New Mexico seeks dismissal of lawsuit on education changes

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state of New Mexico has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that resulted in a ruling two years ago that the state failed to provide a sufficient education for every student.

New Mexico has complied with the ruling by increasing education funding and revising programs designed to assist at-risk students, attorneys for the state public education system said.

Late Judge Sarah Singleton ruled in 2018 that New Mexico denies low-income families, students with disabilities, English-language learners and Native American students their constitutional right to a sufficient education.

The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed last week, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The state Public Education Department did not respond to a request for comment.

“Every topic addressed by the court’s injunction has been reexamined and improved since the court entered its findings,” the department said in the motion to dismiss. “Legislative, budgetary, administrative and programmatic actions have so fundamentally changed the circumstances for at-risk students in New Mexico’s public education system, the court should rule that defendants have substantially complied.”

New Mexico lawmakers have approved increases of over $660 million for public education over the past two legislative sessions. The state now spends about 46% of its budget on education, an increase of 2.2% since the trial in 2017.

Lawyers representing the state argued in the motion that the court should determine whether the state has complied with the terms of the ruling.

Attorneys for students and their families have argued the ruling requires the state's education system to meet its constitutional mandate.

“I think it’s important that this case is not dismissed. I think it’s a...