New Mexico now has the distinction of being the only state that requested No Child Left Behind waivers for its public schools that did not receive one. It still could be awarded, but the state has work to do. One chief reason given by the federal government was that our state did not use its new school rating system -- the A-to-F report card -- to help address the educational achievements of minority students who are lagging behind. A second: "lack of consultation with diverse stakeholders and communities," to quote directly from a December letter from the federal Department of Education.

This failure makes sense when you consider that critics of Public Education Department Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera have been saying for the past year that she does not understand our state's diverse populations. On top of her lack of knowledge, Skandera apparently has not been willing to reach out to New Mexicans about our state's educational challenges -- whether experts in Indian education, English-language learning or concerns of local Hispanos. She disbanded standing advisory committees on bilingual education, Indian education and Hispanic education. In other words, Skandera brought in outside reforms without trying to become familiar with the place where those reforms were supposed to take root.

The federal government, far away in Washington, D.C., picked up on that lack of knowledge and wants our waiver application to be reworked. The waiver is important because it means that schools would leave the confusing labels of "Adequate Yearly Progress" to a clearer but still problematic A-to-F system that Skandera and her consultants devised. Still, we agree with the feds that helping close the achievement gap should be part of a school's grade. After all, "minority" is a misnomer in New Mexico, where 71 percent of students are considered to be from minority ethnic groups. The report card's standards also must be made clearer -- the final grade is unequivocal, but it's difficult to understand how the "teacher" arrived at it. The feds caught that failing as well.

One year in, Skandera still awaits confirmation to her post. With only a few days remaining in this legislative session, she still hasn't faced a hearing before the Senate Rules Committee. There is talk that she could remain unconfirmed, for the second session in a row. We think the person in charge of the public schools should be held accountable by senators constitutionally charged with confirming a governor's choice. In other words, schedule a hearing.

Under Skandera's watch, the Public Education Department has lost key staff members in its Bilingual Education Bureau and doesn't appear to be in any hurry to replace them, despite the many children in New Mexico who learn in two languages. Critically, there also appears to be little understanding on Skandera's part that the education of Indian children in this state involves complex laws -- including the support of Native languages and statute-required parental involvement. It's not possible -- or desirable -- to be English-only in a state where so many children speak Spanish, Tewa, Keres, Navajo or another language first. The layoffs of dozens of employees and the subsequent contracts to out-of-state consultants must be examined in the light of day.

Legislators should hold Skandera accountable before this session ends. Her explanations might satisfy, but we doubt it. Unless Skandera can make it clear that she truly wants to work with -- and respects -- the diverse people of New Mexico, it might be time to send her packing.