By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
In response to a court order the New Mexico Public Education Department and the LANL Foundation are holding regional meetings in communities to hear concerns from parents, teachers and school administration to develop a comprehensive plan for special education students, low-income students and Native American students.
In a suit filed in March of 2014 plaintiffs alleged that the state violated the rights of Native American students by not providing a uniform and sufficient education and sought to increase funding. Martinez plaintiffs joined the lawsuit adding low-income students to the suit. In June 2014 special education students were also added to that lawsuit.
As a result, the court ordered the state to ensure New Mexico schools have the resources necessary to give at risk students the opportunity to obtain a uniform and sufficient education that would prepare them for college and careers. The mandate included reforming the current system of financing public education and managing schools to ensure every public school in New Mexico has the resources necessary for a sufficient education including instructional materials, properly trained staff and curricular offerings. It went on to include accountability systems to measure whether programs and services actually provide the opportunity for a sound basic education and ensure local districts are spending funds to efficiently and effectively meet the needs of at-risk students.
In September of 2024 plaintiffs filed a motion of noncompliance and proposed the Legislative Education Study Committee coordinate the planning process of which the PED opposed the LESC leading the process and have an outside consultant to lead the planning process. As of April 2025, the court ruled that PED and the state still were not in compliance. The new order requires PED the responsibility to develop a comprehensive remedial action plan to provide a constitutionally sufficient and uniform education. An expert consultant must assist. The court notes the plan must provide guidance to the legislature and PED particularly when making difficult budgetary decisions that need to survive political and economic shifts.
In partnership with the LANL Foundation, LESC and WestEd the group began by holding regional community meetings to help develop a plan to meet the needs laid out by the courts. According to Gwen Warniment with the LANL Foundation most of the comments in the four previous meetings held in Espanola, Farmington and Las Cruses, dealt with teacher funding and development. Accountability, both student and faculty along with funding rounding out the commentary.
Once the group has met with stakeholders they will research and review existing plans and then release a statewide survey. Once the group has gathered feedback, they will complete a draft plan and invite feedback. The draft plan will be delivered to the court by October 1st, 2025, and have a final draft of the action plan in the court’s hands by November 3, 2025.
The 2026 Legislative session will be a 30-day session geared to budget matters and those approved by the governor. Will the 2026 legislature provide the funding needed to meet the newly developed plan? Stay tuned for February 2026 and the end of the legislative session to see how education funding faired.
