Senate Bill 480 would require the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) to create, each summer, a list of students who were enrolled in high school in any of the prior four years and did not graduate during that four-year window, and to share that list with in-state postsecondary institutions and New Mexico-based adult basic education or workforce programs for targeted reengagement.

"Senate Bill 480 would require that every summer, the PED create a list of all students who were in high school in any of the last 4 years who did not graduate within those 4 years," the bill sponsor told the committee. The sponsor and a co-sponsor said the intent is to provide a centralized, in-state list so programs with reengagement, high school equivalency or workforce credentialing offerings can recruit directly and more efficiently.

Multiple witnesses representing education organizations and local institutions testified in support. Carrie Robin Brunder of Public Charter Schools of New Mexico said the bill is not a charter-only measure but a way to coordinate existing programs and give colleges and workforce providers a list to recruit from. Stan Rounds of the School Superintendents Association described local experience in Las Cruces where sharing such data with community colleges and alternative programs allowed districts to "reengage students who had stepped away." Vanessa Hawker, executive director of the New Mexico Independent Community Colleges, and Linda Siegel, representing Santa Fe Public Schools and a Santa Fe Community College board member, also voiced support.

Committee members broadly supported the goal but asked detailed questions about scope and student privacy. Sponsors said the list would include student name, phone number and recent address, and that it would target students who are of school age up to 22 years old under state law. Committee members raised concerns about confidentiality and commercialized recruitment by some schools; sponsor and witnesses emphasized the bill's in-state limitation and the use of PED data-sharing agreements. The transcript records several clarifications from sponsors and witnesses:

- A parent or guardian can opt out of directory sharing at registration under existing practice; that opt-out is controlled under federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) rules, the committee was told.
- PED's standard data-sharing agreements would be used to limit how recipient institutions access and use the data; witnesses described those agreements as more restrictive than a public records request and not subject to IPRA.
- The information shared for students who did not attend a requesting institution would be limited, according to witnesses, to name, phone number, address and participation history while enrolled.

After questions and public testimony, committee members voted; the chair announced the bill had a "due pass." Several committee members asked for tighter language on confidentiality and data-sharing procedures before floor consideration.

Votes at this committee stage were announced by voice; the chair recorded no roll-call vote by name in the transcript.