Disability Rights New Mexico (DRNM) is pleased to announce the hiring of Gary Housepian as our new Chief Executive Officer, as of April 2, 2018. Gary will succeed Jim Jackson, who is retiring as of March 31.  “We are very pleased that Gary will be leading DRNM,” said Jeanne Hamrick, DRNM Board President. “We are fortunate to have Gary, a committed leader with great vision and passion to serve the disability rights community, come to the Land of Enchantment.”  Click here for the full announcement.

In litigation filed recently in state district court in Santa Fe, Disability Rights New Mexico (DRNM) is seeking a court order requiring the Department of Health (DoH) to license boarding homes, which often serve persons with mental illness or other disabilities but are currently unregulated.  For decades, the state of New Mexico had licensing regulations and requirements in place for boarding homes, but several years ago DoH unilaterally scrapped them.  DRNM has obtained a temporary order and will seek to make the order permanent, in which case DoH would have to promptly establish and implement licensure requirements.  DRNM on-site visits, our death investigation a few years ago, numerous complaints we have received from residents and guardians, and a series of reports published in the Albuquerque Journal have all raised serious concerns about the conditions in many of these homes.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District is a victory for New Mexicans seeking special education and related services for children with disabilities.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) requires that State receiving funds to educate children with disabilities provide a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE). To meet the standards of a FAPE, the Court required that the IEP "must be appropriately ambitious in light of [the child's] circumstances," and acknowledged "every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives."  To read more on the ruling, click here.