Public Education Department move ignores solutions

New Mexicans across all races, diverse and unique backgrounds and geographically wide zip codes from Aztec to Alamogordo, want our students engaged in learning and attending school every single day. We want students to graduate from our public education system ready to thrive in college, their chosen professions and, ultimately, life in general.

Student engagement and attendance and a stable educator work force are the topics that need to be focused upon. However, for years now, the New Mexico Public Education Department and powerful members of the Legislative Finance Committee have been narrowly (and erroneously) focused on extended learning time as the primary means to “fix” many of our academic woes.

Unfortunately, this approach excludes other necessary and vital ways to help our students progress in school. These aspects include reduced class sizes, smaller caseloads for special educators, decreased time and resources spent on standardized testing, increased planning time for educators to allow for quality preparation and delivery of instruction, understanding student disengagement, addressing chronic absenteeism, resourcing mental health issues and paying more for continually rising educator health care costs and to stabilize the workforce – to name a few.

Recently, Public Education Secretary Romero wrote, “… Students statewide have low reading and math proficiencies. This is unacceptable. It is time for accountability: for the Public Education Department, for the school districts (including their boards and schools), charter schools, teachers' unions and families...”

During the 2023 legislative session, a new bill was passed that increased the number of hours students needed to be in school from approximately 1,000 hours to 1,140 hours. After discussion, debate and compromise by the education community, House Bill 130 was passed and signed into law by the governor.

Not even five months into the new school year, Secretary Romero is announcing that more changes are now coming to district calendars through rulemaking, or changes which are not in the law. These changes would require all school districts to enact 180 student-day calendars for students, with many more days for educators.

Legislation that mandated additional school days was not enacted because it doesn’t fix the lack of resources that currently exists. Sixth-grade teacher Mary Daniel Montoya states, “Every day that I’m at school, not supported and not able to do my best work, hurts. We got into this profession because we want to serve kids. We’re here trying to compensate by staying late, working outside our contract day, trying to meet every need. … It’s broken some of us.”

We can all agree that learning is threatened without the presence of a highly qualified, experienced work force and that we can make the right investments into public education that attracts educators rather than drive them away. Now, we must work together to give HB 130 time to take effect and show results. We must collectively raise our voice to the NMPED to stop the rule change that mandates 180 student days, and many more teacher days, because they are attempting to coerce this action by force (of rule). The Public Education Department is turning a deaf ear to the input of those who must live with their shortsighted actions.

Please attend the 1-hour NMPED hearing on Monday, Dec. 18, at 1:30 pm at Mabry Hall in the Jerry Apodaca Education Building (in Santa Fe) and tell NMPED to stop the rule change; or email and submit your comment to rule.feedback@ped.nm.gov.

Mary Parr-Sanchez teaches history and civics at Picacho Middle School. She is president of National Education Association of New Mexico.