FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order directing the New Mexico Public Education Department to reduce burdensome reporting requirements by 25%, enabling school leaders to spend more time educating students and less time on paperwork. 

“Our kids should be the focus of everything we do at New Mexico schools, and teachers and administrators did not choose these professions to spend their days filling out paperwork,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “While we need robust data reporting and collection to track our students’ progress, we have a responsibility to streamline those requirements and ensure they are not overly burdensome. I hope this executive order has education professionals breathing a sigh of relief today.”  

Executive Order 2022-058 sets three deadlines: 
 

• The department must complete a comprehensive review of administrative reporting requirements for schools and school districts; 
• By the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year in August, the department must streamline those requirements in a way that cuts the amount of time spent by teachers and administrators to meet them by 25%; 

“We rely on districts and schools to provide important information to improve our education system, but we want to make it as easy as possible to meet those requirements so educators can better focus on the real task at hand: educating our kids,” said Public Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus. “In addition to reducing paperwork, we’ll be improving efficiencies and the quality of information so school leaders can make better decisions, like how to improve math instruction or how to better help kids learn to read.” 

The executive order focuses on reducing two types of administrative requirements: program reports and data collection. Additionally, the order urges improved efficiencies and customer service in financial practices and educator licensure. 

The department will evaluate the impact of these changes throughout this school year and that information will be used to identify further changes that may be needed for the 2023-2024 school year. 

“A reduction of 25%? If that’s our goal, I want to do whatever we can do on our end to make it happen,” said Superintendent Ralph Ramos of Las Cruces Public Schools. “We are so appreciative of this initiative and the way the governor has listened to school leaders and heard our pleas for help. This is just fantastic.” 

“In a small district, the reporting inordinately falls on superintendents and school leaders who are also balancing other tasks like evaluating staff, guiding instruction, directing assessments and sometimes even driving a school bus,” said Logan Municipal Schools Superintendent Dennis Roch. “So reducing burdensome reporting can free district leaders to focus on the primary goal of teaching and learning.”