SANTA FE, NM — In New Mexico, frustration among parents continues to grow over plummeting literacy scores, lack of transparency, and ideological agendas in classrooms. Today, Independent Women’s Features (IW Features), the grassroots storytelling and investigative journalism division of Independent Women, released another exclusive, firsthand account from a Santa Fe mother, detailing how New Mexico’s systematic school gender policies forced her to withdraw her children from Santa Fe Public Schools after officials continually permitted a male classmate identifying as a girl to access school girls’ private spaces.
According to Kristy Ojinaga, her concerns began after her six-year-old daughter came home from school visibly distressed. She later learned that a male student identifying as a girl had been using the girls’ restroom and engaging in behavior that made her daughter uncomfortable. When Ojinaga sought answers, she said administrators cited district policy and privacy laws, while refusing to notify parents or reconsider the school’s approach.
“The coordinator said that the little boy using a bathroom that identified with his biological sex was more harmful to him than my daughter sharing a bathroom with a biological boy,” Ojinaga told IW Features.
As meetings with district officials failed to resolve her concerns, Ojinaga ultimately withdrew her children from public school and has since joined other parents in filing a federal Title IX complaint against Santa Fe Public Schools, arguing that the district’s policies undermine parental rights and jeopardize the privacy and safety of female students.
Today, Ojinaga says her fight is no longer just about her own family.
“If I’m doing right by them, I’m fighting for a better future for our daughter… then you can call me all the names you want,” she told IW Features. “I want my rights as their parents to make decisions on their behalf. I think every parent should want that fundamental right.”
READ THE FULL PROFILE: Santa Fe Mom Says School Chose Gender Ideology Over Her Daughter’s Privacy—But She’s Fighting Back
EDUCATION CRISIS IN NEW MEXICO
Kristy’s story is the latest in Independent Women’s ongoing effort to expose the growing education crisis in New Mexico and elevate the voices of parents, teachers, and students demanding accountability.
New Mexico Women: What’s Happening in Our Communities?
Last month, Independent Women launched its statewide “Ask Why New Mexico” campaign, which included the launch of television and OTT/CTV ads and a grassroots letter petition, exposing what’s happening inside New Mexico schools and demanding accountability and change from state leaders. In addition to the ads that aired across the Albuquerque-Santa Fe media market, including major local news broadcasts and national cable placements, bringing this message directly into the homes of New Mexicans, billboard trucks and billboards have carried the message: “If Your Candidates Support It, They Should Explain It.”
Independent Women’s AskWhyNM.com campaign
Last month, IW Features revealed the story of another New Mexico mother who said that gender policy drove her son out of public school. Earlier this year, IW Features released the documentary “The Hidden Crisis in New Mexico’s Classrooms,” exposing what one veteran educator calls a “full-scale collapse” inside New Mexico’s public school system.
In an effort to foster solutions to address these challenges, Independent Women released the report, “Give Teachers A Break: Cutting Red Tape to Unleash the Potential of America’s Great Teachers,” which outlined practical reforms to reduce the bureaucracy that prevents good teachers from doing their jobs.
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