AGO IAL012507.

• Case Date: January 25, 2007
• Court: New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Opinions 2007. AGO IAL012507. January 25, 2007IAL012507The Honorable Peter WirthState Representative, District 47 1035 Camino de la Cruz Blanca Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 Re: Opinion Request-Legislative Authority to Create a Statewide Charter School for the Arts: Part TwoDear Representative Wirth: You have requested our advice regarding the Legislature's authority to create a statewide charter school for the arts. More specifically, you have asked (1) whether the Legislature has the authority to create a new statewide charter school for the arts without amending Article XII, section 11 of the New Mexico Constitution, with admissions requirements similar to those in place for schools in other states that limit enrollment to students with demonstrable talent, promise and aptitude for the arts; and (2) again, without amending Article XII, section 11 of the New Mexico Constitution, whether the Legislature has the authority to make the proposed new statewide charter school a residential school in which the parents of each residential student would pay for the costs of room and board of their student on a sliding scale and the state would reimburse the school for the difference between the revenue received from the students and the actual cost of room and board. Based on our examination of relevant New Mexico constitutional, statutory, and case law authorities, and on the information available to us, we conclude that the Legislature has the authority to create a statewide residential charter school for the arts without amending Article XII, Section 11 of the state constitution. We further conclude that the proposed charter school may offer room and board on a sliding scale to those students who have demonstrated financial need, without running afoul of Article IX, Section 14 of the state constitution (the "antidonation clause"), provided the school is statutorily authorized to do so. In response to your first question, we direct your attention to the analysis provided in N.M. Atty. Gen. Op. 06-03 (2006), relating to the Legislature's authority to create a statewide magnet school for the arts without amending Article XII, Section 11 of the New Mexico Constitution ("Part One"). We believe the same analysis applies to the Legislature's authority to create a statewide charter school for the arts because...