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In 2019 a court found the state of New Mexico violated the constitutional rights of certain students through inadequate education. But New Mexico is still struggling to meet the remedies laid out by that court in the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit. A policy analyst told lawmakers Tuesday this is true despite increases in education funding.

The Legislative Education Study Committee held its first interim meeting recently to begin building a plan on the many education issues in the state.

For years advocates have sought a constitutional amendment that would allot more money to early childhood programs from a state permanent fund. This year the issue finally goes before voters in the November general election. Constitutional Amendment Number 1 would increase the distribution of money from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to pay for more early childhood education and to our public school systems.

Education has been hit hard by teacher shortages and professional burnout. That’s especially true in rural New Mexico. The Legislature has recently taken steps to return over $80 million dollars of operational funding to some school districts in northern New Mexico. Some districts plan to use the funds to construct or maintain teacher housing.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed education bills that will increase salaries of school workers, and increase benefits for teachers.These are efforts to address severe staffing shortages at schools amid burnout that has accelerated in the pandemic. However, fixing the issues will require many different solutions.

On the next Let’s Talk New Mexico, we’re talking about teacher burnout. And we want to hear from you! Are you a teacher experiencing burnout and looking to leave your job? Are you a parent who’s worried about the future of your child’s education?

During the pandemic, the Public Education Department required school districts to offer online learning options, but that won’t be the case this coming…