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Gallup-McKinley County Schools disproportionately disciplined Native American and Hispanic students, New Mexico DOJ investigation found

A New Mexico Department of Justice investigative report released July 2, 2026, found that Gallup-McKinley County Schools disciplines Native American and Hispanic students far more frequently and severely than white peers, with Native students losing eight to ten times as many instructional days to out-of-school suspension and Hispanic students losing three to four times as many. The three-year investigation, opened in 2023 after reporting on the district's outsized Native student expulsion rates, found district-wide suspension rates roughly double the statewide average despite comparable rates of infractions.

Jurisdiction
New Mexico
Location
Gallup, New Mexico

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Gallup-McKinley County Schools

On July 2, 2026, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez released a New Mexico Department of Justice investigative report finding that Gallup-McKinley County Schools disproportionately disciplines Native American and Hispanic students. The report, titled "Forced Out: How Exclusionary and Disparate Disciplinary Practices at Gallup-McKinley County Schools Rob Students of Instructional Time," found that GMCS students lose at least twice as many instructional days as the statewide average to out-of-school suspensions, despite committing similar types and rates of infractions as students in comparable districts. Native American students lose roughly eight to ten times as many instructional days to suspension as white students, and Hispanic students lose three to four times as many, the report found.

Torrez's office opened the investigation in 2023 following news reporting on the district's outsized rates of expelling Native American students. The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission separately issued a March 2026 report calling on district leaders to adopt a culturally appropriate disciplinary system in response to the same longstanding disparities.

Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education President Kevin Mitchell disputed the report's framing, arguing that Native American students make up roughly 89% of district enrollment and therefore will comprise the majority of disciplinary actions regardless of bias. A district spokesperson said the district is reviewing the report and pointed to a new Equity Council created under Superintendent Jvanna Hanks.

Why we recorded this

Civil rights law guarantees students equal treatment in public education regardless of race or ethnicity. A three-year New Mexico Department of Justice investigation found Gallup-McKinley County Schools imposes out-of-school suspensions on Native American students at eight to ten times the rate of white students, and on Hispanic students at three to four times the rate, despite comparable rates of infractions. Disciplinary practices that systematically remove students of color from the classroom deny them equal access to instructional time and erode the promise of equal educational opportunity.

Sources

  1. Attorney General Raúl Torrez Releases Investigative Report Into Gallup-McKinley County Schools' Discipline Practices — Los Alamos Reporter primary accessed July 6, 2026
  2. New Mexico AG investigation finds Gallup schools more severely discipline Native, Hispanic students — Source New Mexico investigative accessed July 6, 2026

See also