NEW MEXICO’S MOONSHOT OF INVESTMENTS

As of November 2025, New Mexico was the first U.S. state to offer no-cost, universal child care, removing income limits for families. The program covers child care for children up to age 5 for working or training parents, regardless of income.   On track to receive free childcare are 30,000 New Mexico families and 44,000 children, saving families upwards of $13,000 per year, per child. (add video MLG universal child care) New Mexico's Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program is top-ranked and supports over 14,000 children (birth to age 3) with developmental delays or disabilities. The program offers home-based, tailored services in all 33 counties at no cost to families. It’s frequently ranking #1 in the country for identifying infants under 12 months who need services.   New Mexico supports child care professionals with wage supplements, free business management software, mental health resources, and full scholarships for going back to school. These initiatives aim to increase professional retention and improve the quality of early childhood education.

New Mexico takes a statewide approach to literacy. The state partners with UCLA’s Center for Healthier Children, Family and Communities, which recently pronounced New Mexico’s kindergartners “ready to learn.”   To teach reading, all K–8 teachers in the state are trained in a research-based Structured Literacy approach.   The New Mexico Summer Reading Program is offered for free to students in grades K–8. In 2025, the program reported serving over 16,000 students. IIn October 2025, state test results showed that nearly half of New Mexico elementary and middle school students now read at grade level, up from just over one-third three years ago. Reading proficiency in grades 3–8 climbed 10 percentage points since 2022, reaching 44% in 2025. Students in grades 3, 6, and 8 posted the highest one-year gains ever recorded on the New Mexico Measures of Student Success and Achievement.

New Mexico is working with tribes to take a new approach to education.   Native American students in grades 3–8 saw a 13-point rise in reading proficiency since 2022, representing the largest gain among any group in New Mexico. Native American students make up 11% of public school enrollment. To close gaps in resources for Native American students to learn their native languages and increase their own sovereignty over their education, in 2025 the New Mexico legislature created a five-year pilot program for immersion schools, focusing on languages including Tiwa, Tewa, Towa, Keres, Apache, Zuni, and Diné. In these schools, tribes can create culturally relevant curricula and teach in their native language. The program stems from the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, which found that New Mexico was failing to provide a sufficient education to Native American students. In October 2025, New Mexico test data showed that Native American students in grades 3–8 achieved a 13-percentage-point increase in English Language Arts proficiency, helping to narrow the historical achievement gap.

New Mexico offers the most inclusive, tuition-free public higher education program in the U.S. The state’s Opportunity Scholarships cover tuition and fees for residents attending public colleges, public universities, or trade schools, regardless of income. The scholarships cover tuition and fees for eligible residents  pursuing trade certificates, associate degrees, or bachelor’s degrees. This financial assistance is a boon not only for students, but also for their parents. For the graduating class of 2024, New Mexico students achieved an average ACT composite score of 20 in all test categories for college readiness.

New Mexico helps any adult who wants to go further in their chosen field, or to change careers.   New Mexico ranks #20 nationally for higher education. In 2026, New Mexico also moved from #50 to #20 in adult education skills.   New Mexico is the only state with 2- and 4-year free college and 4-year free “earn while you learn” a trade. New Mexico’s community colleges focus on high-demand career programs.   First-time enrollment in colleges and universities rose over 9 percent statewide, according to data comparing the Fall 2023 and 2024 semesters. This is yet another year-over-year increase in first-time, full-time college participation in New Mexico. Meanwhile, the national trend is heading in the opposite direction.

“Every dollar spent on high-quality, birth-to-five programs for disadvantaged children can deliver a 13% per annum return on investment from better education and health outcomes for children, employment gains for parents, greater economic productivity, and reduced spending on healthcare and crime.”