Santa Fe, NM- House Bill 182, a measure that would provide local school boards with the discretion on allowing in-person learning during a public health order, will be heard tomorrow, February 10, at 8:30am in the House Health and Human Services Committee. HB182 is a bipartisan effort, sponsored by Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Los Lunas), Rep. Jim Townsend (R-Artesia), Candie Sweetser (D-Deming), and Willie Madrid (D-Chaparral).

HB182 is identical in language to SB172, which was blocked by four Democrat Senators on Monday. The bipartisan momentum for returning the decision-making ability to local school boards has heavily increased as the 2021 session began. Shortly after House Republicans announced the bipartisan supported HB182, the Governor’s administration announced that the state would begin returning students to classroom. 

“Every student in New Mexico deserves a fair shot, and while the pandemic did upend our lives, we have the futures of these kids to look out for,” said Representative Alonzo Baldonado (Los Lunas). “The momentum behind this bipartisan push for our students has already moved Governor Lujan Grisham to reopen schools, and I think we can continue this momentum to provide local control of schools because our children and families desperately need our support.”

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