TENM Legislative Priorities for the 2021 Session

New Mexico's 60-day legislative session began last week, amid unprecedented and critical circumstances for the state's children and families. TENM has identified the priorities we hope our legislators will join us in championing to transform our education system.

RSVP NOW for TENM’s Education Equity Telephone Town Hall

Join us for a Telephone Town Hall on Wednesday, April 29, at 2PM MT   While the COVID Pandemic has reshaped what education looks like across the world, education in New Mexico has been in crisis for decades. Teachers, students, and school districts have largely stepped up to make the best of the current situation, but a history of inequity in education that has continued into the present has been further exposed by the national health crisis. We invite you to ...
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TENM calls on Governor Lujan Grisham and state education leaders to COVID Education Task Force.

On April 9, Transform Education NM sent a letter to our Governor and leadership for the Public Education, Higher Education, and Early Childhood Education & Care departments, urging the formation of a COVID-19 Education Task Force. This working group would address necessary steps to transition students successfully back into school when the crisis is over, and minimize long-term harm with the crisis and persistent inequities in opportunities for students. Here is the full letter: Continued

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Education Equity Must Be a Priority During Extended School Closures

COVID-19 has laid bare critical shortcomings in New Mexico’s educational infrastructure. School closures, necessary to protect our health, impact every student in New Mexico, but because of systemic inequities in our system, for many families it is more difficult to endure. Too many of our students can’t participate in online classes because they lack reliable internet access, as do many rural and Tribal libraries. Too many students can’t easily pick up school lunches that many families depend ...
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A heartfelt thank you from TENM!

When #TransformEducationNM launched in 2018, there was tremendous collective enthusiasm to transform the public education system in New Mexico. We continue to grow into a powerful community – and we are more determined than ever to see this through to the end. Our students and families deserve it. Our voices have been strong at the state legislature. We advocated for changes to bring more teachers into our schools, provide professional development, expand bilingual education, and increase health and social services, among other ...
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ACTION ALERT: Call Senate Finance Committee NOW and urge them to pay teachers a fair wage

Teachers and other educators play a critical role in our students' and our state's future, and they deserve to be fairly compensated for their dedication and hard work. The Senate Finance Committee is about to cut the proposed 5% pay increase, in the midst of a statewide teacher shortage. The teacher shortage is a crisis that has been severely damaging to our schools. Currently, House Bill 2 budgets for a 5% increase. We must keep it at this level, or higher. ...
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ACTION ALERT: Contact Senators TODAY to urge them to support an amendment to HB 2

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL OUR SENATORS TODAY We are getting close to the end of the legislative session and it’s critical we make our voices heard. Our schools should have adequate health and social services for all students. The first step is to bring together families, educators and experts to assess the strengths and the gaps of the system across the state. Funding is needed for this work but it was left out of the first version ...
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ACTION ALERT: Urge Legislators To Include Important Education Legislation In House Bill 2

Important AND urgent. A key budget committee is about to vote on funding for this year, but the bill is missing the critical public education priorities that we’ve worked on together. New Mexicans strongly believe education is a top priority. The state’s record budget surpluses should be invested in our students. We know what it will take to #TransformEducation in New Mexico, but key legislation will not be heard unless we make our voices known. ...
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