CREATE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, the official text

SENATE BILL 64

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart and Joy Garratt and Cindy Nava

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; ENACTING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION
ACT; CREATING THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE PUBLIC
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT; PROVIDING FOR A DEPUTY SECRETARY OF
SPECIAL EDUCATION; PROVIDING POWERS AND DUTIES; REMOVING GIFTED
STUDENTS FROM SPECIAL EDUCATION; RECOMPILING CURRENT SPECIAL
EDUCATION STATUTES INTO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION ACT; AMENDING,
REPEALING, ENACTING AND RECOMPILING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1. Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003,
Chapter 153, Section 3, as amended by Laws 2019, Chapter 206,
Section 1 and by Laws 2019, Chapter 207, Section 1) is amended
to read:

"22-1-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Public School Code:

A. "academic proficiency" means mastery of the
subject-matter knowledge and skills specified in state academic
content and performance standards for a student's grade level;

B. "charter school" means a school authorized by a
chartering authority to operate as a public school;

C. "commission" means the public education
commission;

D. "department" means the public education
department;

E. "home school" means the operation by the parent
of a school-age person of a home study program of instruction
that provides a basic academic educational program, including
reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and
science;

F. "instructional support provider" means a person
who is employed to support the instructional program of a
school district, including educational assistant, school
counselor, social worker, school nurse, speech-language
pathologist, psychologist, physical therapist, occupational
therapist, recreational therapist, marriage and family
therapist, interpreter for the deaf and diagnostician;

G. "licensed school employee" means teachers,
school administrators and instructional support providers;

H. "local school board" means the policy-setting
body of a school district;

I. "local superintendent" means the chief executive
officer of a school district;

J. "multilayered system of supports" means a
coordinated and comprehensive framework of evidence-based
academic and behavioral supports that address a student's
educational needs with graduated intensity based on data
collected about the student;

[J.] K. "parent" includes a guardian or other
person having custody and control of a school-age person;

[K.] L. "private school" means a school, other than
a home school, that offers on-site programs of instruction and
that is not under the control, supervision or management of a
local school board;

[L.] M. "public school" means that part of a school
district that is a single attendance center in which
instruction is offered by one or more teachers and is
discernible as a building or group of buildings generally
recognized as either an elementary, middle, junior high or high
school or any combination of those and includes a charter
school;

[M.] N. "school" means a supervised program of
instruction designed to educate a student in a particular
place, manner and subject area;

[N.] O. "school administrator" means a person
licensed to administer in a school district and includes school
principals, central district administrators and charter school
head administrators;

[O.] P. "school-age person" means a person who is
at least five years of age prior to 12:01 a.m. on September 1
of the school year, who has not received a high school diploma
or its equivalent and who has not reached the person's twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year and meets
other criteria provided in the Public School Finance Act;

[P.] Q. "school building" means a public school, an
administration building and related school structures or
facilities, including teacher housing, that is owned, acquired
or constructed by the school district as necessary to carry out
the functions of the school district;

[Q.] R. "school bus private owner" means a person,
other than a school district, the department, the state or any
other political subdivision of the state, that owns a school
bus;

[R.] S. "school district" means an area of land
established as a political subdivision of the state for the
administration of public schools and segregated geographically
for taxation and bonding purposes;

[S.] T. "school employee" includes licensed and
nonlicensed employees of a school district;

[T.] U. "school principal" means the chief
instructional leader and administrative head of a public
school;

[U.] V. "school year" means the total number of
contract days offered by public schools in a school district
during a period of twelve consecutive months;

[V.] W. "secretary" means the secretary of public
education;

[W.] X. "state agency" or "state institution" means
the New Mexico military institute, New Mexico school for the
blind and visually impaired, New Mexico school for the deaf,
New Mexico boys' school, girls' welfare home, New Mexico youth
diagnostic and development center, Sequoyah adolescent
treatment center, Carrie Tingley crippled children's hospital,
New Mexico behavioral health institute at Las Vegas and any
other state agency responsible for educating resident children;

[X.] Y. "state educational institution" means an
institution enumerated in Article 12, Section 11 of the
constitution of New Mexico;

Z. "student" means a school-aged person who is
enrolled in a public school;

AA. "student assistance team" means a school-based
group whose purpose is to provide additional educational
support to students who are experiencing difficulties that are
preventing them from benefiting from general instruction;

[Y.] BB. "substitute teacher" means a person who
holds a certificate to substitute for a teacher in the
classroom;

[Z.] CC. "teacher" means a person who holds a level
one, two or three-A license and whose primary duty is classroom
instruction or the supervision, below the school principal
level, of an instructional program or whose duties include
curriculum development, peer intervention, peer coaching or
mentoring or serving as a resource teacher for other teachers;

[AA.] DD. "certified school instructor" means a
licensed school employee; and

[BB.] EE. "certified school employee" or "certified
school personnel" means a licensed school employee."

SECTION 2. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 2 through 6 of this
act may be cited as the "Special Education Act"."

SECTION 3. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Special
Education Act:

A. "deputy secretary" means the deputy secretary
for special education;

B. "dyslexia" means a specific learning disability
that is neurobiological in origin and characterized by
difficulty with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor
spelling and decoding abilities, which characteristics
typically result from a deficit in the phonological component
of language that is often unexpected in relation to other
cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom
instruction and may result in problems in reading comprehension
and reduced reading experience that may impede the growth of
vocabulary and background knowledge;

C. "office" means the office of special education;

D. "school district" includes charter schools;

E. "special education" means the provision of
services additional to, supplementary to or different from
those provided in the regular school program by a systematic
modification and adaptation of instructional techniques,
materials and equipment to meet the needs of three- and four-year-old children and students with disabilities; and

F. "student with disabilities" means a student with
physical or mental impairments or specific learning
disabilities who, as a result of those impairments or specific
learning disabilities, requires special education and related
services in accordance with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act."

