Latest news with #EricSpencer
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Union calls on Española School Board to intervene in student immigration data dispute
The Española Valley High School football picture in an undated photo. A teachers union is calling on the Española School Board to intervene after an effort last month at the high school to collect student immigration data. (Photo courtesy EVHS) The National Education Association of New Mexico sent a letter Tuesday to the Española School Board asking for a 'full and detailed explanation' of who authorized Española Valley High School's directive to teachers last month, ostensibly as part of a standardized test, to collect students' immigration statuses. The union also accused the district of deleting the information it collected, which leaders said amounted to 'destruction of evidence during an open union investigation.' That prompted the union to file a Prohibited Practice Complaint with the Public Employee Labor Relations Board of New Mexico. 'We fear not only the impact these actions have on our membership but the students as a whole,' the union wrote in the letter. 'We are writing to seek your help to rectify these matters. The district and staff deserve to have a school district that is lawful and free of fear and intimidation.' A teacher posted on Reddit on April 21 that they had reached out to the union after teachers were asked to collect the data as part of the WorkKeys standardized test, an assessment that the ACT created to measure job readiness. An ACT spokesperson told Source New Mexico last month that it never seeks that information, saying its collection is 'not a requirement for taking our exams and is not information we collect or use in any way.' Española high school sought students' immigration status as part of standardized test The letter calls on the school board to, by June 2, provide copies of all internal communications and documents regarding the directive; an 'explanation of the rationale' for later deleting the collected data; and confirmation about whether the data was ever transmitted to ACT, Inc. In an interview Tuesday with Source New Mexico, NEA-NM spokesperson Edward Webster said the district needs to 'stop playing the game' with the union and teachers about what happened and be transparent about what happened and why. Eric Spencer, the Española superintendent, did not respond to an email Tuesday afternoon from Source New Mexico. The school board meets this evening at 6 p.m., but the matter is not on the agenda. School board president Javin Coriz did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The effort to collect the data occurred amid fears that that information could be turned over to federal immigration authorities, and a few months after border patrol agents boarded a Las Cruces swim team's school bus. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently said in an interview with Source that the state is continually beating back efforts by the federal government to collect private data about New Mexicans, including immigration data. The Legislature also passed several bills aiming to keep immigration data out of federal hands. The state Health Care Authority also recently denied a request from the federal Agriculture Department for cardholder data of those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assistance.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Union calls on Española School Board to intervene in student immigration data dispute
The Española Valley High School football picture in an undated photo. A teachers union is calling on the Española School Board to intervene after an effort last month at the high school to collect student immigration data. (Photo courtesy EVHS) The National Education Association of New Mexico sent a letter Tuesday to the Española School Board asking for a 'full and detailed explanation' of who authorized Española Valley High School's directive to teachers last month, ostensibly as part of a standardized test, to collect students' immigration statuses. The union also accused the district of deleting the information it collected, which leaders said amounted to 'destruction of evidence during an open union investigation.' That prompted the union to file a Prohibited Practice Complaint with the Public Employee Labor Relations Board of New Mexico. 'We fear not only the impact these actions have on our membership but the students as a whole,' the union wrote in the letter. 'We are writing to seek your help to rectify these matters. The district and staff deserve to have a school district that is lawful and free of fear and intimidation.' A teacher posted on Reddit on April 21 that they had reached out to the union after teachers were asked to collect the data as part of the WorkKeys standardized test, an assessment that the ACT created to measure job readiness. An ACT spokesperson told Source New Mexico last month that it never seeks that information, saying its collection is 'not a requirement for taking our exams and is not information we collect or use in any way.' Española high school sought students' immigration status as part of standardized test The letter calls on the school board to, by June 2, provide copies of all internal communications and documents regarding the directive; an 'explanation of the rationale' for later deleting the collected data; and confirmation about whether the data was ever transmitted to ACT, Inc. In an interview Tuesday with Source New Mexico, NEA-NM spokesperson Edward Webster said the district needs to 'stop playing the game' with the union and teachers about what happened and be transparent about what happened and why. Eric Spencer, the Española superintendent, did not respond to an email Tuesday afternoon from Source New Mexico. The school board meets this evening at 6 p.m., but the matter is not on the agenda. School board president Javin Coriz did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The effort to collect the data occurred amid fears that that information could be turned over to federal immigration authorities, and a few months after border patrol agents boarded a Las Cruces swim team's school bus. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently said in an interview with Source that the state is continually beating back efforts by the federal government to collect private data about New Mexicans, including immigration data. The Legislature also passed several bills aiming to keep immigration data out of federal hands. The state Health Care Authority also recently denied a request from the federal Agriculture Department for cardholder data of those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assistance.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Española school ordered teachers to delete student immigration data during inquiry, union alleges
