About New Mexico Homeschool Laws
New Mexico is considered by many as one of the easiest states in which to begin home educating. Only one piece of paperwork is required, which must be filled out online at the NMPED site. Other record-keeping is minimal and not required to be submitted to the Secretary of Education.
For informational purposes, the following is a summary of New Mexico’s homeschooling laws and is not intended as legal advice. For more information, refer to the Home School Operators Procedures Manual at the New Mexico State Department of Education.
If your questions are not answered here, you may also want to check http://nmhomeschools.org/
FILING NOTICE
Within 30 days of establishing a home school (that is, when you begin homeschooling your child), you need to file a notification form with the Secretary of Education. Note: paper versions will no longer be accepted – you must file online at the New Mexico Public Education Department Link
http://www.nmhomeschools.org/application.html
We strongly recommend you print out the confirmation page.
Thereafter, you must re-file by April 1 for each year that you plan to continue homeschooling. For example, if you begin homeschooling on January 1, you need to file a notification form by January 31, but you are required to re-file again on April 1. The state does not send out reminders.
RECORD-KEEPING
The notification form described above is the only paperwork required to homeschool in New Mexico. No attendance records, vaccination records, academic records, or achievement test scores are required to be submitted to the Secretary of Education. The state does, however, require that you maintain your child's immunization records in your own files. Note that keeping immunization records does not imply that you must vaccinate your child. If you do not vaccinate, you should instead keep a copy of the Exemption from Immunization Requirements form in your own files.
In addition, the state requests that you keep in your own files an attendance record and proof that the homeschooling teacher has a high school diploma or equivalent.
AGE REQUIREMENTS
Children turning 5 before September 1 of the school year are considered eligible to start kindergarten. At the request of parents, however, the local school district superintendent may excuse children under eight years of age from school attendance. School or home school attendance is required for those under 17 years of age unless they have already attained a high school diploma or GED.
ATTENDANCE
Your child must attend home school for the same school year length as local public schools, which is 180 days. You are requested to keep a calendar showing attendance in your own files, but are not normally required to submit it to the Secretary of Education. This rule does not imply that you must follow the same school year schedule as the public schools. Many homeschooling families homeschool year-round and may take vacation breaks at non-traditional times.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The home study program must include (but is not limited to) reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. No specific curriculum is required, so you have flexibility in determining how and what your child should learn.
You are not required to submit lesson plans, academic records, or other proof of what your child is being taught to the Secretary of Education.
TEACHING QUALIFICATIONS
Home schools are operated by a parent or legal guardian of a school-age person. The homeschool teacher must have a high school diploma or equivalent; you are requested to keep proof of this in your own files, but are not required to submit it to the Secretary of Education.
TESTING
No achievement testing is required in New Mexico. |