A. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any person teaching, supervising an instructional program or providing instructional support services in a public school; any person administering in a public school; and any person providing health care and administering medications or performing medical procedures in a public school shall hold a valid license or certificate from the department authorizing the person to perform that function. This subsection does not apply to a person performing the functions of a practice teacher or teaching intern as defined by the department.
B. Except as provided in Subsection C of this section, the department shall charge a reasonable fee for each application for or the renewal of a license or certificate. The application fee may be waived if the applicant meets a standard of indigency established by the department.
C. No licensing fee shall be charged for the first three years a license required by this section is valid if the licensee is a military service member or a veteran.
D. A person performing the duties of a licensed school employee who does not hold a valid license or certificate or has not submitted a complete application for licensure or certification within the first three months from beginning employment duties shall not be compensated thereafter for services rendered until the person demonstrates that the person holds a valid license or certificate. This section does not apply to practice teachers or teaching interns as defined by rules of the department.
E. Each licensed school employee shall:
(1) enforce all laws and rules applicable to the employee's public school;
(2) if teaching, teach the prescribed courses of instruction;
(3) exercise supervision over students on public school premises and while the students are under the control of the public school; and
(4) furnish reports as required.
F. As used in this section:
(1) "military service member" means a person who is:
(a) serving in the armed forces of the United States or in an active reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the national guard;
(b) the spouse of a person who is serving in the armed forces of the United States or in an active reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the national guard; or
(c) the child of a person who is serving in the armed forces of the United States or in an active reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the national guard; provided that child is also a dependent of that person for federal income tax purposes; and
(2) "veteran" means a person who has received an honorable discharge or separation from military service in the armed forces of the United States or in an active reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the national guard.
History: 1978 Comp., § 22-10A-3, enacted by Laws 2003, ch. 153, § 34; 2019, ch. 238, § 2; 2020, ch. 6, § 1.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2020 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, provided a waiver of licensing fees for the first three years of a valid license for military service members and veterans, and defined "military service member" and "veteran" for purposes of this section; in Subsection B, added "Except as provided in Subsection C of this section"; added a new Subsection C and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections D and E, respectively; and added Subsection F.
The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, exempted teaching interns from certain provisions of this section; in Subsection A, after "public school", deleted "or state agency", after "practice teacher", added "or teaching intern", and after "defined by the", deleted "state board" and added "department"; in Subsection B, after "The", deleted "state board" and added "department"; in Subsection C, after "practice teachers", added "or teaching interns", and after "rules of the", deleted "state board" and added "department"; and in Subsection D, Paragraph D(1), after "public school", deleted "and school district or to the educational program of the state agency", and in Paragraph D(3), after "students on", deleted "property belonging to the", and after the first occurrence of "public school", deleted "or state agency" and added "premises", and after the second occurrence of "public school", deleted "or state agency".
Certified school personnel defined. — A "certified" school employee is one who holds a certificate from the state board of education (now public education department) and includes both instructors and administrators. Naranjo v. Board of Educ. of Espanola Pub. Schs., 1995-NMSC-015, 119 N.M. 401, 891 P.2d 542.