To establish a home school in New Mexico, the person running the school must be the child's parent or legal guardian and have a high school diploma or GED. The state requires that homeschoolers attend school 180 days a year, as do children attending public schools. Parents must notify the New Mexico secretary of education within 30 days of establishing a home school and must renew their home school every year by April 1. New Mexico also requires that children be immunized.
The New Mexico State Department of Education requires that homeschoolers keep records; however, those records do not need to be submitted to the state. They are essential to have on hand in the event that your homeschooling practices are ever questioned.
Records that you must keep as a New Mexico homeschooling family include immunization records, your high school diploma or degree; and a calendar documenting the days of instruction, which serves as a record of attendance.
Parents in New Mexico can choose which textbooks to use and which electives to teach and can decide how to teach the required subjects, which are reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science.
Parents may choose to teach their children using textbooks they have purchased, textbooks borrowed from the local public school (at the school's discretion) or using an online curriculum. Some parents may not use a commercial curriculum or textbook at all, but may choose to cobble together a curriculum that best suits the needs of their child.
Homeschooling students in New Mexico who are of high school age must enroll in an accredited correspondence high school if they wish to receive a traditional high school diploma. There are a number of such high schools that offer online credits. However, this is not required in order to exit school. High school students may take the GED in lieu of enrolling in a correspondence course.
All homeschooling students who get GEDs, regardless of the state in which they live, should keep a portfolio of work completed as a homeschooling student, so universities and colleges can give this work consideration if they choose.
There are a number of support groups for homeschoolers in New Mexico, both secular and religious. The Christian Association of Parent Educators (CAPE-NM) is a statewide organization. The Gathering of Alternative Learners (GOAL) and The Albuquerque Homeschooling Science Club are both based in Albuquerque. Homeschooling PACT, Parents and Children Together, serves Eastern New Mexico, while the Southern New Mexico Homeschool Association serves the southern portion of the state. Homeschoolers in Lea County have the support of the Lea County Homeschool Association.