New Mexico AG Calls for Reform After Report Finds “Substantial Racial Disparities” in One School District

ProPublica reports that New Mexico's attorney general released a 47-page investigation finding Indigenous students at Gallup-McKinley County Schools lose 8–10 times more classroom days to suspensions than white students for similar infractions, with Hispanic students losing 3–4 times as many days; the disparity is evident from kindergarten through high school and often involves vague infractions like "disorderly conduct." The reporting is sourced from the official state Department of Justice report, named investigators (including deputy director Anjana Samant), interviews with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission chair, and statements from both the current superintendent and governor's office, with specific quantitative data and context about the district's prior denials and data inconsistencies. Coverage from the Albuquerque Journal and Source New Mexico corroborates the key findings, and the article provides relevant backstory—including ProPublica's own 2022 investigation that prompted the state inquiry and the former superintendent's rejected claims about data entry errors. Watch for implementation of the report's recommendations (restorative justice programs, clearer discipline definitions, annual state audits) and whether the governor reconsiders the pocket-vetoed civil rights legislation, as well as the district's specific steps under new Superintendent Jvanna Hanks II, who has committed to using the report in policy review.