New Mexico Statutes Chapter 22. Public Schools § 22-14-32. Licensure not required; background checks; school-sponsored activity and volunteers

A. The provisions of the School Personnel Act, including licensure requirements, shall not apply to industry instructors, except that they shall be required to undergo a background check as provided for licensed school employees in Section 22-10A-5 NMSA 1978. The school district or charter school may act on the information received from the background check and refuse to approve a person as an industry instructor. An industry instructor shall provide for the safety of students under the industry instructor's care in the same manner as required of licensed school employees and shall not allow persons who have not been vetted through the background check process to have unsupervised contact with students.

B. For purposes of the public school insurance authority, each pre-apprenticeship program shall be considered a school-sponsored activity and each industry instructor shall be considered a school volunteer.