2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 9 - Executive Department › Article 24 - Public Education Department and Commission › Section 9-24-8 - Secretary; duties and general powers.

A. The secretary is responsible to the governor for the operation of the department. It is the secretary's duty to manage all operations of the department and to administer and enforce the laws with which he or the department is charged.
B. To perform his duties, the secretary has every power expressly enumerated in the law, whether granted to the secretary, the department or any division of the department, except when any division is explicitly exempted from the secretary's power by statute. In accordance with these provisions, the secretary shall:
(1) except as otherwise provided in the Public Education Department Act or the Public School Code [Chapter 22, Article 1 NMSA 1978], exercise general supervisory and appointing power over all department employees, subject to applicable personnel laws and rules;
(2) delegate power to subordinates as he deems necessary and appropriate, clearly delineating such delegated power and the limitations to that power;
(3) organize the department into organizational units as necessary to enable it to function most efficiently, subject to any provisions of law requiring or establishing specific organizational units;
(4) within the limitations of available appropriations and applicable laws, employ and fix the compensation of those persons necessary to discharge his duties;
(5) take administrative action by issuing orders and instructions, not inconsistent with law, to ensure implementation of and compliance with the provisions of law for which administration or execution he is responsible and to enforce those orders and instructions by appropriate administrative action in the courts;
(6) conduct research and studies that will improve the operation of the department and the provision of services to the citizens of the state;
(7) provide courses of instruction and practical training for employees of the department and other persons involved in the administration of programs with the objectives of improving the operations and efficiency of administration and of promoting comprehensive, coordinated and culturally sensitive services that address the education of the whole child;
(8) prepare an annual budget for the department; and
(9) provide cooperation, at the request of administratively attached agencies and adjunct agencies, in order to:
(a) minimize or eliminate duplication of services and jurisdictional conflicts;
(b) coordinate activities and resolve problems of mutual concern; and
(c) resolve by agreement the manner and extent to which the department shall provide budgeting, record keeping and related clerical assistance to administratively attached agencies.
C. The secretary may apply for and receive, with the governor's approval, in the name of the department, any public or private funds, including United States government funds, available to the department to carry out its programs, duties or services.
D. The secretary may make and adopt such reasonable and procedural rules as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the department and its divisions. No rule promulgated by the director of any division in carrying out the functions and duties of the division shall be effective until approved by the secretary. Unless otherwise provided by statute, no rule affecting any person or agency outside the department shall be adopted, amended or repealed without a public hearing on the proposed action before the secretary or a hearing officer designated by the secretary. The final public hearing on adoption, amendment or repeal of a rule shall be held in Santa Fe unless otherwise permitted by statute. Notice of the subject matter of the rule, the action proposed to be taken, the time and place of the hearing, the manner in which interested persons may present their views and the method by which copies of the proposed rule or proposed amendment or repeal of an existing rule may be obtained shall be published once at least thirty days prior to the hearing date in a newspaper of general circulation and mailed at least thirty days prior to the hearing date to all persons who have made a written request for advance notice of hearing. All rules shall be filed in accordance with the State Rules Act [Chapter 14, Article 4 NMSA 1978].
History:
Laws 2004, ch. 27, § 8.
ANNOTATIONS
Effective dates.
— Laws 2004, ch. 27 contained no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective May 19, 2004, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature.
Authority of secretary of public education to revoke teachers' licenses.
— Article XII, Section 6 of the New Mexico Constitution, the Uniform Licensing Act [61-1-1 to 61-1-31 NMSA 1978], the Public Education Department Act [Chapter 9, Article 24 NMSA 1978], the Public School Code [Chapter 22 NMSA 1978], and the School Personnel Act [Chapter 22, Article 10A NMSA 1978], do not preclude the secretary of public education from having exclusive authority to make the final decision to revoke a teacher's license.
Skowronski v. N.M. Pub. Educ. Dep't
, 2013-NMCA-034, 298 P.3d 469, cert. granted, 2013-NMCERT-003.
Secretary's authority to disregard hearing officer's credibility determination.
— Where plaintiff was charged with engaging in inappropriate and improper sexual behavior with a fourteen-year-old victim at a charter school; a hearing officer found that the charges against plaintiff had not been proven by a preponderance of the evidence and recommended that the disciplinary action against plaintiff be dismissed; the secretary of public education reviewed the record before the hearing officer, adopted some of the hearing officer's recommendations and rejected others, and concluded that a preponderance of the evidence warranted revocation and revoked plaintiff's license to teach; the essential difference between the hearing officer's view of the case and that of the secretary was how they viewed the credibility of plaintiff and the victim and the believability of their testimony; the regulations of the public education department provided that the hearing officer had the duty to make proposed findings and conclusions; the secretary was not an appellate reviewer of the hearing officer's findings and conclusions, the secretary had the authority, after reviewing the record, to modify the hearing officer's findings and conclusions; and the secretary was ultimately responsible for issuing a final decision; and after reviewing the record, the secretary made independent findings of fact that were supported by references to the hearing transcript, the secretary did not exceed the secretary's authority by making the secretary's own credibility or fact-based determinations.
Skowronski v. N.M. Pub. Educ. Dep't
, 2013-NMCA-034, 298 P.3d 469, cert. granted, 2013-NMCERT-003.
Revocation of teacher's license did not violate due process.
— Where plaintiff was charged with engaging in inappropriate and improper sexual behavior with a fourteen-year-old victim at a charter school; a hearing officer found that the charges against plaintiff had not been proven by a preponderance of the evidence, based in part on the credibility of the witnesses, and recommended that the disciplinary action against plaintiff be dismissed; the secretary of public education reviewed the record and concluded that a preponderance of the evidence warranted revocation; the secretary's conclusions were supported by the record and were based on the secretary's analysis of the facts presented by the witnesses, the contradictions in the facts, and the victim's written statement, plaintiff was not denied due process by the fact that the secretary failed to observe the witnesses' demeanor or by the secretary's failure to defer to the hearing officer's proposed findings of fact.
Skowronski v. N.M. Pub. Educ. Dep't
, 2013-NMCA-034, 298 P.3d 469, cert. granted, 2013-NMCERT-003.
Revocation of teacher's license was supported by substantial evidence.
— Where plaintiff was charged with engaging in inappropriate and improper sexual behavior with a fourteen-year-old victim; the victim was considering attending the charter school; the owners and operators of the school, who were the godparents of the victim, hosted an event in their home; the victim and plaintiff stayed overnight and slept in the living room where the alleged contact occurred when the victim and plaintiff were alone, the decision of the secretary of public education to revoke plaintiff's teacher's license was supported by substantial evidence.
Skowronski v. N.M. Pub. Educ. Dep't
, 2013-NMCA-034, 298 P.3d 469, cert. granted, 2013-NMCERT-003.
Amendment to rule, without notice or public hearing, violated this section.
— Where a current New Mexico regulation, 6.60.6.9 NMAC (2010), did not provide for any flexibility for a teacher to advance if he/she did not meet competency by being rated ineffective or minimally effective, and where the public education department issued a memorandum, which effectively changed the requirements of the regulation by allowing level 1 and level 2 teachers whose contracts expired in June 2015 to advance with a minimally competent rating, the memorandum violates 9-24-8(D) NMSA 1978, because the public education department, without notice or public hearing, amended a rule which affects superintendents of and teachers employed by local school districts and charter schools, or "persons outside the [public education] department."
Validity of Guidelines Amending Public Education Department Regulations Governing Teacher Licensure Advancement
(11/13/18), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2018-06.