New Mexico Statutes Chapter 22. Public Schools § 22-2-8.1. School year; length of school day; minimum

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, students shall be in school programs, exclusive of lunch, for a minimum of one thousand one hundred forty instructional hours per year, except half-day kindergarten, which shall have five hundred fifty instructional hours per year.

B. An instructional hour is a period at school during which students receive instruction aligned to academic content and performance standards and includes:

C. Up to sixty instructional hours per school year for elementary grades and thirty instructional hours for middle and high school grades may be used for professional work hours, which may be embedded during the course of a normal school day. A “professional work hour” means time during which a teacher participates in professional work aligned to challenging academic content and performance standards, including:

D. Nothing in this section precludes a local school board from setting a school year or the length of school days in excess of the minimum requirements established by Subsection A of this section.

E. The secretary may waive the minimum length of school days in those school districts where such minimums would create undue hardships as defined by the department as long as the school year is adjusted to ensure that students in those school districts receive the same total instructional time as other students in the state.

F. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, provided that instruction occurs simultaneously, time when breakfast is served or consumed pursuant to a state or federal program shall be deemed to be time in a school-directed program and is part of the instructional day.

G. Every general election and regular local election shall be a school holiday for students and staff at each public school in this state..