The New Mexico Public Education Department says the state is on pace to issue around 9,600 new and renewed teacher licenses, marking a 41 percent increase since 2011.
The agency said this week that New Mexico also is expected to issue more than 2,000 new licenses this year. That will be the largest number in six years.
New Mexico Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera told state lawmakers Thursday at a New Mexico Legislative Education Study Committee meeting that the numbers show that the teaching profession is growing in the state despite complaints that teachers were leaving the field.
Democrats and teachers unions say that a new state teacher evaluation system and student testing requirement were pushing teachers out of the profession.
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