2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 22 - Public Schools
Article 15 - Instructional Material
Section 22-15-11 - Record of instructional material.
Each school district, state institution or private school shall keep accurate records of all instructional material, including cost records, on forms and by procedures prescribed by the bureau.
History: 1953 Comp., § 77-13-11, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 16, § 215; 1975, ch. 270, § 11; 1997, ch. 100, § 7; 2009, ch. 221, § 9.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2010, after "private school", deleted "or adult basic education center".
The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1998, deleted former Subsection A, which read: "The division shall keep accurate records of the cost of all instructional material distributed pursuant to the Instructional Material Law", deleted the Subsection B designation, and substituted "including cost records" for "distributed to it pursuant to the Instructional Material Law".
Constitutionality of textbook loan program. — The Instructional Material Law (IML), §§ 22-15-1 to -14 NMSA 1978, in which the New Mexico public education department purchases textbooks that are loaned free of charge to public and private school students enrolled in first through twelfth grade and in early childhood education programs, does not violate Article IV, Section 31, Article IX, Section 14, or Article XII, Section 3 of the New Mexico constitution. The textbook loan program, which provides a generally available public benefit to students, does not result in the use of public funds in support of private schools as prohibited by Article XII, Section 3, and is consistent with Article IV, Section 31, which addresses appropriations for educational purposes, and Article IX, Section 14, which limits any donation to or in aid of any person, association or public or private corporation. Moses v. Ruszkowski, 2019-NMSC-003.
Constitutionality. — The Instructional Material Law (IML), 22-15-1 through 22-15-14 NMSA 1978, in which the New Mexico public education department purchases and distributes instructional material to school districts, state institutions, and private schools as agents for the benefit of eligible students, does not violate N.M. Const., art. XII, § 3, because the focus of the IML is not to support private schools, but to provide instructional material for the benefit of students, the program is secular in nature, and the state controls the use and disposition of the instructional material; although the private schools receive some benefit, N.M. Const., art. XII, § 3 will not be interpreted to prohibit indirect and incidental benefit when the legislative purpose of the IML does not focus on support of private schools. Moses v. Skandera, 2015-NMSC-036, 367 P.3d 838, rev'g 2015-NMCA-036, 346 P.3d 396, vacated sub nom. N.M. Ass'n of Non-public Sch. v. Moses, 137 S.Ct. 2325 (2017) (mem.).
The Instructional Material Law (IML), 22-15-1 through 22-15-14 NMSA 1978, in which the New Mexico public education department purchases and distributes instructional material to school districts, state institutions, and private schools as agents for the benefit of eligible students, does not violate N.M. Const., art. IX, § 14, because under the IML, there is no donation to a private school because there is neither a gift nor an allocation or appropriation of something of value without consideration; although private schools receive possession of the instructional material, as agents for the students, they never have an ownership interest in the instructional material. Moses v. Skandera, 2015-NMSC-036, 367 P.3d 838, rev'g 2015-NMCA-036, 346 P.3d 396, vacated sub nom. N.M. Ass'n of Non-public Sch. v. Moses, 137 S.Ct. 2325 (2017) (mem.).
The Instructional Material Law (IML), 22-15-1 through 22-15-14 NMSA 1978, in which the New Mexico public education department purchases and distributes instructional material to school districts, state institutions, and private schools as agents for the benefit of eligible students, does not violate N.M. Const., art. II, § 11, which serves the same goals as the establishment clause of the first amendment of the United States constitution; the United States supreme court has made clear that textbook and instructional material programs that benefit all children, regardless of the school of their attendance, do not conflict with the establishment clause. Moses v. Skandera, 2015-NMSC-036, 367 P.3d 838, rev'g 2015-NMCA-036, 346 P.3d 396, vacated sub nom. N.M. Ass'n of Non-public Sch. v. Moses, 137 S.Ct. 2325 (2017) (mem.).
