A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION TO REVIEW SCHOOL SAFETY
PLANS.
WHEREAS, the legislature finds
that students and school employees in New Mexico have a right to safe and
productive school environments; and
WHEREAS, the brutal murder of
twenty-eight-year-old Carolyn Thurman Rustvold while she was working late in
her classroom at Montezuma elementary school in Albuquerque has shaken the
entire New Mexico school community's trust in the safety of its schools; and
WHEREAS, the provision of safe
and productive learning environments that will ensure the safety of children
and school employees must be a priority in New Mexico's schools;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state board of education
and the state department of public education be requested to review school
safety plans to assess the ability of the plans to ensure the safety of school
employees and students during school hours and at times other than normal
school hours; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the
legislative education study committee be requested to conduct a review of
school safety plans during the next legislative interim; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state board of education, the
state department of public education and the legislative education study
committee.