STUDY TEACHER WORKLOADS

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A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE TO
CONDUCT A STUDY EXAMINING REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICES RELATED
TO TEACHER WORKLOADS AND THE STRUCTURE OF INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS
AND TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY
INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS THAT INCLUSIVELY
BENEFIT ALL NEW MEXICO STUDENTS.
WHEREAS, research consistently identifies quality
teachers as the single most important in-school factor to
positively influence student achievement and outcomes; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico teachers are responsible for
providing tailored instruction to students with varied
cultural, linguistic, developmental and socioeconomic
backgrounds, as well as a wide range of individual learning
needs across the state's urban, rural, frontier and tribal
communities; and
WHEREAS, to support student learning, achievement of
instructional goals and local community needs and priorities,
New Mexico teachers are responsible for core instructional
duties and professional responsibilities requirements at both
state and local levels; and
WHEREAS, research indicates that teachers in New Mexico
and across the nation spend a substantial and increasing
portion of their working time on non-instructional duties,
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including lesson preparation; professional development and
self-review; student assessments; development and monitoring
of individualized education plans; compliance activities; and
various other duties; and
WHEREAS, teachers are increasingly responsible for
administering multiple summative, formative and interim
assessments and specialized assessments across instructional
areas, as well as ensuring students' well-being by
understanding and addressing students' needs for both current
and long-term academic success; and
WHEREAS, fragmented and disconnected education data
systems, including school accountability and student
assessment data, require teachers to devote substantial
efforts to non-instructional tasks, such as data analysis and
reporting, to inform responsive student interventions and
differentiation, reducing teachers' available time for
instruction, collaboration and professional learning; and
WHEREAS, proposals that could further increase teacher
workload, such as literacy and mathematics screening, family
and parent notification and development of individualized
student plans, continue to be considered by the legislature;
and
WHEREAS, the 2023 legislative education study committee
report "Leveraging Learning Time in New Mexico" noted that
improving and protecting educators' professional work time is
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directly connected to the necessary conditions in school
environments for improved student outcomes; and
WHEREAS, according to the publication "No Time to Lose"
by a study group of the national conference of state
legislatures, international research on high-performing
education systems, including those in Finland, Singapore and
Japan, indicates that balanced teaching loads and
high-quality teacher development, such as collaboration,
mentorship and effective professional development and
embedding professional work into the school day, support both
teacher growth and student learning; and
WHEREAS, research indicates that teacher workload and
job demands are associated with elevated levels of stress and
burnout, which can affect student learning, teacher retention
and instructional continuity; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico continues to experience high vacancy
rates for teachers and other educational positions, with New
Mexico state university's southwest outreach academic
research evaluation and policy center reporting in its 2025
"New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report" a staggering one
thousand one hundred eleven vacancies across the state,
including six hundred four teacher and two hundred eighty-
nine educational or instructional assistant vacancies, and
New Mexico's school leaders continue to communicate the
growing challenge statewide of recruiting and retaining
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qualified teachers, especially in rural communities and among
teachers with specialized training in serving students with
disabilities; and
WHEREAS, increasingly, teachers report viewing their
profession as unsustainable within their allotted contract
hours, and survey results show teachers often work
substantially more hours than their contracts require,
attributing the increased work hours primarily to non-
instructional tasks; and
WHEREAS, a legislatively authorized study could evaluate
how time is allocated to teachers during the school day,
including instructional and professional work and how state
and local requirements, professional learning requirements
and available resources impact teacher schedules and
instructional time, and the study could provide analysis and
recommendations on structuring teacher time to balance
workload and support teacher effectiveness, thereby improving
student achievement and outcomes;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the
legislative education study committee be requested to conduct
a study examining the statutory requirements and current
practices related to teacher workload and the structure of
the instructional day and to develop recommendations to
support high-quality instruction and teacher effectiveness to
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benefit and serve New Mexico's student population, including
students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged
students, English learners and Native American students who
are named in the Martinez/Yazzie consolidated lawsuit; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education
study committee be requested to conduct the study by working
with a representative group of educational leaders; educators
representing numerous grade levels, areas of instructional
expertise and communities across New Mexico; school
personnel; teacher unions; the legislative finance committee;
and the public education department; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education
study committee be requested to publish a report of the
study, including its research and recommendations, by
December 31, 2026; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the director of the legislative education study
committee, the director of the legislative finance committee
and the secretary of public education.