Issue: Education
Effective education policy includes returning authority to the states and empowering parents with the opportunity to choose a safe and effective education for their children.
Expanding New Mexico state pre-K would be a costly mistake
The following appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on August 10, 2020: The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) recently released a study of the “inaugural cohort” of the state’s pre-K program, concluding that “prekindergarten remains a cost-effective way to...
Rio Grande Foundation signs onto amicus brief in Michigan v. DeVos supporting non-public schools
The Rio Grande Foundation has signed onto an amicus brief filed Wednesday in Michigan v. DeVos, a critical legal dispute in federal court between a group of state attorneys general (including New Mexico’s Hector Balderas) and the federal Education...
My family will home school this fall. Other families should have options as well.
The following opinion piece appeared in the Las Cruces Sun-News on Sunday, July 26, 2020: As the head of New Mexico’s free market think tank and a frequent critic of New Mexico’s K-12 system, many are surprised to hear that my two school-age children have been in...
New RGF brief debunks LFC report on pre-K: Why Expanding New Mexico State Pre-K Won’t Help the Children Who Need Help the Most
Today's Albuquerque Journalcontained a report which discussed in glowing terms New Mexico's expansion of pre-K programs. The reality is not nearly so compelling as Katharine Stevens argues in her new policy brief “Why Expanding New Mexico State Pre-K Won’t...
COVID-19 must spur long-overdue reform to NM education system
The following opinion piece appeared in the Carlsbad Current Argus and several other papers on or around July 13, 2020. Recently, a judge denied a request made by the Lujan Grisham Administration that the Yazzie lawsuit be dropped. That lawsuit claims that New...
Rio Grande Foundation Study: Albuquerque Public Schools Spend Big, don’t See Results
Comparing school districts in New Mexico is often challenging. Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is one of the largest districts in the entire country. With that come certain “efficiencies of scale” as well as some serious drawbacks. The answer is to compare similar...
Understanding the Rio Grande Foundation
The Rio Grande Foundation often comes under criticism from the left. But sometimes we come under fire from the right as well. For starters we are designated as 501c3 “education and research” think tank. We don’t make endorsements and we don’t “carry water” for any...
New Mexico’s legislative defenders of Freedom
Who in the Legislature voted in favor of freedom and personal responsibility in 2020? We tracked it all on our Freedom Index and you can find out for yourself by clicking the link and plugging in your address (if you don't already know who your legislators are). While...
The 2020 Freedom Index Results are out! How did your legislators fare on freedom?
The Rio Grande Foundation's vote tracking tool, the Freedom Index, has been available all throughout the 2020 legislative session with bills ranked and legislators' votes scored in what amounts to "real time." At the Rio Grande Foundation website you can access bill...
Opinion article: “Free” College Proposal Raises Serious Questions
The following article appeared in several New Mexico news outlets on September 30, 2019 including the Las Cruces Sun-News. Gov. Lujan Grisham has put forth a plan (set for debate and possible approval in the 2020 Legislature) for “free” college for New Mexico...
Discussing the Gov’s plan for “free” college on KOB TV Channel 4
Rio Grande Foundation president Paul Gessing sat down with KOB TV to discuss the plan for "free" college. You can check out the story below. As of Thursday afternoon, September 26, we have not received any details in terms of the estimated $25-$35 million price tag...
RGF provides comment for KOAT 7 Albuquerque Public Schools bond story
Albuquerque area voters will be asked to vote this November on a $290 million bond measure for APS. KOAT Channel 7 did a story in which they talked to APS about the real issues at some local schools and the District's mismanagement of those facilities. Although many...
