Civil rights claim seeks $1.8 billion or in-person schooling
Complaint says Albuquerque school board on hook for cost of private education
Accusations of civil rights violations have been filed against the Albuquerque school board on behalf of students who cannot return to in-person learning, in a notice that is a necessary precursor to litigation.
Citing a section of the New Mexico Constitution that guarantees the right to a sufficient and equal education, and a statute that ensures children the right to attend public school, the letter claims Albuquerque Public Schools is on the hook for funding private education.
“The Board failed to timely act to provide a free and adequate, in-person education,” says the notice filed on behalf of an unnamed student and similarly situated pupils. “Consequently, [the child] hereby makes a demand for compensation in the amount of $20,000 per academic school year starting Feb. 8.”
Given the district’s 90,000 students, the legal notice contends that its plaintiff is part of a class owed $1.8 billion, or slightly more than the district’s annual budget. The district accounts for about a quarter of the state’s students.
Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman Monica Armenta declined to comment on the claim notice or provide a district response because the situation involves pending litigation.
About 20 schools in the district are restarting in-person learning this week with teachers who volunteered to attend to small groups of students who have special
education needs, struggled with online learning or don’t have full internet access. Roughly 1,340 students are scheduled to participate.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Jan. 26 her prohibition on most in-person learning would be lifted Feb. 8 to allow for hybrid models that let students attend classes around two days per week.
The Albuquerque school board avoided making a decision in a Feb. 4 meeting and voted Feb. 17 to explore allowing more small groups of students to attend school in-person, in addition to existing programs for special education students.
Other school districts have elected to keep most students in virtual learning for the rest of the spring semester.
Some opened on a limited basis, allowing students to attend in-person based on the availability of teachers who volunteer.
School board member Peggy Muller-Aragon, an advocate for broader school reopenings, said parents are turning to the judiciary in desperation.
“I’ve heard other parents that are very upset because they feel their children are being denied an appropriate education,” she said. “They don’t know what else to do.”
During the Feb. 17 board meeting, Superintendent Scott Elder addressed the potential for civil rights litigation, saying that “it wouldn’t just be us.”