The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a regulation that prohibits New Mexico teachers and other public school employees from disparaging standardized tests.
The suit against the state education department says the provision against making disparaging statements could result in a license suspension or revocation for teachers, and it restricts free speech and violates constitutional rights. The lawsuit asserts that teachers are permitted only to praise the tests and that parents are thus unable to obtain honest and accurate information about the tests’ effect on children.
The department said the lawsuit is designed to push an extreme agenda against all student testing.
