Dear Friend,
As someone who went to public school and who is sending my sons to public schools, I believe that all children deserve an opportunity to benefit from a great public education. All the potential we could ever ask for sits in classrooms and homes across New Mexico. But until we invest in our next generation, that promise will continue to languish.
There is concrete action that you can take right now to fight for New Mexico's public school students. The New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) just released its state education plan. I encourage you to participate in the 30-day public comment period before the deadline closes on March 31, 2017.
You can participate in NMPED's public comment period by reading the plan and submitting comments here or by emailing essa.nmrising@state.nm.us
One of the major faults of No Child Left Behind was the lack of community input and engagement. During consideration of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the overhaul of No Child Left Behind we passed in Congress in 2015, I fought to ensure your voice would be reflected in state accountability plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.
The new law includes several provisions that require stakeholder consultation and input. NMPED held several town hall sessions while putting its plan together to fulfill this requirement. And by law, NMPED must allow the public to submit comments to its plan and demonstrate comments were taken into account before submitting a final plan to the U.S. Department of Education.
It is important that every student, teacher, parent, and community has a chance to reflect on and shape New Mexico's plan. I encourage all of you to become involved in this process. I sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to make sure the U.S. Department of Education holds NMPED accountable for listening to your concerns and ideas.
I will continue fighting to ensure that every student in New Mexico has access to a quality education, regardless of their background or zip code.
Sincerely,
MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator