Senate education committee advances bill limiting preschool expulsions, requires reporting and planned transitions

The Senate Education Committee voted to give Senate Bill 147 a do-pass recommendation after extended testimony on policies to restrict suspensions and expulsions for children under age 5 in licensed child-care settings and New Mexico PreK programs. The committee’s recommendation followed more than two hours of public comment and questions from senators about available supports for providers.

Supporters said SB147 would keep young children in learning settings while connecting families with services. Secretary Ryan Graginski of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) told the committee that ‘‘If we just expel them with no supports, then we know that those children are retraumatized. Those families are retraumatized.’’ The bill, as discussed in committee, would prohibit programs from expelling a child for behavior or discipline reasons and would bar suspensions for behavior except when a child ‘‘caused or attempted or threatened to cause bodily injury,’’ in which case an out‑of‑school suspension could not exceed three school days per incident. The bill would require providers to report disenrollments, expulsions and suspensions to ECECD and would apply to publicly funded community‑based and school‑based New Mexico PreK and licensed child‑care facilities.

Why it matters: Early childhood advocates told senators that exclusionary discipline during preschool years is associated with poorer long‑term outcomes and that disciplinary removals can worsen disparities for boys, children of color and children with disabilities. Jonathan Salazar, research and policy analyst at New Mexico Voices for Children, said decades of research show early expulsions ‘‘deprive children of learning and growth during their most crucial period of brain development.’’ Whitney Holland, president of AFT New Mexico, urged lawmakers to ‘‘give all New Mexico children the chance to thrive by keeping them in supportive learning environments rather than pushing them out.’’

Opponents — largely early childhood providers and center directors — urged caution and asked the legislature to build capacity first. Providers from rural communities and small in‑home programs said behavioral specialists and timely interventions are not available statewide and that current consultation programs are inconsistently delivered. Valeria Holloway, a Las Cruces in‑home provider who testified in opposition, said the bill ‘‘makes it harder for small and in‑home providers like myself to serve children effectively’’ without more funding for on‑site behavioral consultants. Several providers said consulting resources sometimes amount to an hour or a monthly visit and that waitlists for developmental services delay help until after a school year ends.

Committee questions focused on definitions, timelines and services. Senators asked how ‘‘willfully caused or attempted to cause bodily injury’’ would be determined and what happens when parents will not or cannot participate in a planned transition. Secretary Graginski described the bill as creating a framework for a ‘‘planned transition’’ — a process in which a program, family and state staff coordinate supports or a move to a more appropriate setting — and said the governor’s budget request includes increases for wage and quality investments and for additional consultants.

Votes at a glance: The committee first voted on a motion to table the bill; that motion failed. A subsequent motion for a do‑pass recommendation carried on a do‑pass motion reported by the committee. The committee recorded that the do‑pass motion for SB147 passed on a 5–3 vote. The bill is scheduled to move next to the Judiciary Committee.

Remaining details and implementation: The bill text discussed in committee leaves some operational items to rulemaking, including procedures to determine thresholds for short suspensions, the mechanics of reporting to ECECD and specific timelines for planned transitions. Advocates and providers urged the committee and ECECD to specify and fund rapid response and on‑site consultation so centers can implement required planning without compromising safety for staff and other children.

What’s next: With the committee’s do‑pass recommendation, SB147 will proceed to the next committee (Judiciary) where legislative staff and attorneys are expected to address technical language and implementation details before the bill could reach the full Senate.