DENIAL OF ENROLLMENT TO SCHOOL

HB0245

HOUSE BILL 245

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

INTRODUCED BY

Rebecca Dow
and
Alan T. Martinez
and
Rod Montoya

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; PROVIDING THAT A PUBLIC SCHOOL
SHALL NOT DENY ENROLLMENT TO A SCHOOL-AGE PERSON ON THE BASIS
OF RACE, ETHNICITY, SEX, RELIGION, DISABILITY, SOCIOECONOMIC
STATUS OR RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS; LIMITING A LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD'S
ABILITY TO ESTABLISH ENROLLMENT PREFERENCES; REQUIRING LOCAL
SCHOOL BOARDS TO DETERMINE THE CAPACITY OF EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL
BY GRADE LEVEL, POST THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES AT LEAST ONCE
EVERY TWELVE WEEKS AND ENROLL APPLICANTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ON
A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS IF CAPACITY ALLOWS; REQUIRING
LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE PUBLIC EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT ON ENROLLMENT DATA FOR EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL AND
REQUIRING THE DEPARTMENT TO PUBLISH THAT DATA ON THE
DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE; MAKING CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 22-1-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975,
Chapter 338, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-1-4. FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS--EXCEPTIONS--WITHDRAWING AND
ENROLLING--OPEN ENROLLMENT.--

A. Except as provided by Section 24-5-2 NMSA 1978,
and except as provided in Subsection [
H
]
J
of this section, a
free public school education shall be available to any school-age person who is a resident of this state and has not received
a high school diploma or its equivalent.

B. A free public school education in those courses
already offered to persons pursuant to the provisions of
Subsection A of this section shall be available to any person
who is a resident of this state and has received a high school
diploma or its equivalent if there is available space in such
courses.

C. A person entitled to a free public school
education pursuant to the provisions of this section may enroll
or re-enroll in a public school at any time and, unless
required to attend school pursuant to the Attendance for
Success Act, may withdraw from a public school at any time.
A
public school shall not deny enrollment to a school-age person
on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability,
socioeconomic status or residential address.

D. In adopting and promulgating rules concerning
the enrollment of students transferring from a home school or
private school to the public schools, the local school board
shall provide that the grade level at which the transferring
student is placed is appropriate to the age of the student or
to the student's score on a student achievement test
administered according to the statewide assessment and
accountability system.

E. A local school board shall adopt and promulgate
rules [
governing
]
allowing
enrollment and re-enrollment
of any
student
at
any
public [
schools
]
school
, other than
a
charter
[
schools
]
school
, within the school district. These rules
shall include:

(1) definition of the school district boundary
and the boundaries of attendance areas for each public school;

(2) for each public school, definition of the
boundaries of areas outside the school district boundary or
within the school district but outside the public school's
attendance area and within a distance of the public school that
would not be served by a school bus route as determined
pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 if enrolled, which areas
shall be designated as "walk zones";

(3) priorities for enrollment of students as
follows:

(a) first, students residing within the
school district, or who will be residing within the school
district if the student is a child in a military family who
will be attending public school in the school district during
the upcoming school year as provided in Subsection [
H
]
J
of
this section, and within the attendance area of a public school
and students who had resided in the attendance area prior to a
parent who is an active duty member of the armed forces of the
United States or member of the national guard being deployed
and whose deployment has required the student to relocate
outside the attendance area for custodial care;

(b) second, students who previously
attended the public school or are the children of a military
family living in temporary housing and are assigned, awaiting
placement or pending a move to permanent housing in a different
attendance area where the students' family seeks enrollment of
the students in either their current school attendance area or
the school attendance area of the permanent housing; and

(c) third, all other applicants;

(4) establishment of maximum allowable class
size if smaller than that permitted by law; and

(5) rules pertaining to grounds for denial of
enrollment or re-enrollment at schools within the school
district [
and the school district's hearing and appeals process
for such a denial
]. Grounds for denial of enrollment or re-enrollment shall be limited to:

(a) a student's expulsion from any
school district or private school in this state or any other
state during the preceding twelve months; or

(b) a student's behavior in another
school district or private school in this state or any other
state during the preceding twelve months that is detrimental to
the welfare or safety of other students or school employees.

F. A student's parent who is aggrieved by a public
school's denial of enrollment to the student may appeal the
denial to the secretary. If a transfer application has not
been acted upon by a local school board within thirty days of
receiving the application, the transfer shall be deemed
approved for enrollment. The department shall promulgate rules
for the process to appeal a denial; provided that:

(1) only a school's lack of capacity or the
grounds for denial set forth in Paragraph (5) of Subsection E
of this section may support a denial of enrollment; and

(2) the secretary's decision on an appeal
shall be made within a reasonable time, shall be in writing and
shall be a final decision on the matter.

[
F.
]
G.
In adopting and promulgating rules
governing enrollment and re-enrollment at public schools other
than charter schools within the school district, a local school
board may establish additional enrollment preferences for rules
admitting students [
in accordance with the second and third
priorities of enrollment set forth in Subparagraphs (b) and (c)
of Paragraph (3) of Subsection E of this section
]. The
additional enrollment preferences may include:

[
(1) after-school child care for students;

(2) child care for siblings of students
attending the public school;

(3)
]
(1)
children of employees employed at the
public school;
and

[
(4) extreme hardship;

(5) location of a student's previous school;

(6)
]
(2)
siblings of students already
attending the public school [
and

(7) student safety
].

[
G.
]
H.
As long as the maximum allowable class size
established by law or by rule of a local school board,
whichever is lower, is not met or exceeded in a public school,
[
by enrollment of first- and second-priority persons
] the
public school shall enroll other persons applying [
in the
priorities stated in the school district rules adopted pursuant
to Subsections E and F of this section
]
on a first-come, first-
served basis
. If the maximum would be exceeded by enrollment
of [
an applicant in the second and third priorities
]
all
applicants
, the public school shall establish a waiting list.
As classroom space becomes available, persons highest on the
waiting list [
within the highest priority on the list
] shall be
notified and given the opportunity to enroll.

I. A local school board shall determine the
capacity of each public school in the local school board's
district by grade level; provided that this requirement shall
not apply to specialized programs. A public school shall post
the number of vacancies for each grade level on the school's
website at least once every twelve weeks. If a public school
has capacity, the school shall enroll students throughout the
school year.

[
H.
]
J.
Every school district and charter school
shall allow military families that will be relocating to a
military installation in New Mexico pursuant to an official
military order to enroll their children in public school prior
to their actual physical presence in the school district. A
parent may submit the student's name for any lottery-selected
charter school, magnet school or other public school program
for which the student qualifies. The school district or
charter school shall accept electronic applications for
enrollment, including enrollment in a specific school or
program with the school district or charter school. The school
district or charter school shall provide the applicant with
materials regarding academic courses, electives, sports and
other relevant information regarding the public school in which
the student wants to be enrolled. The public school shall
preregister the student in anticipation of the student's
enrollment. A student's parent:

(1) shall provide proof of residence in the
school district within forty-five days after the published
arrival date provided on official military documentation; and

(2) may use any of the following addresses
related to the family's military move:

(a) a temporary on-base billeting
facility;

(b) off-base military housing; or

(c) a purchased or leased residence.

K. A local school board shall report annually to
the department on the enrollment data for each public school in
the local school board's district, including transfer
applications, acceptances, denials, the reason for each denial
and the number of resident students who transferred to a school
outside of the student's attendance area. The department shall
publish the data from these reports annually on the
department's website.
"

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