Administration Initiatives
Governor Lujan Grisham and PED have ushered into law key public and higher education reforms including: significant funding increases for evidence-based programs like K-5 Plus and Extended Learning Time; raising educator salary levels in the state’s three-tier licensure system; instituting an assets-oriented accountability system; enacting free college tuition through the Opportunity Scholarship; developing a new teacher evaluation system; developing programs/initiatives focused on literacy and mathematics; and establishing a framework for community schools across New Mexico to provide crucial wraparound health and wellbeing services to children and families.
Literacy Initiatives
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has prioritized reading and literacy at every age, engaging all three education agencies (Early Childhood Education and Care Department, Public Education Department, and Higher Education Department) to provide comprehensive,
informed literacy instruction to diverse learners. As a result, New Mexico now has one of the strongest science-of-reading (SOR) policy frameworks in the country, with aligned legislation, training, coaching, and expected outcomes.
To date, over 10,000 public school educators and administrators have enrolled in or completed science-of-reading structured literacy training. The Public Education Department (PED) has provided coaching support to more than 1,500 educators serving approximately 25,000 K–5 students in structured literacy support model schools. In addition, PED provides 72 expert literacy coaches and grants to model schools implementing structured literacy in grades K-12. Early data shows that structured-literacy model schools have outperformed comparison schools, including a reported three percent higher gain in reading proficiency.
PED’s summer reading program helps students continue reading throughout the summer, avoiding drops in reading proficiency over school breaks. Since its creation in 2024, the program has served 16,140 students. Participants in the Summer Reading Program show learning gains of eight percent, while peers who did not participate in the program demonstrated a six percent loss in learning.
In Fall 2025, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) partnered with the PED to strengthen early childhood literacy. Through this grant, over 11,000 NM PreK children received Just Right Reader Science of Reading Literacy Packs™ and almost 4,000 Home Visiting participating families received Just Right Reader Board Books™. This investment provides families with fun, research-based books aligned with Early Learning Standards to support lifelong reading skills.
On May 30, 2025, Governor Lujan Grisham signed an executive order expanding the Dolly Parton Imagination Library statewide, providing free monthly books to children from infancy to age five and making New Mexico the 21st state in the country to offer the program statewide. New Mexico’s investment builds on a grassroots effort that began in 2010 in Grant County, where the program first served eight children. To date, two million books have been mailed to families across the state, serving 30,111 children. The Imagination Library program addresses a critical need in New Mexico: research shows daily reading with children doubled from 17 percent to 33 percent in homes that receive Imagination Library books.
In 2025, the Higher Education Department (HED) awarded 26 grants to adult literacy and education programs through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). This grant funds projects that focus on one-on-one and small group tutoring for low literacy adults. There are now 44 adult education and literacy programs throughout the state. In addition, New Mexico saw a 44 percent increase in certificates
awarded by adult education programs and a 35 percent increase in program participation. By helping caregivers increase their knowledge and earning potential, these programs also help New Mexico families rise out of poverty.
NM Pre-K
Between 2023 and 2024, New Mexico’s preschool education program, known as NM PreK, served record high numbers of preschool children, and in 2024 ranked sixth nationally in preschool accessibility for three-year-olds, up from 13th only two years before.
Healthy, Universal School Meals
While New Mexico has seen nationally leading decreases in food insecurity rates in recent years, too many New Mexico children continue to have irregular access to high quality, healthy food. For more than 80% of school-age children in New Mexico, school breakfast and school lunch provide as much as half of their daily calories; by taking students’ minds off their stomachs, they are more prepared to learn. More than 300,000 students statewide are now guaranteed no-cost access to healthy, high-quality meals no matter their income or circumstance.
Learn more about the Governor’s Food Initiative here.
Higher Ed Enrollment
In 2025, more than 40,000 students attended college and trade schools through New Mexico’s Opportunity Scholarship program. Between 2019 and 2025, New Mexico jumped 20 spots in national higher education rankings: from 40th in 2019 to 20th in 2025, reflecting the growing number of students enrolled in higher education programs throughout the state. HED is also a critical partner in developing the early childhood workforce—currently, 23 of 42 New Mexico higher education institutions offer early childhood credentials or degrees, and from 2020–2024, there was a 15 percent increase in students completing early childhood degrees, from certificates to graduate programs. Central New Mexico Community College alone has 900 students currently pursuing early childhood degrees.
Adult Education
In FY25, New Mexico Adult Education (AE) was ranked 26th in the nation, the highest national AE ranking New Mexico has ever received. At the same time, high school equivalency attainment increased by 25 percent and overall adult education enrollment increased by nearly ten percent. The AE student retention rate also met HED’s yearly goal of 70 percent student retention rate. Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs for adult learners aim to strengthen family stability and workforce readiness. In FY25, IET enrollment by adult learners increased by almost 50 percent compared to FY24.