Mandi Torrez

This upcoming legislative session advocates will focus on how to move New Mexico out of its last place ranking in education, especially as school districts across the state continue to see low test scores. Think New Mexico shares its legislative priorities, but also what New Mexicans want to see as a result of recent polling.

The next school year starting in August will be longer after legislation passed in the most recent session was signed by the governor. House Bill 130 mandates extra instructional hours and it has prompted concern among educators already facing burnout.

In 2018, a judge ruled in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit that New Mexico was failing to provide an equitable education to students who are low-income, Native American, have disabilities or are English language learners. This means that the state is in direct violation of the education clause in the New Mexico State Constitution.

As schools across the state start their summer vacations, there are concerns about what classrooms will look like when educators and students return for the fall semester. The state is experiencing a teacher shortage crisis, with more than 1,000 licensed educator positions unfilled and 40% of districts reporting severe overall staffing shortages, ranging from educational assistants to bus drivers.