Here's who PED picked to help guide its remedial plan to comply with Yazzie-Martinez ruling

The state’s Public Education Department has selected two outside entities to assist it in complying with the landmark Yazzie-Martinez ruling from 2018, which found that the state was violating the constitutional rights of New Mexico students by not providing adequate education.

PED selected the New Mexico-based Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation and the Phoenix-based nonprofit WestEd to help it develop a remedial plan to fix the state’s public education system. The decision comes just hours ahead of the July 1 deadline to select a consultant as ordered by 1st Judicial District Judge Matthew Wilson in late April when he ruled the department had not done enough since 2018 to comply with the Yazzie-Martinez ruling.

“The LANL Foundation will focus on organizing and supporting stakeholder engagement to inform the development and completion of the remedial action plan, while WestEd will focus on the development of the plan itself,” a news release from PED states.

Choosing an outside consultant marks the completion of the first step in the remedial plan ordered by Wilson. PED’s next step will be to produce a draft of the remedial plan by Oct. 1, and then to file a comprehensive final plan and a status report by Nov. 3.

The suit originated 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 to file a lawsuit against the state, tasking it to improve its education system, particularly for Indigenous and minority students. In 2018, the late Judge Sarah Singleton ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

“This is a critical opportunity to honor the intent of the Martinez/Yazzie decision and move boldly toward a public education system where every student is supported to thrive,” Stephanie Montoya Lobaugh, a spokesperson for the LANL Foundation, said in a statement. “Our team brings deep experience in community engagement, with a strong track record of fostering authentic, inclusive partnerships with students, families, tribal communities, educators, and local organizations. We believe that lasting change happens when those most affected by educational inequities are meaningfully involved in shaping the solutions.”