This project combines investigative reporting with public engagement with the goal of improving performance of special education in New Mexico. Our state has one of the poorest records in the nation when it comes to serving public school students with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other learning and attention issues, according to a report by the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The graduation rate for these students – more than 10 percent lower than the overall student population – approaches 32 percent in New Mexico. Investigative reporting will examine why this is occurring, based on documented cases in which school districts use excessive punitive methods or claim to offer special ed services that simply don’t exist. A follow-up public event will bring parents, students, scholars and providers together to seek solutions.
Searchlight New Mexico is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative and public service journalism in the interest of the people of New Mexico. The journalists of Searchlight New Mexico deliver high-impact investigative reporting to inspire New Mexicans to demand action on systemic problems that plague New Mexico.
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