Rio Rancho School Board Eyes 2026 Legislative Session, Key Education Bills

RRPS attorney Loren Hatch and government relations liaison Cris Balzano walked the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education through the results of New Mexico's just-concluded 30-day legislative session Monday, outlining a package of instructional changes, health insurance reforms, and capital dollars that will reshape the district in the months ahead.

"This session felt like the longest 30 days in living memory," Hatch told the board. Balzano, of the Albuquerque-based firm Balzano Government Relations, called the session "rough, tough and long." Out of 815 pieces of legislation introduced, RRPS tracked just 73 bills and is currently reviewing only 16 to determine their direct impact on the district.

The most concrete win came in the form of capital dollars. Senate Bill 240 provided $2.6 million to RRPS to pursue infrastructure projects, with the biggest items including $600,000 for school buses, $400,000 for a new media center at Mountain View Middle School, $350,000 to upgrade the intercom system at Vista Grande Elementary School, $200,000 for locker room revisions at Cleveland High School, and $200,000 for a new press box at Rio Rancho High School. "We're very grateful to our delegation who allocated these funds and for the Legislature for passing them — it's about a million more than we had last year," Hatch said.

The session also delivered changes to classroom instruction. Senate Bill 29 and Senate Bill 37 changed math and reading instruction provisions, respectively, both for students and licensed teachers. Senate Bill 29 raises math coursework requirements for teacher licensure, directs the Public Education Department to develop a Mathematics Instructional Leadership Framework, and, beginning in the 2027-28 school year, requires early math screening in grades K-3 with parent-notified support plans for at-risk students. SB 29 also requires teachers to obtain a math teaching endorsement and complete at least six hours of math methods courses.

On the health care side, the legislation includes a positive provision for RRPS: the school district will pick up 80% of employee health insurance premiums, eliminating a tiered system, with House Bill 47 amending the statute to make the reform possible. Advocates say the change would mean about $1,900 to $5,500 more per year in workers' paychecks.

The state budget, House Bill 2, also delivered targeted resources directly to Rio Rancho schools. HB2 provides $300,000 for math labs across numerous schools and $360,000 for solar labs at RioTECH, the career and technical education-focused high school that opened in August.

The session also produced some unique items, including a legislative measure to initiate a study on elementary school student screen time and a November 2026 referendum for voters to decide whether school elections should be held during partisan elections. House Memorial 2, which calls for the screen time study, has "become an important topic," Hatch said.

Senate Bill 64 formally codifies the Office of Special Education in state statute, embedding it within the Public Education Department and creating clear lines of authority for the delivery of services to students with disabilities statewide.

New Mexico lawmakers will host a public "wrap-up" meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the RRPS board room at 500 Laser Road SE.