Amira Opt-Out SFPS

SFPS Is Using Untested AI to Record the Voices of Our Youngest Children.

You Have the Right to Say No.

Updates for SFPS!

On July 30th at an 11am meeting with concerned parents, Superintendent Christine Griffin and Board Members Sarah Boses and Juan Blea made the following commitments:

No Amira assessments at the start of the school year, until PED issues guidance.
If that guidance still requires voice recording and Amira, SFPS will reject the mandate and use i-Ready instead.
Opt-IN for all voice recordings instead of opt-out.
Adoption of the Student Data Privacy Framework that was presented to the PED and SFPS.

"After Parent Backlash, Santa Fe Schools Hit Pause on AI Reading Tool That Records Student Voices" 505OMATIC

What You Can Do

Submit your opt-out form to your child's teacher or principal in the first week. This is crucially important in case the district reverses course. It includes a request for written confirmation that all previous recordings of your child have been deleted.
Ask Superintendent Griffin and the SFPS Board to affirm commitments she made for 1) opt-IN consent for voice recordings and 2) adoption of the Student Data Privacy Framework
In addition, ask them to ensure that any replacement assessment tool, including i-Ready, goes through the same privacy scrutiny as Amira. Switching from one platform with serious data practices to another without a policy in place defeats the purpose.

Superintendent Christine Griffin: cgriffin@sfps.k12.nm.us
Dr. Carmen L. Gonzales, Secretary, District 1: cagonzales@sfps.k12.nm.us
Sarah Boses, Vice President, District 2: sboses@sfps.k12.nm.us
Kate I. Noble, President, District 3: knoble@sfps.k12.nm.us
Roman "Tiger" Abeyta, Board Member, District 4: romabeyta@sfps.k12.nm.us
Juan Blea, Board Member, District 5: jblea@sfps.k12.nm.us

What SFPS Parents Need to Know About Amira

What is Amira?

Amira is an AI-powered reading assessment tool that the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) mandates for all K-2 (optional for 3rd grade) students in public schools, including Santa Fe Public Schools. Here's how it works:

Your child reads aloud into a device during the assessment
Amira records your child's voice, uses AI to analyze their reading, and generates a score
Students who are deemed not proficient are required to take the assessment monthly, in addition to the beginning, middle, and end of year assessments
That means some children as young as 5 years old are having their voices recorded by AI multiple times a year

Why should parents be concerned?

Amira's privacy policy states that voice recordings may be shared with third-party service providers for hosting, analytics, or technical support. Amira also states it may use data "to customize content within the Resources, to improve the Resources' content and functionality and to develop new products and updates." In plain language, that means this company can harvest your child's voice data, use it to build and improve its commercial products, and sell those products for profit. Your child's biometric data becomes a corporate asset.

The problems go beyond the company:

A New Mexico Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC) May 27, 2026 policy brief reported NM lacks "statewide procurement standards for AI tools, student data privacy requirements specific to AI, and a formal evaluation process for AI education tools."
LESC staff found that "it is unclear what vetting processes and stakeholder input PED used to implement Amira."
SFPS has no formal board policy on AI use in classrooms, and at least one AI tool used in the district (Brisk) has recommended that teachers upload students' federally protected Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) into its platform
Amira has drawn criticism from teachers and lawmakers for struggling to understand students with accents or speech differences, meaning children in a district like SFPS risk being mislabeled as not proficient at the very start of their school careers, because of how an algorithm processes their voices.

Surveillance of children and teachers.

On July 15, 2026, the LESC invited the CEO of Amira, Mark Angel and the PED Assessments Manager, Lynn Vasquez to give a joint presentation. During the presentation, Vasquez revealed a previously unknown feature that PED built into the assessment with Amira, a "troubled child alert." It is unclear which list of terms triggers this alert or who exactly is notified in each district. Whether the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) or even police could be notified as a result of this alert being triggered has not been addressed. The entire presentation can be watched here.

Kinetic Trust Protocol. (2026, July). The hearing record: What the Legislature was told about Amira (LESC interim hearing, Taos, July 15–16, 2026). https://kinetic-trust-protocol.net/advocacy/sfps/lesc-hearing

How to exercise your rights.

Your child does not have to have their voice recorded by AI in order to be assessed in reading. Alternatives already exist within the Amira system:

A paper format of the assessment is available
A non-verbal version that uses only keyboard inputs is available
PED's guidance confirms that local administrators can disable the retention of student voice recordings
Amira's website states that districts "may choose to disable audio collection entirely."

Submit a written request to your child's principal and/or teacher before the first assessment window of the 2026-27 school year. Your request should state clearly that:

You do not consent to your child's voice being recorded or retained by Amira
You are requesting your child be assessed using the paper format or non-verbal version
You want written confirmation that your request has been processed.

Do not accept a verbal assurance. Get it in writing.

Schools may tell you that PED expects a 95% participation rate on mandated assessments and that opting out could put the school at risk. You are not refusing the assessment. You are refusing to let your child's biometric data be collected by an AI system that the state's own legislative staff say was deployed without a formal vetting process, without statewide privacy standards, and without meaningful transparency about where the data goes or who profits from it.

What is happening at the state level?

The Legislature is studying screen time and AI in schools right now. LESC's own staff have identified the same gaps parents are concerned about:

No privacy standards for AI tools
No formal vetting of Amira before it was deployed statewide
No requirement that districts adopt AI policies

Parents, advocates, and policy professionals have submitted formal questions to LESC asking the committee to recommend:

Enforceable privacy safeguards
An edtech contract audit
A standardized opt-out process
A moratorium on new AI tool deployments until the study is complete

Every parent who asserts their rights in SFPS this fall strengthens the case for the Legislature to act. This is how policy changes.

Download and Share

All Districts Opt Out Form.pdf

Opt-Out Form

SFPS Amira Opt Out Flyer (English).pdf

Flyer

FAQ

Who is behind this site?

Parents who are concerned about SFPS and the NM Public Education Department (PED) using AI tools that record our children's voices without adequate privacy protections, cybersecurity, opt-out procedures, or transparency and accountability mechanisms in place.

Is this affiliated with SFPS or PED?

NO. This is an independent parent resource. We are not affiliated with Santa Fe Public Schools, the NM Public Education Department, or any school or private vendor.

Why are you doing this?

Because SFPS and NM PED are acting recklessly by requiring our youngest children's voices to be recorded by AI without any publicly documented vetting or protections. Parents deserve to know what is happening and what options exist for protecting their children.

Are you against reading assessments?

NO! We support assessing students in reading and other subjects. We are against recording children's voices with an AI system that was deployed without a formal vetting process, without statewide student data privacy standards, and without transparency about how the data is used.

Where is this information coming from?

The NM Legislative Education Study Committee, NM PED's Amira ISIP guidance, Amira's privacy policy, and reporting by the Santa Fe New Mexican.

How can I get help?

Use the contact form, email, or text/call. We will do our best to help you navigate the opt-out process if your school is making it difficult.

Report abuse