Martinez and Yazzie Consolidated Lawsuit Update, July 2020

July 2020

The Identity, Equity, and Transformation (IET) team presentation describes a four-part Martinez and Yazzie strategy involving equity councils, a readiness assessment, school-level culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) frameworks, and 90-day plans. The presentation reports that equity councils had ongoing monthly statewide meetings and describes training and materials for school-level CLR frameworks. It al...

Martinez and Yazzie Consolidated Lawsuit Timeline Since Orders (PDF)

June 2020

The NMPED timeline describes the court’s 2018 ruling that the State had failed to provide a sufficient public education, followed by a final judgment for the plaintiffs in February 2019. It also reports a $446 million increase in public education spending that spring. The timeline then describes NMPED guidance and events concerning Equity Councils, as well as competing positions in 2020 over whether the State had ...

Memo Regarding District-and Charter-Level Superintendent’s/Executive Director’s Equity Councils & the Martinez and Yazzie Consolidated Lawsuit

Nov 22, 2019

A November 22, 2019 memorandum from New Mexico Public Education Department Deputy Secretary Kara Bobroff gives district and charter school leaders guidance on forming Superintendent’s/Executive Director’s Equity Councils. The memo says the councils are intended to help inform local actions related to the Martinez and Yazzie consolidated lawsuit. The memo sets council membership requirements and several 2020 goals,...

Letter from Deputy Secretary Kara Bobroff Regarding Martinez and Yazzie Lawsuit (PDF)

Oct 22, 2019

In an October 22, 2019 letter, Deputy Secretary Kara Bobroff described the state’s response to the Martinez and Yazzie lawsuits. The letter reports that the court found New Mexico had not met its duty to educate at-risk students and that several education acts were not being fully implemented. Bobroff said the Public Education Department (NMPED) would work with districts and charter schools on equity councils, rea...

Final Judgment and Order

Feb 14, 2019

Reorganized Yazzie Proposed Remedy Platform - October 9, 2018

Oct 9, 2018

The document presents a proposed set of remedies grounded, according to its authors, in the Yazzie/Martinez court opinion, trial evidence, and statewide stakeholder input. It describes itself as a working document, not a final implementation plan. The platform groups proposed short- and long-term actions under funding, education programs and services, and oversight. The proposals address, among other things, instr...

Parent in Education Lawsuit Shares What She Wants to See Change

Jul 27, 2018

New Mexico in Focus / NMPBS

Plaintiff Wilhelmina Yazzie discusses the support she sought for her son and her hopes for changes after the education ruling.

Court Decision and Order

Jul 20, 2018

The court found that New Mexico’s education system violated the state Constitution by failing to provide at-risk students with an adequate education. The court also sustained equal protection claims brought for economically disadvantaged students and English language learners, and due process claims brought for those groups and students with disabilities. For a remedy, the court gave defendants until April 15, 201...