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Leadership
Your Governor:
Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) (0)
First term began in 2019 (two-term limit). Re-elected in 2022.
The Governor has made no attempts to shift her education establishment attitude towards one of education freedom. Even members of her own party have implored her to allow families more power to choose the education that best fits their child, but any real leadership in the direction of parent power is yet to be seen.
STATE LEGISLATURE:
With Democrats firmly entrenched in New Mexico, the only efforts for an increase in charter schools will come as a result of a $52 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help more schools open and expand.
Constitutional Issues
Blaine Amendment language in two different sections of the state constitution have been interpreted to preclude direct flow of funds to private schools, in spite of parental choices. In the 2016-decided Moses v. Skandera, for example, the NM Supreme Court held that lending instructional materials for free to private school students violated the Constitution.
Transparency
Report cards are difficult to find on the New Mexico Public Education Department homepage, but can be located through an external link, https://nmvistas.org/default.html, which takes viewers to the school and district report cards. Once found, reports cards are user-friendly and filled with relevant data on academic performance and learning environment. Reports contain clear language explaining what data means and how it was calculated, which is a great feature for informing parents.
Educational options are accessible from the homepage under “Offices & Programs” and “Families/Communities,” where parents can find information on charters, chartering authorities, homeschool and more.
School board elections in New Mexico align with the general election cycle, empowering parents with greater influence in their decision-making due to increased voter turnout.