The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) briefed the Legislative Education Study Committee on implementation of House Bill 171, the 2024 law that changes high‑school graduation requirements and requires districts to create graduate profiles and align next‑step plans to those profiles.

Breezy Gutierrez, director in PED’s college and career readiness bureau, said the state removed the prior demonstration‑of‑competency requirement beginning with the class of 2024 and introduced two diploma pathways — the standard diploma pathway and an ability diploma pathway — to give districts more flexible routes to graduation beginning with the class of 2029. “Beginning with class of 2024, the demonstration of competency requirement was removed because it was seen as an unnecessary barrier to graduation,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez told committee members the law expands the options for earning core credit: districts can now apply high‑quality career technical education (CTE) coursework and work‑based learning toward English, math and science credits when the district aligns the content to the core standards. The department said credits earned in middle school (health, Algebra I and geometry) can count toward high‑school requirements if a certified secondary teacher of record signs off.

PED described implementation supports: a High School Graduation Requirements Guidance Manual, one‑page flyers and a frequently asked questions document; cohort checklists for counselors; and technical assistance. The department said it has presented materials 18 times to groups across the state and has used a survey of local education agencies to tailor supports.

To support next‑step planning, PED described a partnership with LevelAll (the platform sometimes written as "lehi all" in the transcript) that piloted the next‑step plan with roughly 80 schools and 31,000 students. Gutierrez said the platform will allow next‑step plans to move with students if both sending and receiving districts use the system, and that LevelAll engagement data showed a 47 percent completion rate for next‑step plans in the pilot. She said the department is working to integrate LevelAll with student information systems so parents can sign and plans can be validated digitally.

The department emphasized graduate profiles as a locally defined vision of the skills districts want from graduates. PED has contracted Advanced CTE to develop minimum requirements and a toolkit to help districts build local graduate profiles and provide technical assistance.

Committee members pressed the department on concerns raised in the hearing record about removing Algebra II and the demonstration‑of‑competency requirement. Representative Saryana, a math teacher, asked whether removing those requirements would lower academic standards; Jacqueline Castellos, division director of curriculum and instruction at PED, said the state and the legislature required that Algebra II remain available but not required, and that the policy was designed to reduce barriers for students who are disproportionately affected by exit exams. “Most students do not need algebra 2 to be successful,” Castellos said; she said the department’s approach emphasizes access, alignment and ensuring rigorous instruction where appropriate.

Several committee members asked how districts will document substitution of work‑based learning or CTE for core credit and how the department will monitor fidelity. Gutierrez said districts must submit crosswalks that align local substitutes to state standards and that the department will provide targeted professional development for counselors and implementation staff.

No formal vote was taken; committee members requested additional materials and continued technical assistance from PED as school districts implement House Bill 171 changes ahead of the class of 2029.