PED files final draft of Yazzie-Martinez remedial plan as plaintiffs push back

The New Mexico Public Education Department has submitted its final draft of a remedial plan following an April ruling that it has not done enough to improve the quality of education it provides to Native American students, English learners, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students.

But plaintiffs’ lawyers and activists are still not satisfied with the court-ordered plan.

“I don’t know how realistic it is that we can expect what will be acceptable of something so monumental, when you’re (the PED) diminished in your capacity to respond to this crisis,” said Regis Pecos, former governor of Cochiti Pueblo and current chair of the Tribal Education Alliance at a news conference Wednesday. “This is a long-term effort: 10, 15, 20, 25-year effort. We’re not going to get it done in three years or five years.”

The news conference was hosted by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty — the organization representing lead plaintiff Wilhelmina Yazzie — in Southeast Albuquerque at the headquarters for the New Mexico Black Leadership Council.

YM final draft plan

The case originated a decade ago, in 2014, when Yazzie joined other parents around the state to sue over the quality of education her son was receiving. In 2018, the late Santa Fe Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that the PED was violating the constitutional rights of underserved students.

Then, six months ago, Singleton’s successor, Judge Matthew Wilson, ruled that the PED had not done enough to improve since the landmark ruling, ordering a remedial plan.

As part of the court-ordered remedial plan’s timeline, the PED submitted a draft plan last month, which the plaintiffs and their legal representatives took issue with, citing a lack of detail and the inclusion of cultural — specifically tribal — education.

“The updated plan includes more specific performance targets and expands support for Native American students, English learners, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students,” said Janelle García, spokesperson for the PED, in a news release. “The department gathered input through public meetings, listening sessions, a statewide survey and written comments over several months.”

The changes from the draft touted by the PED were more specific trackers of student academic progress, additional support for student groups identified in the initial Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit, “stronger collaboration frameworks” between the PED and districts, tribal leaders and post-secondary institutions and the creation of an online funding tool that tracks funding and academic performance for marginalized communities of students.

The new version is also 115 pages longer. The full final draft plan can be viewed on the PED website at web.ped.nm.gov/martinez-yazzie-action-plan/.

The general outline of the remedial plan remains largely the same, outlining four “critical need” areas: “equitable access to high-quality instruction, equitable access to well-prepared, culturally, and linguistically responsive educators, equitable access to academic, social, well-being, and behavioral services, and effective funding, support, and accountability to drive systemic improvement.” A three-year implementation timeline accompanies each of the critical needs.

“The plan has more than doubled in length following changes based on feedback from stakeholders, including tribal partners, Disability Rights New Mexico, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and countless concerned citizens,” PED Secretary Mariana Padilla wrote in an email to the Journal on Wednesday. “Accountability is now the plan’s organizing principle.”

Among the issues that activists presented at Wednesday’s news conference were an unclear layout of spending and funding, insufficient ideas on how to retain teachers, and a focus on utilizing textbooks and other traditional materials instead of a broader emphasis on teaching about the state’s cultures.

They also said they wanted to see Black students — who are not identified by the PED as a Yazzie-Martinez student group — included in the remedial plan.

While Wilhelmina Yazzie, who lives in Gallup, couldn’t make it to Albuquerque for Wednesday’s event, she wrote in a statement, “Our children deserve classrooms where their culture, their language, and their potential are honored every single day, and are wholeheartedly welcomed no matter their background.”

“This plan is our roadmap,” Yazzie said. “A critical component to our children’s future — it must actually guide schools to give every child the support, resources, and guidance they deserve.”

Her legal team’s next step is to host a “community review” of the plan on Nov. 21.

When it comes to what’s next, in Judge Wilson’s ruling, he wrote, “by December 1, 2025, Plaintiffs may file objections to the final plan. Defendants will then have 15 days to file a response, and the Plaintiffs will have 15 days to file a reply.”