A hearing in the civil court case over a change in the mandatory school calendar is set for Sept. 30 in Roswell.
In March, the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and dozens of rural school districts sued the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) over its mandate that every school calendar contain at least 180 instructional days. The superintendents association and school districts argued schools with four-day weeks would be forced to extend their school year at great expense or convert to five days, to the detriment of their students and staff.
Schools with four-day weeks typically had about 155 instructional days prior to the rule the department adopted last year.
The plaintiffs said the PED didn’t have the authority to mandate the change and was acting in opposition to the Legislature’s intent — earlier in 2023, lawmakers increased the minimum number of instructional hours without specifying the number of days in a school year.
They also said PED implemented its rule before the law’s July 1 effective date by requiring districts and charter schools to submit calendars and budgets conforming to the rule before then.
The department contends a plain reading of the applicable state statutes makes it clear the PED has the authority to enforce the rule. It also says the additional school days are necessary to improve the state of education in New Mexico.
District Court Judge Dustin K. Hunter in May issued an injunction preventing the department from enforcing the rule until the case is decided. That decision came too late for some charter schools, with at least two in Albuquerque going forward with calendars reflecting the new rule.
The hearing was originally set for July 29, but the sides, engaged in mediation mandated by Hunter, asked the judge to delay it so they could try to reach an agreement.
The results of further mediation efforts are unclear and attorneys from neither side responded to inquiries on the matter.
The superintendents association’s motion for summary judgment claims the Legislature made its intent clear last year when passing a bill to increase the minimum number of instructional hours without specifying the number of days in a school year. The motion also notes legislators didn’t provide funding for lengthening the school year.
The PED’s motion for partial summary judgment says the Legislature distributes operations money based on districts’ program costs, and that the argument that lawmakers would have provided additional funding for a longer school year is invalid.
Hunter previously approved a request by Roswell Republican state Reps. Candy Spence Ezzell and Jared Hembree, along with Sen. Greg Nibert to join the case as amici curiae, or friends of the court.
The American Federation of Teachers New Mexico and the New Mexico School Boards Association have also filed motions to join the case. Online court records indicate Hunter has not ruled on those motions.