Two years ago, Gov. Susana Martinez and her allies nearly passed a bill that would have ended the practice of “social promotion” of kids in New Mexico who cannot read at a minimal level by the end of the third grade.
But since 2011, the bill has moved farther from passing the Roundhouse and on Saturday morning (Feb. 23), Democrats in the Senate Education Committee tabled Senate Bill 260, sponsored by Sen. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs.
Here’s more from Robert Nott of the Santa Fe New Mexican:
Sen. Lee Cotter, R-Las Cruces, supported Kernan’s SB 260 and expressed dismay when he said, “I can’t imagine a parent wouldn’t want their child to read or do math by the third grade, but apparently they do.”
On the other side, Sen. William Soules, D-Las Cruces, said the financial and emotional costs attached to retaining a child may outweigh any short-term benefits in the classroom. “The data based on retention studies just don’t support retention,” he said. He voted against SB 260.
But when all was said and done, the voting went primarily along party lines, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans as they moved (Sen. John Sapien and Linda Lopez’s) bills forward while tabling Kernan’s.
The House version of a similar measure, sponsored by Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces, was earlier tabled in the House Education Committee. (Click here for that story.)
Rep. Garcia may try “blasting” her tabled bill on the floor of the House — the practice of calling it from the Speaker of the House’s table and bringing onto the floor for a vote. We’ll see.