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🎓 New Mexico School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships

Which New Mexico education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where New Mexico stands on school choice — from our New Mexico guide.

Overseen byThe New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) receives home school notifications and, by law, enforces the requirements for home schools; on finding a home school out of compliance, it may order the student to attend a public or private school (NMSA § 22-2-2(H)). The school district does not approve or supervise a home school.
Start and renew: the notificationNotify PED within 30 days of establishing the home school, then on or before August 1 of each later year (§ 22-1-2.1(A)) — online through PED's Home School System (the online period opens June 1) or on PED's paper form. Print or save the Parent Notification Report as your proof; it carries a 5-digit notification number for each child for each school year.
Instruction requiredA home study program providing a basic academic program including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, given by a person with at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. The operator must be the parent or legal guardian. PED answers the hours question with the public school minimum in § 22-2-8.1 (1,140 instructional hours a year; 550 for half-day kindergarten).
Testing and recordsNo annual standardized testing is required. Keep immunization records or a waiver (§ 22-1-2.1(B)). Other records — notifications, hours, materials, portfolios — aren't legally required, but PED encourages them for students who later transfer or go to college.
DiplomasA parent-made diploma, or one from a correspondence course, private online school or purchased program, is not recognized by the state. State-recognized routes are a high school equivalency credential (GED, HiSET or NEDP; from age 16 with a parent's permission) or finishing at a public or non-public school. New Mexico's public colleges and universities may not require an equivalency credential from a home school graduate with qualifying test scores (§§ 21-1-1, 21-1-1.1).
Homeschool fundingNone. New Mexico has no ESA, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship. College aid is the exception: home school graduates can qualify for the Legislative Lottery Scholarship (§ 21-21N-2) if they were registered with PED.
School choice statusAs of November 2026: public charter schools, two statewide online public charter schools and open enrollment among public schools; no private school choice program. ESA and tax-credit scholarship bills in 2025 (SB 286, HB 324, HB 387, HB 388) and 2026 (HB 193, HB 240) died. The Governor announced the federal scholarship tax credit opt-in on November 4, 2026; New Mexico was not on the IRS list as of its October 22, 2026 update.

Homeschooling in New Mexico: the basics

Read the full section in our New Mexico guide

Diplomas, the HSE and college

Legislative Lottery Scholarship: under § 21-21N-2, a qualified student includes one who "completed the requirements of a home-based or nonpublic secondary educational program in New Mexico," then attends a public college, university or tribal college within 16 months (or begins U.S. armed forces service within four months and enrolls within 16 months of honorable or medical discharge), and completes the first semester with at least a 2.5 GPA in 12 or more credit hours. PED says a 2021 law made the scholarship available to home school students, and that the student must have been registered with PED — the parents must have notified the state during the relevant school years. HED says the Lottery Scholarship pays 100% of tuition.

Opportunity Scholarship: New Mexico residents at a public college or tribal college after high school, an HSE or — per HED — a home school certificate can qualify, enrolling in 6 to 18 credit hours in fall and spring and keeping a 2.5 cumulative GPA (§§ 21-21R-2, 21-21R-3). Awards may cover up to 100% of tuition and fees after other state aid (§ 21-21R-4).

Read the full section in our New Mexico guide

Where New Mexico stands on school choice (November 2026)

What exists: public choices. PED's Options for Parents & Families Division supports traditional public schools, public charter schools, online public schools and non-public schools as well as home schooling. Charter schools are public schools and can't charge tuition (§ 22-8B-4). PED names two statewide online public charter schools: Pecos Cyber Academy (K–12) and New Mexico Connections Academy (grades 4–12). District enrollment rules give priority first to students living in a school's attendance area, then to students who previously attended the school, and then to "all other applicants" (§ 22-1-4(E)).

Public options are not homeschooling: enrolling in a charter school or an online public school makes your child a public school student. PED says students in online public schools are not home school students.

What doesn't exist: New Mexico has no education savings account, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship program, and no state program pays homeschool costs.

Bills in 2025: SB 286, the Education Freedom Account Act (introduced February 5, 2025); HB 324, educational scholarships and tax credit (February 7, 2025); and HB 387, the Education Opportunity Account Act, and HB 388, the Low-Income Education Opportunity Account Act (both February 11, 2025). Each was sent to committee, no vote is recorded, and each died.

Bills in 2026: HB 193, scholarships for private education and tax credits (introduced January 27, 2026 and sent to the House Education Committee), and HB 240, the Education Opportunity Account Act (introduced January 29, 2026 and not printed), both died. Two memorials asking the Governor to opt into the federal scholarship tax credit — SJM 4 and HM 28 — also died.

The federal scholarship tax credit: from 2027, a taxpayer may claim a federal credit of up to

,700 ($3,400 for joint filers) for cash gifts to an approved scholarship-granting organization (SGO), but only in states that opt in. In August 2025 a spokesperson for the Governor said New Mexico would not opt in. On November 4, 2026, Governor Lujan Grisham announced she will opt New Mexico in; her office says PED will set up a certification process for SGOs "in the coming weeks" and SGOs can apply once guidelines are released. New Mexico was not on the IRS list of participating states as of the list's October 22, 2026 update.

What the scholarships may pay: the Governor's release says scholarships will be open to students in public and private schools, for things like tutoring and special education services, before- and after-school programs, technology, books, supplies and public school fees for supplemental programs, for students whose household income is no more than 300% of the area median gross income. Families will apply to SGOs, which will usually pay schools and service providers directly. The release doesn't mention home-schooled students, and PED's SGO certification guidelines had not been released when it was issued — so don't count on these scholarships for homeschool costs until PED's rules and the SGOs' own rules say so.

What it means for homeschool families: no New Mexico program pays homeschool costs today. What the law gives home-schooled students is access — up to three district activities under NMAA rules, district classes, dual credit college courses with tuition waived, state university admission without an equivalency credential for students with qualifying test scores, and the Lottery and Opportunity Scholarships for college. We make no prediction about 2027 legislation.

Read the full section in our New Mexico guide

Official sources

Summarized from our New Mexico guide (as of November 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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