'Put this thing to rest': Legislators look to help PED on Yazzie-Martinez compliance

SANTA FE — A committee of Roundhouse lawmakers will help guide the state’s education department as it attempts to comply with the latest court order in a decade-long legal battle over the quality of education in New Mexico.

The Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) met Thursday for the first time since a Santa Fe judge ruled that the New Mexico Public Education Department had not met its end of the bargain in the landmark 2018 Yazzie-Martinez ruling.

In his ruling, Judge Matthew Wilson ordered the PED to create a remedial plan to fix its primary and secondary educational system after finding it had not done enough to improve since his predecessor, the late Sarah Singleton, ruled that the state was violating students’ constitutional rights by providing an insufficient education.

While Wilson’s ruling was considered a win for the plaintiffs, one of their requests was to have the LESC lead and implement the remedial plan instead of the PED. Wilson rejected that, and stated in his order that the committee is not the proper entity to come up with the remedial plan because it is not a party in the case.

However, the ruling does allow the LESC to help the PED with the first two steps — something the committee confirmed Thursday it will do — and a handful of its members seemed to think it was necessary.

The order states PED must select an outside expert consultant by July 1, produce a draft of the remedial plan by Oct. 1, and file a comprehensive remedial plan and a status report by Nov. 3.

“I think it’s super important, and it behooves the state that we at the LESC are a part of whatever plan does get developed because we have been working on it these past few years,” Rep. G. Andrés Romero, D-Albuquerque, said.

The initial case was brought about in 2014, when Wilhelmina Yazzie, the parent of a student at Gallup-McKinley County Schools, and Louise Martinez, the parent of an Albuquerque Public Schools student, joined other parents in the suit against the state. They were represented by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

“As policymakers and appropriators, our involvement in this is essential,” Rep. Brian Baca, R-Los Lunas, said on Thursday. “I want to hold us accountable, and I want to hold PED accountable so that we can finally address this and help kids and put this thing to rest.”

While some committee members sided with the plaintiffs or voiced frustrations with the PED, Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, went to bat for the state’s education department and questioned the legal defense it has received.

“We’ve been doing a lot. I just think the problem is so intensive. It’s just so problematic that we have all these issues,” Stewart said. “I just want to shout out PED and LESC and the Legislature for the work we’ve done, and it’s extensive, I just hope those attorneys know what they’re doing.”