Welcome to the New Mexico Public Education Department Website

The staff at the Public Education Department is grateful to educators, families, school staff, and everyone in our great state who works hard for New Mexico’s children. Read this special message from Secretary Kurt Steinhaus to the New Mexico education community.

Social Studies Standards Update

The goal of the updating New Mexico’s Social Studies Standards is to ensure that all of our students see themselves reflected in the classroom, that our learning environments are culturally and linguistically responsive, and that the rich backgrounds and perspectives of all New Mexicans come alive in the classroom. The proposed draft social studies standards have been published and are available here. Public comments on the proposed standards are posted here. We appreciate everyone who spoke at the public hearing on November 12. Learn more about the next steps for the draft standards here.

Year of Literacy

The 2021-2022 school year is the Year of Literacy across New Mexico. Check out our #GetCaughtReaching campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

Federal Funding Dashboard

Curious about how districts and charter schools are spending federal COVID-19 relief funding? The ESSER 1 (CARES ACT) Funding Report interactive dashboard shows how districts and state charter schools are spending their portions of the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund). Nearly $13.2 billion was provided to states to support the nation’s schools in safely reopening and sustaining safe operations of schools while meeting the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

ARP Act/ESSER III Application, Information, and Resources

NM Student Connect

The New Mexico Public Education Department launched NM Student Connect to help students and teachers who currently lack high-speed broadband internet service or devices get access to the internet. The NM Student Connect Help Desk can help eligible students’ households sign up for the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. For info click here or call 1-888-723-4505.

Martinez and Yazzie Consolidated Lawsuit Response Updates

The New Mexico Public Education Department has defined strategies, established timelines, and begun the work of ensuring that all students in New Mexico are engaged in a culturally and linguistically responsive education system that meets their social, emotional, and academic needs. We have much more to do, and to that end, the PED’s Identity, Equity, and Transformation team will soon share updates on how the PED is addressing those needs. To learn more about where we’ve been, where we are now, and what we’re working on for the future, the Martinez and Yazzie Consolidated Lawsuit page is packed with resources and information. We will continue to provide updates on this page as these efforts continue.

For information about New Mexico’s COVID-19 Watchlist, please visit NMED here, where you can search by city or school name.