Senate committee advances cleanup bill to align school nurse licensure and contracts

The Senate committee voted 8–0 to give House Bill 34 a due‑pass recommendation after sponsors described targeted implementation fixes to the recently adopted teacher‑linked, tiered school nurse licensure system.

"This is a cleanup bill," said Senator Figueroa, noting the bill adds charter schools to the statute, removes a fixed 9½‑month contract reference in favor of matching the district teacher contract, and adjusts supervision requirements for tiered nurses so small districts without Tier‑2 or Tier‑3 nurses can seek guidance from the Department of Health.

Linda Siegel of the New Mexico School Nurses Association said the changes were requested by the department following implementation and supported the measure as resolving issues discovered during rollout.

The committee moved the bill with a unanimous recommendation and sent it forward for further legislative consideration.