New Mexico

  • Homeschool statute: Parents must provide annual notice to the Superintendent of Education, have a high school diploma or its equivalent, and offer instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Parents must maintain immunization records, but there are no other bookkeeping requirements and there is no assessment requirement.

Homeschool Statute

“‘Home school’ means the operation by the parent of a school-age person of a home study program of instruction that provides a basic academic educational program, including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science.” See N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 22-1-2(E) and 22-1-2.1.

Parents must register a home school with the state Public Education Department within 30 days of establishing a home school. Parents must also notify the state department by August 1st of each following year of the continued operation of the home school. Notification must also be made when a student moves or enrolls in a public or private school. The Public Education Department operates an online system for notification. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-1-2.1(A).

Instruction must be provided by a person with at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-1-2.1(C).

None specified.

Parents must provide “a basic academic educational program,” including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-1-2(E).

Parents must maintain students’ immunization records or waiver of the requirement. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-1-2.1(B).

None.

None.

n/a

Services Available to Homeschooled Students

Yes, at the district’s discretion. 

New Mexico has banned colleges from discriminating against homeschoolers. See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 21-1-1.1. Homeschooled students are eligible for the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship. N.M. ADC 5.7.20.8 (B)(3).

Background:

New Mexico repealed its testing requirements for homeschoolers in 2001.

In August, 2018, the Public Education Department changed requirements for parents to register their children to be homeschooled.  A group of parents and homeschooled children staged a protest because they felt the “PED” had overstepped its authority by requiring them to sign the new Statements of Understanding form that lists 11 responsibilities parents have when homeschooling their children.  Parents felt that numerous unwarranted requirements were put on homeschool parents through the law, such as how many hours parents must spend teaching their students per day and per year in various grade levels. Those who’ve refused to sign the “SoUs” (as advised by HSLDA) haven’t been able to dual-enroll their child for classes at Central New Mexico Community College. New Mexico Education Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski replied with the following statement in response: Every family that has elected to homeschool their child will be receiving a registration number in the coming days so that they can continue on their educational journey—and we will continue to listen to feedback from parents.

Resources:

Here’s how to report educational neglect. Have you reported educational neglect in this state? Please tell us about your experience.

Home Schooling, New Mexico Public Education Department

New Mexico, International Center for Home Education Research

This overview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the giving of legal advice. Page last updated April 2023.