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4-29-2024 9:59pm
Education Battle: New Mexico's 180-Day Rule follows 33 Other States But Sparks Lawsuit and Debate
Chris Edwards
Editor
New Mexico’s biggest public policy debate around public education appears to be the number of school days of which students should attend in recent days.
New Mexico ranks in the bottom of the nation in educational outcomes of students in public education our rank is #47 to # 50 and has stood that rank for over a decade. Neighboring Texas ranks #28. Texas requires 1260 hours of classroom instruction for every grade level, New Mexico requires 990 hours for elementry and 1080 hours for 8th grade to senior. Our state leaders Republicans and Superintendents are quibling over school days and school hours as New Mexico students fall furter behind.
A minimum school year of 180 days has been the norm for a long time. In August 1989, 33 states and D.C. had 180-day requirements, according to a 1992 report from the National Center for Education Statistics.
The New Mexico House Republican Caucus has requested to join the lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Superintendent’s Association(NMSA), which also includes 54 school districts (that’s 64% of all school districts) and four charter schools, challenging the state Public Education Department (PED) and its policy of requiring a minimum of 180 instructional days for schools.
This lawsuit comes after Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s line-item veto of a bipartisan provision in this year’s state budget bill that would have prevented PED from setting a 180-day school day requirement. Lawmakers argue that the mandatory rule goes against a state statute that says school calendars should be based on the total number of instructional hours, not days.
Since the rule was announced, school districts, educators, and parents have voiced significant concerns. These range from insufficient funds for additional transportation and food provision to burdensome travel times for students residing in our state’s very rural areas. Educators have also threatened to leave their jobs over the rule.
All 25 Republicans in the state's House of Representatives signed a letter to the Executive Director of the NMSA, which states in part, “As you know, we have been opposed to this mandate since its inception. While PED's adoption of this rule remains contrary to almost 40 years of statutory mandates around instructional time, what is even more concerning to us is the negative impact this will have on schools, school staff, students, and families…this new rule is only a political stunt intended to mislead the public into believing real, positive impacts are imminent.”
Yet, when New Mexico ranks in the bottom of states in student performance shouldn’t the battle be over how to improve outcomes verses the number of school days a student attends. A majority of the districts in the state are already within a few days of the 180 day threshold. But how does New Mexico compare to the rest of the country in relation to school day attendance?
On average, K-12 public schools will be in session close to 180 days this year, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Education Commission of the States.
Thirty one state require students to attend 180 days or more, 27 states are at 180 days.
Every state sets rules for the minimum amount of time school must be in session. The minimum is usually some combination of days and hours per year and hours per day; state policies also establish how much, if any, non-instructional time – such as lunch, recess and class changes – can count toward those minimums. Individual districts set their own calendars based on those statewide rules, unless they obtain a waiver.
The most common way that states regulate instructional time is to set a minimum number of days for the school year; 38 states and the District of Columbia do so. The majority of those states (27 of 38), along with D.C., mandate 180 instructional days, making it the closest thing the country has to a national norm.
How many hours in a school day – or a school year?
Besides setting a minimum number of days, states can regulate school time by mandating a certain number of hours or minutes per school year. Thirty-nine states have these types of laws or policies, according to the Education Commission of the States. If you look at school hours New Mexico has established 1080 school hours for 8th grade to high school students. Less for elementary students yet compare that to Texas, and Houston, no, Santa Fe, we have a problem!
Texas requires 1260 hours of instruction for every grade elementary to secondary. Texas school systems rank #28 in the nation and New Mexico between #47 and #50 depending upon the survey and criteria. New Mexico legislators and Superintendents should quit quivering over the number of days our schools are attempting to educate our kids, and focus on discipline and outcomes. When a system ranks in the top then one can begin tooling with shortening the number of school days.
When will New Mexico legislators get serious about public education?
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