Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard
SANTA FE – House Bill 41, the controversial mandatory flunking bill passed the House Floor by a vote of 38-30.
Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos: “This particular piece of legislation is problematic for many reasons. Mandatory flunking is a sweeping measure that does not account for the individual circumstances of each student when they are faced with retention. As an educator, I prefer to work with parents and students individually when faced with this decision, and as a parent I believe it is a decision that is best made between parents and teachers with all information in front of them. Instead, Republicans voted against a parent’s choice to have a say in their own child’s education. Parents know what’s best for their child, not politicians.”
Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton
Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque: “We need to get our priorities straight. Our children’s education is crucial to our state’s success and we should be making an honest effort to make sure that they are thriving. This bill pushed through by Republicans will prevent generations of New Mexicans from getting a fair shot to succeed. Flunking children is not the way to advance our state. I am incredibly disappointed that Republicans continue to assault our children’s futures by forcing legislation in order to gain cheap political points.”
Rep. Ken Martinez
Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants: “We have a responsibility to make sure New Mexico children are getting a quality education to ensure they have a bright future. We should be focusing on making sure our teachers, parents, and schools have the resources to provide interventions early and often if a child is falling behind, not forcing them to be flunked. Flunking children will only decrease their interest in learning. Schools, teachers, and parents should be the only ones deciding a child’s future, not a standardized test.”
Rep. Christine Trujillo
Rep. Christine Trujillo, D-Albuquerque: “This is an unfunded mandate that Republicans refuse to admit will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. We know that flunking our children will lead to larger classes and additional resources to get them up to speed. If the Governor wants to flunk children, she needs to put her money where her mouth is and fully fund this expensive and unnecessary program.”
Forced flunking for elementary students has not been proven to benefit students later in their education. Evidence shows that children who are flunked are 2-3 times more likely to drop out of school, which leads to higher unemployment rates and higher youth imprisonment rates. House Democrats will continue to fight for every New Mexican student’s opportunity for a more secure future for every child and are committed to investing in interventions that are proven to work.