TRAININGS OFFERED

The Charter Schools Division (CSD) offers four types of training, all free of charge and open to the public. All trainings are held online. To register for all trainings, email charter.schools@ped.nm.gov.

Governing Board Training

Section 6.80.5 of the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) requires all charter school governing board members to receive training.

New board members must complete 10 specific hours of training in the first fiscal year they are designated to the board. This training may be accessed only through the Charter Schools Division of the New Mexico Public Education Department. This course is a self-paced, asynchronous learning environment called Canvas. New board members may email charter.schools@ped.nm.gov to enroll.

Continuing board members must complete 5 specific hours of training. Continuing members may complete their training through courses offered by the charter schools division, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico trainings, National Charter School Conferences, and approved training providers.

If you would like to apply to be an approved board training provider, please fill out this form and send it to charter.schools@ped.nm.gov.

See the 2024-25 Governing Board Training Schedule (PDF) for trainings offered by CSD. To register, please email charter.schools@ped.nm.gov, include your full name and the name of the school board on which you serve.

To inquire about New Governing Board Member On-Demand Training, please email: charter.schools@ped.nm.gov. Please be sure to include your full name and the name of the school board on which you serve.

CSD trainings are provided free of charge. Notice of cancellation, if necessary, will be given no less than 24 hours in advance of the course.

To become an approved board trainer, review the Charter School Governing Body Training Areas and Recommended Standards and then email an Application to Provide Continuing Governing Board Member Training to charter.schools@ped.nm.gov. The application will be reviewed and scored according to the Governing Board Application-Rubric and Evaluation Tool.

New Application Training

New Application Trainings are designed for teams that have submitted a Notice of Intent in January and intend to submit an application for a new charter school by June. This training will prepare candidates for the application submission process. The are not repeat sessions; each session builds off the prior session. New Application training will be scheduled between January and May, 2025.

Renewal Application Training

Renewal Application Training is intended for schools whose contracts expire at the end of the next school year. The school should begin preparing parts of the renewal packet no later than spring of the prior school year. Completed renewal applications are due by October 1. The trainings are not repeat sessions; each session builds off the prior session. Renewal Application trainings for schools whose contracts end June 30, 2026, will be scheduled February to April, 2026.

Implementation Year Training

Implementation Year Training is to assist schools in their planning year (i.e., their application was approved but the PEC has not yet approved them to commence operations). Participants learn about and work on school policies, procedures, legal requirements, etc. in order to complete all the tasks necessary to open a school. There are three submission deadlines (November, March, and May) and a checklist of items that must be completed by those dates. These trainings, which take place between December and March, are mandatory for all PEC – approved applicant schools.