB 97 was sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart, Rep. Joy Garratt and Rep. Catherine Cullen, and passed unanimously in both chambers.
SB 37 requires teachers to train in literacy instruction with a special focus on students with reading disabilities and English-language learners. Under the bill, the Public Education Department will assign a literacy coach to elementary schools with low average reading proficiency beginning in the 2027-28 school year.
Senate Bill 37 requires K to 3rd grade reading assessments, mandates that parents be notified when a child is struggling and assigns literacy coaches to schools statewide to support classroom teachers. The legislation builds on $60.4 million in state literacy investment since 2019, including training more than 10,000 educators in evidence-based reading instruction.
Nearly half of New Mexico elementary and middle school students now read at grade level, up from upwards of one-third three years ago. Reading proficiency across grades 3 to 8 has climbed 10% since 2022. Students who have historically been underserved are leading those gains:
- Native American students posted 13% improvements.
- Economically disadvantaged students gained 12%.
- Hispanic students gained 10%.
- English learners improved by 8%.
The state is investing $30 million in capital outlay for a new literacy institute which is modeled on successful programs in Kansas, Florida and Pennsylvania. The new literacy institute is to be completed by end of 2026 and capable of serving 500 students at a time.
Senate Bill 37 requires schools to employ best practices from a pedagogy known as structured literacy. A Legislative Education Study Committee report on the bill found that similar approaches have paid off to significant effect in states like Mississippi, which also spent years at the bottom of national NAEP scores. Data published by the Urban Institute shows Mississippi has risen to the top of several categories, when adjusted for demographic information such as race and special education status.
Senate Bill 37 is a companion to Senate Bill 29 discussed immediatly below.
SB 29 (MATH IMPROVEMENT)
Senate Bill 29 is an effort to reform math instruction in New Mexico’s schools. The bill requires student teachers to take additional undergraduate coursework in math pedagogy to get a teaching license and establishes regular statewide standards for math instruction. SB 29 requires teachers to conduct regular math assessments in kindergarten through third grade, and to notify a student’s parents if they show difficulty in math.
SB 29 raises math coursework requirements for all teacher licensure levels and directs the New Mexico Public Education Department to develop a Mathematics Instructional Leadership Framework, which outlines math instruction for teachers. Beginning in the 2027-28 school year, the bill requires early math screening in grades K to 3rd grade, with parent-notified support plans and interventions for at-risk students.
SB 29 passed unanimously in both chambers and was sponsored by Sen. William Soules, Rep. Debra Sariñana and Rep. Catherine Cullen, and
HB 30 (STIPEND FOR UNDERGRADUATE TEACHER RESIDENTS)
House Bill 30 sets the minimum stipend for an undergraduate teacher resident at 65% of an entry level teacher’s salary, or $35,750. For teacher residents with a bachelor’s degree, the bill raises the minimum stipend to 80% of an entry level salary, or $44,000. The bill mandates teacher residents to spend a minimum of three years at any public school in New Mexico, instead of at the district or school where they completed their residency under the previous law.
SB 64 (OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION)
has long been a priority for Governor Lujan Grisham. She first established the office by executive order in 2023 and she urged lawmakers to permanently house it within PED during her final State of the State address in January. The office is meant to track and prevent discrimination against special-needs students.
The Office of Special Education will create a statewide Individualized Education Program, known as an IEP, that will be maintained electronically so that families with special-needs children will not have to start over if they transfer school districts. Governor Lujan Grisham said the initiative is of particular importance to her, because her sister was a special needs student who often had instruction in a “broom closet” because there was no other space for her.
Senate Bill 64 establishes a state Office of Special Education, housed within the PED, to protect and support disabled students. The Office of Special Education will monitor and prevent discrimination against students with special needs, and work to establish policies to help them succeed in school. The special education office will also implement a uniform Individualized Education Program, otherwise known as an IEP, to ensure continuity when students with disabilities move between schools.
Lujan Grisham said the special education bill will help the state meet its requirements under the 2019 Yazzie-Martinez decision, which ruled that the state has a constitutional obligation to provide every student with a sufficient education, especially Native American students, English-language learners, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students.
The SB 64 passed 62 to 1 in the House and 38 to 1 in the Senate. SB 64 was sponsored by Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, Rep. Joy Garratt and Sen. Cindy Nava.
HB 47 (SCHOOL EMPLOYEE INSURANCE)
House Bill 47, effective at the beginning of July, requires employers to pay at least 80% of health insurance premiums for public school workers, bringing them to parity with other state employees. Employees would cover a maximum of 20% of their premiums under the bill. HB 47 replaces a tiered employer insurance contribution structure, which varied from 60% to 80% depending on salary, with a flat minimum of 80% for every school district and charter school employee, regardless of salary. The bill is backed by $73.15 million in new appropriations to the public school fund for FY 2027.
Teachers and other state employees will get a 1% raise under the new state budget, down from 3% last year. Lawmakers have said they hope the cheaper health insurance will make up for next year’s smaller raises. Sen. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque said this:
“Health insurance is a cost that is rising so fast it eats into those raises that we try and give our educators. … There is no educator that can stay in a career where their paycheck shrinks year after year after year.”
HB 47 passed unanimously in both the House and Senate chambers. HB 47 was Sponsored by Rep. Raymundo Lara, Sen. Natalie Figueroa, Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, Rep. Tanya Mirabal Moya and Rep. Brian Baca.
GOVERNOR’S STATEMENT
Flanked by local students and lawmakers from the House and the Senate Education committees, Governor Lujan Grishman she hoped the package of legislation would help change the state’s reputation for public education, particularly in science and math. Lujan Grisham said that New Mexico’s literacy rate is climbing while the nation’s rate decreases.
The Governor said this of the legislation she signed into law:
“No child will be left [behind]. No family will be unsupported. … Every student can learn to read. Every student will get support in every context. … I think New Mexico can be the education model for the country … and I’m really proud that I got to be at the beginning phases of that. … This is … one of the state’s most important moments. … Today marks another milestone in changing the trajectory of public education in New Mexico. Reading proficiency is up 10 percentage points since 2022. Teacher pay is 30% higher than when I took office. We moved that needle substantially, and we’re not done. Thank you to every lawmaker who invested in New Mexico’s students this session.”
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
New Mexico has long ranked near the bottom of the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores. New Mexico ranked 50th in the country in reading and math in a 2024 report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed only 20% of fourth graders were proficient in reading and 23% were proficient in math. In middle school, progress worsened with 19% of eighth graders showed proficiency in reading and 14% in math. Governor Lujan Grisham and a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers at the bill signing said they hope to see all that change as a result of the legislation and funding past.
Evidence of improving the state’s education system is becoming clear. Proficiency in reading and math is increasing. Teacher starting salaries in New Mexico are 30% higher than when Governor Lujan Grisham took office over seven years ago. A $30 million summer reading intervention program enrolled more than 16,000 students over two years, producing an 11% increase in reading proficiency among participants.
It’s notewothy that both Senate Bill 37 and Senate Bill 39 passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. The signing of all the bills into law reflect a sustained investment in New Mexico public education. Taken together the bills reflect a major milestone of improving the states lagging education system.
Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:
https://www.krqe.com/video/governor-signs-four-education-bills/11592308/
https://www.koat.com/article/governor-signs-four-education-bills-new-mexico-law/70692707
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/mexico-gov-michelle-lujan-grisham-194345610.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall