Both candidates for New Mexico governor say the state’s court-ordered plan to better serve all public school students is inadequate, and to improve it, they said they would prioritize feedback from tribes.
Last year, a state judge ordered the Public Education Department (PED) to develop a “comprehensive remedial action plan” for providing a sufficient education to Native American students, low-income students, English learners, and students with disabilities. Parents and school districts sued the state over a decade ago for failing that constitutional duty.
PED delivered a plan in late 2025, which the plaintiffs have asked the court to reject, arguing it isn’t adequately tailored to the four student groups. A state judge has yet to issue a decision.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland pointed to that opposition in explaining why she thinks the plan falls short.
“I don’t think it’s adequate because not everyone agrees on it,” Haaland, a former U.S. Interior secretary and member of Congress, said in an interview. “If the plaintiffs are the ones that brought the case, they should agree on it, and so that’s a priority for me. We need to get that plan worked out, but I would do it differently. I would bring everyone to the table at the same time, so that the plaintiffs have a say.”
She would include tribes in those discussions, Haaland said.
Her opponent, Republican Gregg Hull, agrees the plan needs work.
“After more than a decade in court, New Mexico still doesn’t have a plan that says what success looks like, what it will cost, or who is accountable for getting there,” Hull, a former Rio Rancho mayor, said in a statement. If elected, he would “rebuild the plan with tribes and educators at the table, set measurable targets for reading, math, and graduation for each group of students, and report progress publicly each year.”
Numerous tribes have pushed back on PED’s plan, with some arguing the agency didn’t meaningfully consult them.
New Mexico’s State-Tribal Collaboration Act, signed into law in 2009, directs state agencies to develop policies fostering communication with tribes and to make “a reasonable effort” to collaborate with tribes on policies and programs that affect Native people, who make up about 12% of the state population, according to the 2020 census. But the act doesn’t define what that should actually look like.
Haaland said she would be open to changes to the statute, depending on tribal input.
“Of course, no changes made until we consult with the tribes and see what it is they feel would benefit them more, but I would absolutely be open to amending the State-Tribal Collaboration Act,” Haaland said. “It was groundbreaking when it happened. … But it’s been years. We’ve had a chance to see how we could make it better, and so I would absolutely be open to those amendments.”
Hull said he’d be open to revisiting the statute too, with one goal being to define consultation as “timely notice, a real government to government meeting, and a written response explaining how the tribe’s input was considered and why the agency did or didn’t follow it.” Hull said he would also have cabinet secretaries answer for their consultation records in their performance reviews.
“And I won’t wait on the Legislature: I’ll issue an executive order holding my cabinet to this standard from day one,” he said.
- Click to read about Haaland’s and Hull’s stances on lobbying transparency, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people and uranium mining. Early voting started last week and runs through the end of the month. See New Mexico In Depth’s voter guide for information about candidates and how to vote.