Native America Calling: Native student discipline disparities persist at New Mexico school district

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Native America Calling: Native student discipline disparities persist at New Mexico school district

Friday, July 10, 2026

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New report: Native student discipline disparities persist at New Mexico school district

A new report by the New Mexico Department of Justice says Native students are disciplined more harshly and miss more school days from suspensions than other students at Gallup-McKinley County Schools.

The school district, located in western New Mexico, includes the Navajo Nation and the Pueblo of Zuni. It has a majority Navajo student population and was the focus of a 2023 news investigation that prompted calls for further investigations into the treatment of Native students.

Forced Out: How Exclusionary and Disparate Disciplinary Practices at Gallup-McKinley County Schools Rob Students of Instructional Time. Released by the New Mexico Department of Justice in July 2026.

Meanwhile in South Dakota, education leaders are looking into the state’s licensing exams after research shows a disproportionately low number of Native teacher candidates pass the costly exam. Native teachers are in short supply in the state and Native education advocates say that streamlining licensing requirements could be barrier.

Guests on Native America Calling

Dr. Wendy Greyeyes (Diné), chair of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission and assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico

Kevin Mitchell (Diné), president of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education in New Mexico

Priscilla Benally (Diné), vice president of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education in New Mexico

Dr. Sherry Johnson (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), education director for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate in South Dakota