Fed up with the state鈥檚 repeated failures to fix an education system that a court found in 2018 was failing most of New Mexico鈥檚 students, plaintiffs in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez case are asking a judge to allow them to rewrite the Public Education Department鈥檚 reform plan.
In a last week, plaintiffs outlined their vision for a potentially eight-month process for the revision.
The request comes after they and several tribes earlier this year PED鈥檚 plan, itself court-ordered.
鈥淎s it stands, we do not have an actual plan to transform education in New Mexico,鈥� Alisa Diehl, an attorney who is part of the Yazzie legal team, said in an interview. 鈥淭his is really what we believe would be the most robust process to end up with a plan that has the level of detail that it really must have in order to make a difference.鈥�
It鈥檚 been over a decade since parents and school districts sued New Mexico for failing to provide a sufficient education 鈥� a right guaranteed by the state constitution 鈥� to Native American students, low-income students, students with disabilities, and English language learners. A state judge agreed in 2018, but PED a plan to respond to the ruling.
Plaintiffs went back to court in 2024, arguing PED was continuing to violate students鈥� rights. Last spring, First Judicial District Court Judge Matthew Wilson ruled the agency had failed to comply with previous rulings and ordered it to develop a 鈥渃omprehensive remedial action plan.鈥�
After a and a , PED delivered a in November.
Plaintiffs the document 鈥減rovides no credible basis to conclude鈥� New Mexico 鈥渨ill ever remedy the constitutional violations or extensive deficiencies鈥� identified eight years ago. It doesn鈥檛 adequately tailor programs to each of the four student groups identified in the case as at risk, they argue, and doesn鈥檛 provide cost estimates for actions it does propose.
Defending its plan last month, PED the court didn鈥檛 direct it to include every detail of every program, which would make the plan 鈥渦nworkably lengthy.鈥� The department will evaluate programs as they鈥檙e introduced, it argued, and it needs to be able to make adjustments.
Plaintiffs the plan 鈥渞elies on generalities, postpones critical decisions, and omits enforceable commitments.鈥�
They want to rewrite it in collaboration with experts, with PED providing up to $200,000 to pay those experts for their work. Plaintiffs also want the court to require PED to estimate what it would cost to carry out the revised plan and share the analysis with them for their comment before being submitted to the court. Diehl said cost estimates, which the state鈥檚 plan doesn鈥檛 include, are crucial for ensuring the plan can be implemented.
A PED spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from New Mexico In Depth.
The rewritten plan would include 鈥渟pecific actions required to remedy each constitutional violation鈥�; identification of which entities, like school districts and the Legislature, are responsible for each action; a five-to-seven-year implementation timeline; and evaluation metrics.
Plaintiffs would rely in part on feedback PED gathered from communities around the state last year. It鈥檚 possible more public meetings would be held while they were revising the plan, according to Diehl.
Within four months, the plan would be shared with tribes, the Legislative Education Study Committee, and others for feedback. Plaintiffs would incorporate that input within two months and submit the plan to PED for review. Within another two months, plaintiffs and the department would meet to make changes and present any disputed items to the court.
Plaintiffs anticipate they鈥檒l have a chance to go before Wilson and argue for that process likely in the next two to three months, Diehl said.
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