SECTION 4. A new section of the Public School Code is
enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION--CREATED--
DUTIES.--

A. The "office of special education" is created in
the department. The "deputy secretary for special education"
shall be appointed by the secretary on the basis of education
and experience in special education. The deputy secretary
shall direct the activities of the office and shall directly
report to the secretary.

B. The office shall:

(1) ensure that students with disabilities are
provided with the same opportunity for education as students
without disabilities;

(2) verify that all students with disabilities
receive a free appropriate public education, regardless of the
nature or severity of the disabilities;

(3) ensure stability and consistency of
services for students with disabilities;

(4) develop and maintain a statewide uniform
online system for the formulation of individualized education
programs and require all school districts to use the system to
document services, monitor progress and ensure consistency,
fidelity and compliance with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act time lines and safeguards; and

(5) enforce laws regarding the education of
students with disabilities, including the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, the Special Education Act and
laws that prohibit discrimination against students with
disabilities."

SECTION 5. Section 22-13-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1972,
Chapter 95, Section 3, as amended) is recompiled in the Special
Education Act and is amended to read:

"SPECIAL EDUCATION--RESPONSIBILITY.--

A. The [state board] office shall make, adopt and
keep current a state plan for special education policy,
programs and standards.

B. The department [of education with the approval
of the state board] shall set standards for diagnosis and
screening of and educational offerings for [exceptional
children] students with disabilities in public schools,
developmentally delayed three- and four-year-old children whose
parents have requested special education services from school
districts and eligible children in private, nonsectarian,
nonprofit training centers and in state institutions under the
authority of the secretary of health.

C. The [state board] department shall establish and
maintain [a] an evaluation program [of evaluation] of the
system that monitors the implementation and impact of all
special education programs for [exceptional] three- and four-year-old developmentally delayed children and students with
disabilities in the public schools. [This program] The system
shall be operated with the cooperation of [local] school
districts. Portions of the [program] system may be
subcontracted, and periodic reports regarding the efficacy of
special education programs for [exceptional] children and
students with disabilities shall be made to the governor and
the legislative education study committee.

D. The [department of education] office shall
coordinate programming related to the transition of [persons]
students with disabilities from secondary and post-secondary
education programs to employment or vocational placement in
accordance with the Special Education Act."

SECTION 6. Section 22-13-32 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2010,
Chapter 59, Section 2, as amended) is recompiled in the Special
Education Act and is amended to read:

"[INTERVENTION] SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS DISPLAYING
CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA.--

A. Within the course of the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021
school years and in each subsequent school year, all first
grade students shall be screened for dyslexia.

B. A student whose dyslexia screening demonstrates
characteristics of dyslexia and who is having difficulty
learning to read, write, spell, understand spoken language or
express thoughts clearly shall receive appropriate classroom
interventions through a multilayered system of supports or be
referred to a student assistance team.

C. In accordance with department [response to
intervention] procedures for a multilayered system of supports,
guidelines and policies, each school district [or charter
school] shall provide timely, appropriate, systematic,
scientific, evidence-based interventions prescribed by the
student assistance team, with progress monitoring to determine
the student's response or lack of response to interventions.

D. A parent of a student referred to a student
assistance team shall be informed of the parent's right to
request an initial special education evaluation at any time
during the school district's [or charter school's]
implementation of the interventions prescribed by the student
assistance team. If the school district [or charter school]
agrees that the student may have a disability, the student
assistance team shall refer the child for an evaluation. The
student shall be evaluated within sixty days of receiving the
parental consent for an initial evaluation. If the school
district [or charter school] refuses the parent's request for
an initial evaluation, the school district [or charter school]
shall provide written notice of the refusal to the parent,
including notice of the parent's right to challenge the school
district's [or charter school's] decision as provided in state
and federal law and rules.

E. Within the course of the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021
school years, every school district [and charter school] shall
develop and implement a literacy professional development plan
that includes a detailed framework for structured literacy
training by a licensed and accredited or credentialed teacher
preparation provider for all elementary school teachers and for
training in evidence-based reading intervention for reading
interventionists and special education teachers working with
students demonstrating characteristics of dyslexia or diagnosed
with dyslexia. The plan shall continue to be implemented each
school year and may be updated as necessary. The department
shall provide lists of recommended teacher professional
development materials and opportunities for teachers and school
administrators regarding evidence-based reading instruction for
students at risk for reading failure and displaying the
characteristics of dyslexia.

F. School districts [and charter schools] shall
train school administrators and teachers who teach reading to
implement appropriate evidence-based reading interventions.
School districts [and charter schools] shall train special
education teachers to provide structured literacy training for
students who are identified with dyslexia as a specific
learning disability and who are eligible for special education
services.

G. The department shall provide technical
assistance for special education diagnosticians and other
special education professionals regarding the formal special
education evaluation of students suspected of having a specific
learning disability, such as dyslexia.

H. The department shall adopt rules, standards and
guidelines necessary to implement this section."

SECTION 7. TEMPORARY PROVISION--RECOMPILATION.--Section
22-13-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2009, Chapter 162, Section 1) is
recompiled in the Special Education Act.

SECTION 8. REPEAL.--Section 22-13-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
1972, Chapter 95, Section 2, as amended) is repealed.

SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.

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