N.M. Stat. § 22-10A-21
Licensed school employees; employment contracts;
duration.
A. All employment contracts between superintendents and licensed school
employees shall be in writing on forms approved by the department. These forms shall
contain and specify the term of service, the salary to be paid, the method of payment,
the causes for discharge during the term of the contract and other provisions required
by the rules of the department.
B. All employment contracts between superintendents and licensed school
employees shall be for a period of one school year except:
(1)
contracts for less than one school year are permitted to fill personnel
vacancies that occur during the school year;
(2)
contracts for the remainder of a school year are permitted to staff
programs when the availability of funds for the programs is not known until after the
beginning of the school year;
(3)
contracts for less than one school year are permitted to staff summer
school programs and to staff federally funded programs in which the federally approved
programs are specified to be conducted for less than one school year;
(4)
contracts not to exceed three years are allowed at the discretion of the
governing authority for superintendents; and
(5)
contracts not to exceed three years are allowed at the discretion of the
governing authority for licensed school employees in public schools who have been
employed for three consecutive school years.
C. Persons employed under contracts for periods of less than one school year as
provided in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection B of this section shall be accorded all
the duties, rights and privileges of the School Personnel Act.
D. In determination of eligibility for unemployment compensation rights and benefits
for licensed school employees where those rights and benefits are claimed to arise from
the employment relationship between governing authorities and licensed school
employees, that period of a year not covered by a school year shall not be considered
an unemployment period.
E. Except as provided in Section 22-10A-22 NMSA 1978, a licensed school
employee employed by contract pursuant to this section has no legitimate objective
expectancy of reemployment, and no contract entered into pursuant to this section shall
be construed as an implied promise of continued employment pursuant to a subsequent
contract.