Skip to content

The Line: Dept. of Education Retention Proposal Plans

April 27, 2018 – The struggle over how to tackle New Mexico’s ongoing reading proficiency problem flared up again this week, at a meeting of the Legislative Education Study Committee. Members of the committee are upset the Department of Education and Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski are proposing rule changes that would allow schools to hold struggling students back a year. The proposal is similar to legislation that has been voted down repeatedly by the legislature, causing some lawmakers to call the plan an “end around.”

But Ruszkowski says lawmakers are misrepresenting the proposal, which focuses primarily on intervention and developing plans to help students reach proficiency before a decision on retention needs to be made. Host Gene Grant and the Line opinion panelists talk about the power struggle, as well as the proposal itself, which is also up for public comment at a PED hearing on May 17th.

PED Report and Information About the Public Hearing on May 17th:              

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Line Panelists:
Tom Garrity, The Garrity Group PR
Andy Lyman, reporter for NM Political Report
Sophie Martin, attorney
Christine Sierra, UNM political science professor emeritus