46th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2003

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.