The entrance to Española Valley High School in an undated photo. The union representing Española teachers filed a labor complaint related to an effort to collect, and later delate, student immigration data at the high school. (Photo courtesy EVHS) The union representing teachers at an Española high school has filed a complaint with the state labor board, alleging the school committed an unfair labor practice when it asked teachers to collect — and, soon after, delete — student immigration data in recent weeks. As Source reported last month, the National Education Association initially issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Española School District superintendent regarding the high school's effort to collect student immigration data as part of a standardized workplace readiness exam, though a spokesperson for the exam company told Source New Mexico that the company has no need for that information and does not ask test administrators to collect it. In response to the NEA letter, the superintendent told the union that teachers were no longer required to collect student immigration data. However, soon after, high school leaders 'began requiring educators to delete the information they had previously collected regarding students' immigration and citizenship statuses,' NEA spokesperson Edward Webster said in a news release Thursday. Española high school sought students' immigration status as part of standardized test Deleting the information amounted to 'destruction of evidence during an open union investigation' and prompted the union to file a Prohibited Practice Complaint with the Public Employee Labor Relations Board of New Mexico. The new complaint alleges the school violated aspects of the Public Employee Bargaining Act of New Mexico, which defines unfair labor practices as those that violate employee rights and carry legal consequences. The state labor relations board had not yet scheduled a hearing for the case, according to its website. Española Superintendent Eric Spencer, who will retire in late June, did not respond to a list of questions Thursday from Source NM. He has previously said that his staff is working with the union on the matter and that, 'The district takes all matters of student confidentiality seriously.' According to the union, the emailed letter from the union cited the 1982 Plyler v. Doe U.S. Supreme Court case that guarantees the right to a free, public education for all children, regardless of their immigration status. Mary Parr-Sanchez, NEA-NM president, said in a news release Thursday that the effort to collect student immigration information plays into the Trump administration's targeting of immigrants. She noted that the Española school district and others around the state have students in different and precarious immigration statuses, including students brought to the United States as minors and others who are seeking asylum due to political persecution. 'The current administration is targeting children in this country because of the color of their skin and origin of their birth,' Parr-Sanchez said in a statement. 'This is no different than the harassment that our Las Cruces students experienced when they were going to a swim meet in Albuquerque when ICE officers boarded their private bus and demanded proof of citizenship from children,' she said.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Española high school sought students' immigration status as part of standardized test
The entrance to Española Valley High School in an undated photo. Local teachers' union officials said administrators at this high school asked teachers to collect information about students' immigration data. (Photo courtesy EVHS) A teacher at an Española high school recently sounded the alarm after a principal requested teachers fill out a database of student information, including citizenship status, as part of an abruptly announced standardized test. The 11th grade teacher called a representative with the National Education Association teachers' union, which sent a cease-and-desist notice to the district superintendent and also told its members not to comply with the information collection, a union spokesperson told Source New Mexico. The spokesperson also said the school where this occurred is Española Valley High School. 'It came to our attention that a request was made to our educators in Española to determine the immigration status of students in order to, supposedly, register them for a standardized test,' National Education of New Mexico President Mary Parr-Sanchez said in an email. 'The request fell outside the scope of our Collective Bargaining Agreement, and our members were informed that they need not to comply.' The teacher, who declined to comment to Source New Mexico, posted April 21 on an educators' forum on Reddit that administrators were seeking student citizenship status as part of the rollout of WorkKeys, a job skills assessment run by the same company that does the annual ACT exam for high schoolers preparing for college. 