SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION FUNDING

HB0289

HOUSE BILL 289

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

INTRODUCED BY

Gail Armstrong
and
Tanya Mirabal Moya
and
Brian G. Baca

and
Angel M. Charley

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE; PROVIDING THAT MONEY IN THE
TRANSPORTATION DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL FUND SHALL BE
USED FOR PAYMENTS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND STATE-CHARTERED
CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR TO-AND-FROM TRANSPORTATION COSTS THAT
INCLUDE THE COST OF MILES TRAVELED TO PICK UP THE FIRST STUDENT
OR CHILD ON A BUS ROUTE AND OF MILES TRAVELED TO RETURN A BUS
AFTER THE LAST STUDENT OR CHILD ON A BUS ROUTE IS DROPPED OFF;
MAKING CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 22-8-26 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
Chapter 16, Section 76, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-8-26. TRANSPORTATION DISTRIBUTION.--

A. Money in the transportation distribution of the
public school fund shall be used only for the purpose of making
payments to each school district or state-chartered charter
school for:

(1)
the to-and-from school transportation
costs of students in [
grades
] kindergarten through [
twelve
]

twelfth grade
attending public school within the school
district or state-chartered charter school and of three- and
four-year-old children who meet the department-approved
criteria
for
and definition of developmentally disabled,

including the cost of miles traveled by a school bus to pick up
the first student or child on a school bus route and the number
of miles traveled to return a school bus after the last student
or child on a school bus route is dropped off
; and [
for
]

(2) the
transportation of students to and from
their regular attendance centers and the place where vocational
education programs are being offered.

B. In the event a school district's or state-chartered charter school's transportation allocation exceeds
the amount required to meet obligations to provide to-and-from
transportation, three- and four-year-old developmentally
disabled transportation and vocational education
transportation, fifty percent of the remaining balance shall be
deposited in the transportation emergency fund.

C. Of the excess amount retained by the school
district or state-chartered charter school, at least twenty-
five percent shall be used for to-and-from transportation-related services, excluding salaries and benefits, and up to
twenty-five percent may be used for other transportation-related services, excluding salaries and benefits as defined by
rule of the department.

D. In the event the sum of the proposed
transportation allocations to each school district or state-chartered charter school exceeds the amounts in the
transportation distribution, the allocation to each school
district or state-chartered charter school shall be reduced in
the proportion that the school district or state-chartered
charter school allocation bears to the total statewide
transportation distribution.

E. A local school board or governing body of a
state-chartered charter school, with the approval of the state
transportation director, may provide additional transportation
services pursuant to Section 22-16-4 NMSA 1978 to meet
established program needs.

F. Nothing in this section prohibits the use of
school buses to transport the general public pursuant to the
Emergency Transportation Act."

SECTION 2.
Section 22-8-29.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995,
Chapter 208, Section 10, as amended) is amended to read:

"22-8-29.1. CALCULATION OF TRANSPORTATION ALLOCATION.--

A. As used in this section:

(1) "annual variables" means the coefficients
calculated by regressing the total operational expenditures
from two years prior to the current school year for each school
district and state-chartered charter school using the number of
students transported and the numerical value of site
characteristics; [
provided that for fiscal years 2022 and 2023,
the coefficients shall be calculated by regressing the total
operational expenditures from fiscal year 2019
]

(2) "base amount" means the fixed amount that
is the same for all school districts and an amount established
by rule for state-chartered charter schools;

(3) "total operational expenditures" means the
sum of all to-and-from school transportation expenditures,

including the cost of miles traveled by a school bus to pick up
the first student or child on a school bus route and the number
of miles traveled to return a school bus after the last student
or child on a school bus route is dropped off and
excluding
expenditures incurred in accordance with the provisions of
Section 22-8-27 NMSA 1978; and

(4) "variable amount" means the sum of the
product of the annual variables multiplied by each school
district's or state-chartered charter school's numerical value
of the school district's and state-chartered charter school's
site characteristics multiplied by the number of days of
operation for each school district or state-chartered charter
school.

B. The department shall calculate the
transportation allocation for each school district and state-chartered charter school.

C. The base amount is designated as product A.
Product A is the constant calculated by regressing the total
operational expenditures from the two years prior to the
current school year for school district or state-chartered
charter school operations using the numerical value of site
characteristics approved by the department. The legislative
education study committee and the legislative finance committee
may review the site characteristics developed by the state
transportation director prior to approval by the department.

D. The variable amount is designated as product B.
Product B is the predicted additional expenditures for each
school district or state-chartered charter school based on the
regression analysis using the site characteristics as predictor
variables multiplied by the number of days.

E. The allocation to each school district and
state-chartered charter school shall be equal to product A plus
product B. The adjustment factor shall be applied to the
calculation.

[
F. For the 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
school years, the transportation allocation for each school
district shall not be less than ninety-five percent or more
than one hundred five percent of the prior school year's
transportation expenditure.
]"

SECTION 3.
EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2026.

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