New Mexico K–5 Plus

The purpose of K–5 Plus is to demonstrate that increased time in kindergarten and the early grades narrows the achievement gap between at-risk students and other students, increases cognitive skills and leads to higher test scores for all participants.

View a video about K-5 Plus! (password: nmped)

In its early years, the K-5 Plus (then K-3 Plus) program required the implementation of the 25 additional days before the beginning of the regular school year. The 2021 legislation mandates that the program be implemented school wide – that every student enrolled at a campus participates. The program provides funding for additional instructional days in order to assist in the bridging of achievement gaps. As such, it is NOT designed to be a remedial program but is an extension of the regular school year. Program days can be conducted any time throughout the school year, though they MUST be program days and may not, with the exception of the K-5 Plus Pilot 140, be conducted as equivalent hours.

Per Senate Bill 40 (SB40), which was approved during the 2021 regular Legislative Session, both the K–5 Plus Program and the Extended Learning Time Program (ELTP) have been fully funded for FY22 and have additional program flexibilities for implementation. Per House Bill 2 (HB2), from the same Legislative session, NMPED is offering a K-5 Plus Pilot 140. (The K-5 Plus pilot program is a two-year research commitment, as such a competitive grant, and requires an application. Registration and application information are linked in the respective memoranda.)

It is the hope and expectation that all schools across our state participate in one or both programs in order to help recover the in-person instructional time that was lost to students due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Districts and Charter Schools are strongly encouraged to participate in either of the programs. The language in the statute is as follows:

“A school district or charter school that chooses not to participate in· a K-5 plus program or extended learning time program during the 2021-2022 school year shall provide written notification to the public education department, legislative education study committee and legislative finance committee of its intent not to participate and additional documentation detailing how the school district or charter school will recover instructional time that was lost to students due to the public health emergency in its educational plan pursuant to Section 22-8-6 NMSA 1978.”