Legislation

For Immediate Release                                                     Contact: AFT NM President Stephanie Ly

2/17/2014                                                                      

SENATE RULES COMMITTEE VOTES NOT TO CONFIRM HANNA SKANDERA AS EDUCATION SECRETARY

In a 6-4 vote this morning, the Senate Rules Committee voted not to confirm Hanna Skandera as Education Secretary. The vote was a firm rejection of Governor Martinez’s and Ms. Skandera’s policies of corporate deform, including the heavy focus on high-stakes, standardized testing.

“The voices of the 2,700 educators, parents

Call and email members of the Senate Rules Committee today and tell them to VOTE NOT to recommend the confirmation of Secretary-designate Skandera. Our education system should be led by qualified and experienced educators who respect students, parents, educators and our communities. We need leadership that acts in the interest of students, not private companies!

Use this link to send a message to members of the Senate Rules Committee!

Also call their offices at the Roundhouse:

Senator Linda Lopez (Chair of Senate Rules Committee): 505-986-4737

Senator Jacob Canderlaria (Member of Senate Rules

AFT NEW MEXICO PRESIDENT STEPHANIE LY CALLS ON THE GOVERNOR AND HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL COMPROMISE AND STOP HOLDING UP THE STATE BUDGET OVER FUNDING FOR FAILED REFORMS.

Wednesday, the House moved House Bill 2 back to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee (HAFC), where Republicans will have another chance to reach a meaningful compromise and allow the budget process to move forward.

The battle over the budget comes down to education. The governor is holding up the budget to put an additional $20 million in below-the-line and in the hands of an incompetent Public

HB 67 (Representative Stewart), the bill that increases the base pay for the 3-Tiered System to $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000 over the next five years, just passed through the House Appropriations and Finance Committee – UNANIMOUSLY!

The reason this passed unanimously: lawmakers are listening to educators!

HB 2 and HB 67 head to the floor tomorrow!

Take action! Contact your State Representative and tell them “Pass HB67 and HB2 with no amendments!"

Take action now!

Remember to use your personal email address. DO NOT use your school email address. You can also use the "take action" link to find your

Op-ed by Stephanie Ly, AFT New Mexico President

1/25/2014

  This session brings opportunity to pass a fair teacher evaluation system and stop the obsession with standardized testing. 

Recently Secretary-designate Skandera admitted that the Public Education Department (PED) will not be ready to base most teacher evaluations on 50% of student test results for years. In the meantime, she will base teacher evaluations on a hodgepodge of calculations that apply differently to each teacher depending on how and when his or her students are tested. 

Teachers across New Mexico have protested Skandera's

Four Pillars: A World-Class Education System for New Mexico contains narratives from educators and research regarding what policies should be implemented to support public education in New Mexico.

http://nm.aft.org/files/four_pillars_2014-2.pdf

On the first day of session, the issue of education was front and center, but instead of discussing growing classroom sizes, increasing poverty rates and the struggles that our students and families face daily, Governor Martinez again focused on third-grade retention and rating teachers by student test scores. She was quick to take credit for the increase in graduation rates but took no responsibility for our state being ranked as 50^th in the nation for child well-being, nor for the lack of early childhood education, insufficient funding for our schools, and poverty levels that led us there.  

Use AFT NM's online tool to find and contact your state representative and state senator. Just click on the link, fill in your address and get information about the names and contact information for your NM state rep and senator. You an also use the tool to send them an email asking for their support in 2014. 

http://action.aft.org/c/371/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7722

Legislative Session is very soon, as a matter of fact, it starts January 21st and continues until February 20th. This session we will be asking our legislators to create, promote and pass legislation that corresponds to the four pillars of a world-class education system: professionalism and respect, students as individuals, the right to succeed and sufficient funding.  AFT NM will be posting updates regarding information, legislation and actions.  The first update is below:

Legislative Update: 1/5/2013

The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) which is comprised of Senators and