New Mexico OKs rule on suspending boards of school districts

SANTA FE N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Public Education Department has approved a new rule allowing the state to suspend a school district board because of fraud or other serious problems that severely impair the district.

The rule approved last week allows both emergency and nonemergency suspensions of entire boards but not individual members, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

The rule includes a requirement that the state provide notice to the district and replaces a rule adopted in 2005 that applied to superintendents, principals and charter school governing boards.

The state in 2021 suspended the Los Lunas and Floyd school boards but department spokeswoman Judy Robinson said the revised rule was “an attempt to clarify the suspension process rather than a response to a particular incident.”

The New Mexico School Boards Association supported the final version of the new rule.

“The main thing we were pushing for was to ensure the suspension of board members was the last step in a process,” Association Executive Director Joe Guillen said Wednesday. “We got that commitment, and you’ll see in a couple of places it does mention prior notice and opportunities for the board to address concerns and undergo trainings.