New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Chapter 68 - SCHOOL PERSONNEL - DENIAL, SUSPENSION, AND REVOCATION OF LICENSE
Part 2 - DENIAL OF APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSES FOR SCHOOL PERSONNEL
Section 6.68.2.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Continuing education requirements" when used in regards to teachers means meeting the high objective uniform statewide standard of evaluation for the type and level of licensure for which an applicant has applied as set forth in 6.69.4.11 NMAC and required under Subsection B of 22-10A-10 NMSA or Subsection B of 22-10A-11.3 NMSA 1978, depending upon the license held. When used in regard to school administrators, the term means meeting the high objective uniform statewide standard of evaluation under Subsection E of 22-10A-11 NMSA 1978, or all of the requirements for provisional licensure for school principals in 22-10A-11.3 NMSA 1978, depending upon the license held.

B. "Criminal history" means convictions of any felonies or misdemeanors of moral turpitude, or other information concerning a person's arrests, indictments, other formal criminal charges and any dispositions arising therefrom, including convictions, dismissals, acquittals, sentencing and correctional supervision, collected by criminal justice agencies and stored in the computerized databases of the FBI, the national law enforcement telecommunications system, the New Mexico department of public safety (NMDPS), or the repositories of criminal history information of other states.

C. "Denial of application" means the PED's rejection of an individual's properly made application for initial or continuing licensure due to incompetency, immorality, failure to satisfy the PED's licensure requirements, failure to demonstrate the competencies required for the level of licensure sought, or for any other good and just cause including, but not limited to, any of the grounds set forth in this rule.

D. "Ex parte communications" means any oral, written or electronic communications between one party (or their attorney) and the hearing officer, or as between one party (or their attorney) and the secretary of the PED, (secretary), that occur out of the presence or without the consent of the opposing party (or their attorney). Communications included in this definition, in addition to direct communications, include indirect communications as where a party requests or suggests to a non-party to contact the hearing officer or the secretary on any matter and for any reason related to a pending licensure case where a notice of contemplated action has been served on an applicant for licensure pursuant to this rule. Ex parte communications also occur when individuals sympathetic to one party make oral, written or electronic communications to the hearing officer or the secretary that occur out of the presence or without the consent of the opposing party (or their attorney) in any matter and for any reason related to a pending licensure case where a notice has been served on an applicant for licensure pursuant to this rule.

E. "Licensure" means a license issued by the PED authorizing a person to teach, supervise an instructional program, counsel, provide special instructional services, coach, provide health care, administer medication, perform medical procedures, or administer in the public schools of the state. A certificate and license issued by the PED are one and the same.

F. "Properly made application" means an application for initial licensure or continuing licensure that has been filled out in full and for which all the required fees and documentation, including but not limited to background information and official transcripts, have been submitted. In addition, a properly made application means the applicant must have fulfilled all academic requirements for the type and level of licensure sought.

G. "Superintendent" means the chief licensed administrator of a public school district and in the case of a state agency or private school, the governing authority of that agency or private school.

H. "Transcript of the hearing" means a verbatim copy of the statements made by anyone during hearings held under 6.68.2.15 NMAC of this rule and the Uniform Licensing Act, NMSA 1978, 6-1-1 et seq. (hereinafter, "ULA"). A transcript may be either stenographically recorded or tape recorded.