A New Mexico judge ruled this week the state Public Education Department’s plan for reforming the public school system does not go far enough to address issues identified in a landmark education reform lawsuit.
First District Judge Matthew Wilson ordered the state to file a supplement to the plan by March 26 that clearly explains how it has met or plans to meet requirements on issues that have not been sufficiently addressed in the plan — although he stopped short of ordering a full rewrite.
The NMPED plan, issued in November 2025, addresses only portions of the issues, violations and injunctions in his 2025 order, Wilson wrote.
“The Court does not consider it necessary to rewrite the Plan. That is, the Plan’s content does not need to be discarded, but rather can be supplemented,” he added.
Monday’s ruling follows a September hearing where the state and plaintiffs in the Yazzie/Martinez education reform lawsuit faced off over the department’s plan.
At that hearing, plaintiffs argued the state should be forced to rewrite the plan. The document largely just compiled existing initiatives by the Public Education Department, lacked cost analyses for its plans and did not adequately incorporate community input, they said. The state argued the plan includes several new initiatives and incorporates feedback from the education community, and said the plaintiffs’ criticisms — which emerged quickly after the plan was originally published — did not warrant a rewrite.
Reactions to ruling
The plaintiffs praised the ruling and said it offers an opportunity for education advocates to start anew on improving the state’s public school system with Gov.-elect Deb Haaland.
“Our central focus [has] always been, and will continue to be, that every child in New Mexico has the ability to learn and achieve at high levels, and deserves the right to fulfill those dreams. And so, we were pleased that the latest court order confirms what we’ve said now for over a year, and that’s that the PED’s plan still doesn’t fully address what the court requires, or tie any of its contents to actual violations that the judge has previously found,” attorney Alisa Diehl said in an interview.
But Public Education Department spokesperson Janelle Taylor García wrote in an email the order upheld the agency’s action plan and “confirms that the State is on the right path to meet its obligations to New Mexico’s students.”
“The Court rejected Plaintiffs’ arguments that the Plan was fundamentally flawed because it lacked specific elements required by the Court,” she wrote. “The Court made clear that the Plan’s content stands and does not need to be discarded.”
The order for the department to supplement its action plan — and detailed guidance from Wilson laying out specific issues insufficiently addressed by it — represents an opportunity to provide greater clarity to the state’s strategy, Taylor García added. She said the agency is confident it can meet its new deadline.
“The PED remains fully committed to delivering an excellent education for every New Mexico student, especially those the original case was brought to serve. This ruling allows us to keep moving that work forward,” she wrote.
Plaintiffs optimistic
Diehl on Friday expressed optimism that Wilson’s ruling had the teeth to ensure the state actually meets its requirements. The judge wrote in his ruling that a failure by the state to comply with the order “may result in appropriate sanctions.”
Diehl acknowledged the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit has dragged on for years. It was filed in 2014 and produced a ruling in 2018 requiring the state to make educational reforms to better serve Native American students, those with disabilities, children from needy families and English learners.
“We share those concerns. We don’t want to be litigating this case for decades,” she said. “At the same time, we’ll continue to hold the state accountable until it meets its obligation to our students.
“We don’t want to be fighting this out in court,” she added. “That’s not a fast path to a resolution of this, and for real change to happen.”
Plaintiffs earlier this year asked Wilson for the ability to strengthen the plan by bringing in their own experts on the state’s dime, and estimated doing so would cost roughly $192,000. Wilson rejected the idea in his ruling, writing it could violate the separation of powers to order it.
“Another round of drafting without strong accountability and that meaningful community engagement and input … doesn’t get us any closer to the goal that I think we all want for our kids, for our students, in the state,” she said.
Taylor García noted Wilson acknowledged education stakeholders and the plaintiffs in fact did have an opportunity to participate in the process of creating the plan. She wrote the state would continue its efforts to engage with New Mexico’s education community.
“While the Court has acknowledged that the PED’s stakeholder engagement was sufficient for the development of the Action Plan, the PED plans to seek additional input from relevant stakeholders and experts in areas needed to address the supplement document,” she wrote.
Esteban Candelaria is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. He covers child welfare and the state Children, Youth and Families Department. Learn more about Report for America at reportforamerica.org.
