State Sen. wants parents to have access to investigations into school police

Laura Gutierrez has been trying to get public records from Albuquerque Public Schools for more than a year. In 2014 a school law enforcement officer allegedly used force against her autistic son. APS opened an investigation and soon cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. Gutierrez wants to see all the documents from this investigation. In […]

State Sen. wants parents to have access to investigations into school police

Laura Gutierrez has been trying to get public records from Albuquerque Public Schools for more than a year. In 2014 a school law enforcement officer allegedly used force against her autistic son.

APS opened an investigation and soon cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. Gutierrez wants to see all the documents from this investigation.

In the fall and winter of 2015, Gutierrez filed four public records requests with APS for the district’s internal investigation of the officer, an employee of the school district.

The school district has refused to release information from the internal investigation, including witness statements and a forensic interview with her son Michael, who was 13 at the time.

Now, a state senator is attempting to add a section to the state’s public records disclosure law to require that all parents or guardians have access to investigations of school officers accused of misconduct against their child.

But some government transparency advocates warn that the bill could actually undermine the state’s public records law.

Gutierrez sat with the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, last week as the Senate Education Committee passed the bill.

“Not having provisions for parental access to police records takes away from parental participation at all levels of government,” Gutierrez told NM Political Report.

Lopez, who has appeared with Gutierrez at multiple press conferences since the alleged incident against her son, invoked parent rights in explaining her bill.

“When there is a child involved in an alleged incident, there is a report,” Lopez told the committee last week. “Once the investigation has been closed, it is my belief and many others’ that the parent or guardian should have access to that piece of information.”

Some government transparency advocates, however, fear her legislation may actually harm the state’s existing open records law, the Inspection of Public Records Act. Peter St. Cyr, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG), said the type of documents Lopez’s legislation would free up are already covered under IPRA.

St. Cyr called Lopez’s legislation “unnecessary.”

“FOG believes that the documents are already public records and should be provided to anyone who requests them, not just to parents,” St. Cyr said. “It is also potentially harmful to open government, because it suggests that investigative reports of law enforcement officers’ misconduct are confidential except to this narrow extent.”

The State Commission of Public Records takes a different approach. In a note included in the bill’s fiscal impact report, the commission says that Lopez’s bill could conflict with an existing IPRA exemption that prohibits disclosure of law enforcement records “that reveal information related to individuals accused, but not charged, of a crime.”

State Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, one of two committee members to vote against the bill, echoed this. Stewart, who previously worked as a special education teacher, said the bill would “undermine provisions in place we have to insure that police officers are protected.”

Specifically, Stewart said that school officers have a duty to comply with investigations into their conduct. Then the school districts make the final decision on whether to punish them. Disclosing investigation details would interfere with that process, Stewart argued, and infringe on police officers’ rights.

“The bill targets police officers in a school setting, and we won’t be able to get anyone to work for us,” Stewart said.

Currently, Gutierrez and others unable to get public records from public bodies or agencies have two options. They can file an IPRA complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office, which is tasked with enforcing the state open records law, or file a lawsuit for the records.

Gutierrez opted for the former last year and made a complaint with Attorney General Hector Balderas. Once the Attorney General’s Office began investigating her complaint, APS faulted Gutierrez for not sending her IPRA requests directly to the school district’s public records custodian. This excuse, as Attorney General Communications Counsel Jennie Lusk noted in a September 2016 letter to the school district, isn’t covered by state law.

“The APS records custodian is responsible for making records available when requested, regardless of any interdepartmental or interagency mail problems,” Lusk wrote to the school district’s records custodian at the time.

The following month, APS again did not provide the records to Gutierrez, this time citing two exemptions in the IPRA law for their reasoning.

One of those cited exemptions, known as the “law enforcement exemption,” doesn’t allow public bodies to disclose documents that give away confidential methods and sources used by law enforcement. It also blocks disclosure of the names of people accused but not charged with a crime.

The other IPRA exemption cited by APS allows public bodies to keep “matters of opinion in personnel files” confidential.

Yet both of these excuses don’t cover all of the documents APS is withholding from Gutierrez, according to FOG President Greg Williams. While a confidential law enforcement source’s name may be kept secret, the information these sources provide as part of an investigation is not, Williams told NM Political Report last fall. Williams added that entire law enforcement investigations are not considered matters of opinion.

“If APS is saying that everything that has to do with that investigation is subject to exemption, that is wrong,” Williams said at the time.

As unnecessary as organizations like FOG deem it, Lopez’s bill could be expanded. During committee debate last week, state Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, asked Lopez whether she would be willing to expand her bill to include investigations of teachers and other school employees.

“I hate to single our law enforcement and think a parent should have a right to all records,” Brandt said.

Lopez responded receptively to Brandt’s idea.

Chris Narkun, an administrator with the state Public Education Department, suggested to the committee that the bill amend a state statute that guides investigations of police officers instead of amending IPRA.

Lopez’s bill now sits before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov signs bills with some vetoes 

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 69 bills that the legislature passed during the 2024 legislative session. These included the General Appropriations Act which contains…
Guv signs state budget

Guv signs state budget

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the budget bill for Fiscal Year 2025 and the Capital Outlay spending bill. The FY25 state budget bill passed…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…

NM Supreme Court annuls $10,000 penalty in PNM/Avangrid merger case

The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a penalty the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission levied against the state’s largest utility was…
State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

State fines oil company more than $2 million after spill

The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department fined an oil and gas company operating in the Permian Basin more than $2 million over produced…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

Supreme Court censures attorney over conduct in anti-COVID policy suits

The New Mexico State Supreme Court censured a New Mexico attorney because of her “misconduct” in two unsuccessful cases pushing back on COVID-19 regulations…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

How Biden, others highlighted reproductive rights at the State of the Union

President Joe Biden highlighted reproductive rights issues as part of his State of the Union speech Thursday. Biden delivered his 2024 State of the…
Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

Stansbury invites OB-GYN doctor as her state of the union guest 

U.S. House of Rep. Melanie Stansbury has invited an OB-GYN doctor from Roswell as her guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union…
See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

See who’s going to be on your primary ballot in June

Tuesday marked the official beginning of the 2024 New Mexico primary season for the legislature, with candidates officially filing for candidacy. This is the…

Bill to require disclosure of use of AI in campaign materials goes to governor

The Senate approved a bill aiming to require the disclosure of the use of artificial intelligence or other changes made by computers to campaign…
House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

House amends, passes bill banning firearms near polling places

The House narrowly approved a bill that would ban firearms near polling places. The House voted 35-34 to pass the bill following an extensive…
Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

Advocates travel to D.C. to push for additional protections for the Gila River

New Mexico advocates seeking to have the Gila River designated as a Wild and Scenic River will travel to Washington D.C. this week to…
U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

U.S. Supreme Court lets ban on Couy Griffin from holding office stand

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Republican official who was barred from holding office after being convicted for a…
Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Politics Newsletter: legislative leaders not running for reelection

Hello fellow political junkies! Candidate filing day has come and gone, and members of House and Senate leadership opted to either not seek reelection…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report