One size does not fit all: Children's success must be at the forefront in determining schools COVID strategy

Artesia, NM - House Republican Leader Jim Townsend, House Republican Whip Rod Montoya, and House Republican Caucus Chair Candy Ezzell today sent a letter to Governor Lujan Grisham and Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart expressing concerns with the proposed public education hybrid model released last week.

"The hybrid model as proposed simply does not work for families across our state and Santa Fe should not dictate to our communities how we should educate our children," said House Republican Whip Rod Montoya (Farmington). "What the administration is proposing has already dramatically hurt educational outcomes for students across the state, the hybrid model only exacerbates this problem. Parents are naturally starting to consider more viable alternatives to the public education system."

Both leaders are asking the administration to allow students to return full time to school, with exceptions for immunocompromised children or those students living with vulnerable family members. They are also asking for local school districts to be able to make decisions based on their own student populations.

"The Governor has pursued a one size fits all strategy since this pandemic began, and that has been a failure," said House Republican Leader Jim Townsend (Artesia). "Expecting the same strategy to yield different results for our education system is foolish and will only hurt our children and further complicate the lives of families who are struggling during this crisis."

In the House Republican Leadership's letter, attached below, they request answers to twenty-six questions related to the feasibility of the hybrid model.

{pdf}mypdfs/schools-letter-jt-rd-ce-20-07-06.pdf{/pdf}