Critics say New Mexico’s investments in Indigenous students still lagging behind | Education

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Almost three years after a judge’s ruling in the landmark Yazzie / Martinez education lawsuit, New Mexico lawmakers and the state’s Department of Public Education are still concerned about their investments in education. Native American students.

Regis Pecos, a former Cochiti Pueblo governor who sits on the Tribal Education Alliance, told members of the Legislative Finance Committee on Friday that in its 2021 session, the legislature had only approved 11% of the more than 140 million dollars called for in bills to establish the Tribal Remedy Framework, a plan to increase the participation of tribal communities in the education of Indigenous students in public schools.

“It’s important to understand and appreciate how terribly out of touch we are with what you think is your investment in responding to Martinez / Yazzie,” said Pecos, who is also a member of the Santa Fe board. Community College Foundation and co-director of the Leadership Institute. at the Indian School of Santa Fe.

“There is no evidence that the dollars received by school districts reach Aboriginal students and meet their needs,” added Pecos.

The judge ruled in Yazzie / Martinez that the state had failed to provide adequate education to several groups of public school students, including Native Americans.

Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart presented lawmakers with a report on Friday that also revealed troubling gaps in district spending for Indigenous student initiatives.

The report offered new data on the educational outcomes of Indigenous children. Between 2015 and 2019, he said reading and math proficiency rates, graduation rates and local college enrollment increased among Indigenous students, but the numbers were below performance rates and results. statewide for white and Hispanic students.

Only a fifth of the public districts and charter schools serving Indigenous students planned to participate in the state’s K-5 Plus summer program for low-income elementary school students in the coming year, according to the report. However, he said the majority of districts were planning to participate in some type of state-funded extended learning time program throughout the year to help make up for educational losses during the coronavirus pandemic, when most schools relied on distance learning.

Many indigenous students living in remote tribal communities lacked the technology and internet connection to connect to their classes, state and school officials said.

Stewart’s report also said school districts in New Mexico had budgeted only $ 1.1 million from the Federal Pandemic Second Round of Relief for initiatives addressing the needs of Indigenous students out of the total of 435. million dollars allocated to them.

And, according to the report, $ 2 million of the $ 9 million in state funding allocated to “culturally and linguistically relevant” educational materials focused on Indigenous students was not spent in the past fiscal year. The public education department said the spending failure was due to a lack of proposals.

Earlier this year, the legislature approved a measure to ensure that school districts with large tracts of tribal and federal land, especially those in remote areas, can retain all of their funding from the federal Impact Aid program, intended to compensate for property tax losses.

In the past, the state has essentially seized part of these funds.

This move should be a boon to school districts like the Central Consolidated School District in Shiprock, 98% of which is Navajo Nation land.

Central Consolidated administrators told lawmakers on Friday they faced other setbacks, however. The district has long relied on local mines and power plants for about 80 percent of its property tax revenue, and many are scheduled for closures.

“The COVID pandemic has really exacerbated the historical gaps that we already have,” said Germaine Chappelle, district attorney. “Obviously our concern is this: we have taken a step forward with Impact Aid. Closing factories could set us back. “

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