Latest news with #YaniraGurrola
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers propose bill clarifying what physical restraint New Mexico educators can use
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – When students exude behavioral issues, teachers don't always know how to appropriately use physical restraint and seclusion tactics. Now, lawmakers are proposing a bill that gives educators clear rules and training. Story continues below Business: Forbes Travel Guide's 2025 Star Award winners include 5 New Mexico businesses Crime: New Mexico man found guilty of raping woman he met on social media Don't Miss: APD asks for adult and parental figures to get involved to curb juvenile crime Currently, there is a law surrounding how teachers can respond to student behavioral problems, but educators say it's confusing. They say they hope this new bill will clarify those issues. 'There's no good situation in which restraint ends up occurring and schools were also using it as a disciplinary tactic which should never been the case,' said Michelle Tregembo with the Developmental Disabilities Council. Questions around whether students who are acting out should be physically restrained or put in a room by themselves, have divided New Mexico educators for years. Now a group of Democratic lawmakers want more details around when and which tactics should be used. 'This is going to help us have clear guidelines. Sometimes we're even afraid to respond to situations where we know the safety of the students is at risk because we don't know what to do,' said Representative Yanira Gurrola, (D-Albuquerque). The bill defines what types of restraints can be used but also bans certain actions like secluding students or using mechanical restraints to limit arm and leg movement. The bill would also require new school training on physical restraint and mandatory alerts to parents when it's used. New Mexico's AFT Union president said she supports widespread training. 'I like that this kind of broadens that, it's not one or two point people because if anything goes wrong and they're not on campus that day; that's how we get some of these unwanted responses and so I think there's a more deliberate approach to the training,' said Whitney Hollard, American Federation of Teachers-New Mexico. The state's Developmental Disabilities Council said special ed students are typically affected by restraint and seclusion policies more often. They think the bill could lead to positive change. 'Schools are much more than just places to learn reading, writing, and math and so we need to ensure that the teachers have the tool kit that they need in order to be a learning environment for all children,' said Tregembo. The New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Council also said there are some changes they want to see in the bill, including a stronger explanation of the types of student seclusion that the bill is aiming to eliminate. The bill is expected to be heard in a house committee Friday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmaker has been top advocate for advancing bilingual programs
State Rep. Yanira Gurrola found her calling in bilingual education. "For two or three years in this country, I thought, 'What am I doing here?' ' said Gurrola, D-Albuquerque, a trained engineer turned bilingual educator, in a recent interview. "But then I really fell in love with everything. I saw what the program did to my students, and that's when I became an advocate." Gurrola, 50, a former bilingual math teacher elected to her seat in 2022, has been a staunch advocate in the Legislature for bilingual and multicultural education measures, co-sponsoring almost every recent effort to bolster programs across the state. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, she first visited the U.S. as part of a church-led community service trip. She moved to Albuquerque in 2000. She wanted to get more involved in community work than her background in electronic industrial engineering allowed, she said. So, in 2005 she earned a master's degree in curriculum and instructional leadership from the College of Santa Fe. Even then she was lost, she said, until a counselor at the college told her a female Mexican engineer might be a role model for other women. 'And in that moment, I knew what she meant,' Gurrola said. 'So, I became a math teacher.' She worked for over a decade as a math teacher in several schools but ultimately found her place at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque, where she worked from 2006 to 2019. 021625-sfnm-nws-bilingualsidebar_002.JPG Rep. Yanira Gurrola, D-Albuquerque, listens as the session is called to order Friday on the floor of the House of Representatives. Six years ago, she left the classroom to work in professional development for Dual Language Education of New Mexico, a nonprofit that travels nationally and internationally to help schools and districts develop dual language instruction. Dual language, one of the five program models recommended by state's Bilingual Multicultural Education Advisory Council, calls for learning subject matter in a mix of two languages, either starting at a 50/50 split or starting with more use of the student's home language before gradually reaching 50-50. For kids in lower grades, the goal is to reach 50-50 by the third grade. "Every program, except the dual language program, is trying to fix the kid because they don't speak English," Gurrola said. "We don't value what they bring to the classroom." In a dual language program, students behave differently, she said. 'They became more involved in the school. They were happier. They behaved better — I mean, it was day and night. And year after year, I was trying to understand why. "And then that's when I realized — kids feel that they belong," she said. "They are part of something here.' The program is more than just a way to make kids more comfortable in school, Gurrola said. It harkens back to correcting legacies of cultural erasure. "Talk to any Native New Mexican," she said, "and they will tell you their parents were beat up for speaking their language." 021625-sfnm-nws-bilingualsidebar_003.JPG Rep. Yanira Gurrola, right, an Albuquerque Democrat, speaks with a colleague Friday in the hall outside the House Chamber. She sees bilingual and multicultural education as more than an academic approach — it's cultural preservation. "It's not just Spanish," she said, "Native languages were here before Spanish, before English. They've tried to eliminate them, but the culture and identify have survived." Spanish, too, has faced erasure, Gurrola said, something she saw firsthand in the school system. "Many parents felt pressured to stop teaching their kids Spanish after being punished for speaking it," she said. "Assimilation was the goal." Gurrola recalled one moment when a parent expressed relief after school staff made an effort to find a Spanish speaker. "He was so embarrassed that he couldn't communicate. And I said, 'You are communicating in your second language with somebody who speaks only one — and you are the one who feels embarrassed?' ' she said. Gurrola noted that under the New Mexico Constitution, she must be proficient in English to serve as a state legislator. 'I'm speaking English with you because that's the language of power,' Gurrola said from her office in the Capitol. 'I could speak Spanish — and I'm tempted to, since I'm better in Spanish — but that's the inner mentality."
