Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed an Executive Order to cut education administrative paperwork by 25-percent.
She says the move will enable educators to spend more time educating students and less on filling out forms.
Lujan Grisham signed the order today at Aspen Community Magnet School in Santa Fe in front of a handful of students, administrators and teachers.
She says while the State Department of Education has already begun streamlining the process, the order puts it in writing and commits to working with the experts.
“Students, parents, educators, principals, all of leadership in terms of the association, every bit of expertise so that the learning experience is better,” Lujan Grisham said. “And that we respect educators by giving them the ability and the power to teach in their classroom.”
“We rely on districts and schools to provide important information to improve our education system, but we want to make it as easy as possible to meet those requirements so educators can better focus on the real task at hand: educating our kids,” said Public Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus. “In addition to reducing paperwork, we’ll be improving efficiencies and the quality of information so school leaders can make better decisions, like how to improve math instruction or how to better help kids learn to read.”
Under the order the State Education Department must complete a comprehensive review of administrative reporting requirements for schools and school districts.
By the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year in August, the department must streamline those requirements in a way that cuts the amount of time spent by teachers and administrators doing paperwork by 25-percent.
The department will evaluate the impact of the changes and the information will be used to identify further changes that may be needed for the 2023-2024 school year.