'It is a test that no one at the school has ever administered before and from the way admin explained it, it sound[s] like our new superintendent kind of just sprung it on us out of the blue,' the teacher posted. '(It's worth noting that we have only 5 weeks of school left, so to introduce an entirely new assessment so late in the year seems highly odd.)' The request for citizenship status in the Española school occurs amid widespread fears among Hispanic and immigrant communities about federal raids and how citizenship status databases could be used to aid in mass deportation. The Legislature this session passed legislation, which the governor signed, aiming to prevent citizenship status data collected locally from being sent to federal immigration authorities. NM advocates call for statewide immigrant data protections amid fear of mass deportation 'Especially given the political climate, this seems like data that is highly improper to request from students,' the teacher wrote. Española Superintendent Eric Spencer told Source in an email Friday that he got an email from the NEA 'regarding their concern related to testing.' He said his staff has made contact with union leadership and is working with them on the issue. 'The district takes all matters of student confidentiality seriously,' he said. Spencer did not return emails and calls seeking further comment this week. Members of the Española School Board also did not return phone calls seeking comment. According to the union, the emailed letter from the union cited the 1982 Plyler v. Doe U.S. Supreme Court case that guarantees the right to a free, public education for all children, regardless of their immigration status. 'Children, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status, should be free from worry that the educators and administrators tasked with their instruction, safety and well-being would ever seek to cause them harm,' Parr-Sanchez said in a statement to Source NM. NM immigration, civil rights groups back enhanced digital privacy protections Following the back-and-forth with the union, the superintendent has 'responded to our cease and desist letter and informed us that the behavior has stopped,' NEA-NM spokesperson Adell Medovoy told Source. The union declined to provide the letter, calling it 'internal communications,' she said. The union is unaware whether the request for citizenship status went to other schools in the district, 'although we are on the alert,' Medovoy said. A lawyer for the union involved in the cease-and-desist actions, Todd Wertheim, told Source in a brief phone conversation Monday that it was possible a second letter would be necessary soon, though he did not elaborate and did not respond to follow-up phone calls. Also unclear is why administrators would have tied the ACT's WorkKeys standardized assessment to a request for student immigration status. The company describes the assessment as a way to determine job-readiness for certain industries, evaluating students' on 'a range of hard and soft skills relevant to any occupation, at any level, and across industries.' Juan Elizondo, a spokesperson for the ACT, told Source in an email Tuesday that his company has no clue why anyone taking the exam would be asked for immigration status. 'We cannot speak to why any examinee would be asked about immigration status in connection with an ACT exam,' he said. 'This is not a requirement for taking our exams and is not information we collect or use in any way.'
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Española schools voters approve property tax renewal
Española school district voters have approved the renewal of a supplemental property tax used to fund improvements at the district's schools. The Public School Capital Improvements Tax is a tax of $2 per $1,000 of net taxable property value to fund improvements for school buildings, pre-K facilities, educational technology and school grounds. In an all-mail election that concluded Tuesday, the measure received a combined total of 1,393 votes in favor and 1,191 against, which works out to almost 54% in favor, according to an email sent to the district's parents and guardians by Española Public Schools Superintendent Eric Spencer. 'The passage of this measure means that Española Public Schools and McCurdy Charter School will receive critical capital improvement funding over the next six years,' Spencer wrote. 'These funds are essential for addressing pressing infrastructure and safety needs, including technology for classrooms and libraries, maintenance and repairs to our aging facilities, equipment upgrades, and enhanced safety and security systems. Many of our schools are decades old and face challenges that impact the daily learning environment for our students and staff.' The election was conducted by the Santa Fe and Rio Arriba county clerks' offices, which handled the mailing, collection and processing of ballots. While Rio Arriba hasn't released its vote count, the Santa Fe County Clerk's Office reported receiving 428 ballots — 220 in favor, 184 against and 24 rejected ballots — of the 3,117 total ballots sent to Santa Fe County residents in the school district, according to a news release the county sent out Thursday. Ballots were due by 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the County Canvassing Board scheduled to meet April 8 to certify the results. The Santa Fe County Clerk's Office is also contacting those who submitted the 24 rejected ballots for the 'ballot curing' process to correct issues like lack of a signature or identification. The election was closer than is often seen in school bond or tax elections, which tend to garner broad support in Northern New Mexico. A school bond put to Española voters in November 2023 passed with 70% support, while taxes for the same $2 per $1,000 amount put to Santa Fe and Pojoaque Valley school district voters that same year passed with 77% and 70% support, respectively. 'We recognize that some members of our community voted against the measure, and we deeply respect the diversity of opinions across our district,' Spencer wrote. 'With that in mind, we reaffirm our commitment to using these funds transparently and responsibly, solely for their intended purposes. We will be accountable to the public and will ensure that every dollar is spent in support of our students' learning environments.' Regular updates on the usage of funds will be added to Spencer wrote.
