Navajo president says N.M. still failing students

The leader of the Navajo Nation called Wednesday for the governor to end efforts to fight a court ruling that orders improvements in education for members of his tribe and other vulnerable groups.

The comments from Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez come ahead of a court hearing next week in which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will ask a state judge to dismiss a lawsuit representing Native American and Hispanic plaintiffs.

“The lawsuit needs to be pursued so Native students can be provided adequate education programs and services necessary to learn and thrive,” Nez said. “Our students deserve an educational environment that prioritizes their culture and unique needs. It is time for our Native students to have the same opportunities as other students.”

In 2018, a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ordering the state to address inequality in funding and academic outcomes for low-income, Native American and Hispanic students — which account

for about 80 percent of children.

The suit — initially filed against Lujan Grisham’s Republican predecessor, Susana Martinez — threatens to wrestle control of policy away from the state Public Education Department and control of funding away from the state Legislature.

Lujan Grisham’s administration argues in a motion to dismiss the suit that the state has increased funding for education, that changes will take years, and that they should not be micromanaged by court orders. “Sweeping and transformational progress takes time, and the governor has not yielded in her unwavering commitment to as much,” spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said. “But an educational transformation should be overseen by the education professionals of the Public Education Department and the state Legislature, not a court.”

A judge will consider the request to dismiss the case at a hearing Monday.

Navajo leaders contend that two years have passed and the state has not implemented the systemic change required by the order.