Pair of education funding bills aim to comply with Yazzie ruling

One aims to give tribes more control of local schools; another alters finance formula to help most vulnerable

A measure that would give tribes in New Mexico more control over education initiatives in their communities advanced in the state House on Friday.

The House Education Committee unanimously endorsed House Bill 138, which would send $16 million over the next two fiscal years to tribal governments to support libraries and internet infrastructure, as well as early childhood education and Native language programs.

It was one of two measures the panel approved Friday that would provide funding to address a state judge’s 2018 ruling in a landmark lawsuit accusing New Mexico of failing some of its most vulnerable students.

The second measure, House Bill 59, would alter the state’s school funding formula to provide an additional $50 million for students considered at-risk, such low-income kids and English-language learners.

While the Legislature and governor increased funding in the 2019 legislative session in response to the ruling in Yazzie-Martinez v. State of New Mexico — and are negotiating an additional increase in the current session — some critics have said the efforts aren’t sufficient.

According to a report published Wednesday by the nonprofit New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, which is representing the Yazzie plaintiffs in the education suit, the state is still spending less on education than it did in 2008, when the numbers are adjusted for inflation.

And tribal leaders are asking for more control over how funding is used to boost education outcomes for their children.

“Don’t take this paternalistic attitude that has been done for centuries and tell us, ‘This is what’s good for you,’ ” Roz Carroll, director of education, research and development for the Jicarilla Apache Department of Education, told lawmakers Friday.

“Let us be your partner to tell you