This bill is currently in the MN Legislature, and it’s very long. I’ve only copied/pasted a very select group of statements that stood out to me, but there may be many more sections that stand out to you. What do we do with this information? If this bill is worrisome to you as it is to many including myself, then please find a way to speak out and tell your story. They won’t know, until they hear from you. I’ve included a few testimonials speaking against these changes, plus a few opinions from local organizations that also stand against these changes.
(The underlined statements come from the bill directly and represents the new language added to the statute.)
Sec. 9. [120B.025] ETHNIC STUDIES.
“Ethnic studies” means the critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and
indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and
beyond the United States. Ethnic studies analyzes the ways in which race and racism have
been and continue to be powerful social, cultural, and political forces, and the connection
of race to the stratification of other groups, including stratification based on gender, class,
sexuality, religion, and legal status.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 120B.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section and section 120B.10, the
following terms have the meanings given them.
(a) “Instruction” means methods of providing learning experiences that enable a student to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements including applied and experiential learning.
(b) “Curriculum” means district or school adopted programs and written plans for
providing students with learning experiences that lead to expected knowledge and skills and career and college readiness.
(c) “World’s best workforce” means striving to: meet school readiness goals; have all
third grade students achieve grade-level literacy; close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and have all students graduate from high school.
(d) “Experiential learning” means learning for students that includes career exploration
through a specific class or course or through work-based experiences such as job shadowing, mentoring, entrepreneurship, service learning, volunteering, internships, other cooperative work experience, youth apprenticeship, or employment.
(e) “Ethnic studies curriculum” means the critical and interdisciplinary study of race,
ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of People of
Color within and beyond the United States. Ethnic studies analyzes the ways in which race
and racism have been and continue to be powerful social, cultural, and political forces, and
the connection of race to the stratification of other groups, including stratification based on
gender, class, sexuality, religion, and legal status. The ethnic studies curriculum may be
integrated in existing curricular opportunities or provided through additional curricular
offerings.
(f) “Antiracist” means actively working to identify and eliminate racism in all forms so
that power and resources are redistributed and shared equitably among racial groups.
(g) “Culturally sustaining” means integrating content and practices that infuse the culture
and language of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities who have been and
continue to be harmed and erased through schooling.
(h) “Institutional racism” means structures, policies, and practices within and across
institutions that produce outcomes that chronically favor white people and disadvantage
those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
Subd. 12.
Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices; alternatives to pupil
removal and dismissal.
“Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices” means
policies and practices that are alternatives to removing a pupil from class or dismissing a
pupil from school, including evidence-based positive behavior interventions and supports,
social and emotional services, school-linked mental health services, counseling services,
social work services, referrals for special education or 504 evaluations, academic screening
for Title 1 services or reading interventions, and alternative education services.
Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices require actions by school officials to
intervene in, redirect, and support a pupil’s behavior before beginning dismissal proceedings.
Nonexclusionary disciplinary policies and practices include but are not limited to the policies
and practices under sections 120B.12; 121A.575, clauses (1) and (2); 121A.031, subdivision
4, paragraph (a), clause (1); 121A.61, subdivision 3, paragraph (r); and 122A.627, clause
(3).
Sec. 36. [121A.611] RECESS AND OTHER BREAKS.
(a) “Recess detention” as used in this chapter means excluding or excessively delaying
a student from participating in a scheduled recess period as a consequence for student
behavior. Recess detention does not include, among other things, providing alternative
recess at the student’s choice.
(b) A school district or charter school is encouraged to ensure student access to structured
breaks from the demands of school and to support teachers, principals, and other school
staff in their efforts to use evidence-based approaches to reduce exclusionary forms of
discipline.
(c) A school district or charter school must not use recess detention unless:
(1) a student causes or is likely to cause serious physical harm to other students or staff;
(2) the student’s parent or guardian specifically consents to the use of recess detention;
or
(3) for students receiving special education services, the student’s individualized education
program team has determined that withholding recess is appropriate based on the
individualized needs of the student.
Sec. 39. Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 124D.09, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given to them.
(a) “Eligible institution” means a Minnesota public postsecondary institution, a private,
nonprofit two-year trade and technical school granting associate degrees, an opportunities industrialization center accredited by an accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education, or a private, residential, two-year or four-year, liberal arts, degree-granting college or university located in Minnesota. An eligible institution must not
require a faith statement from a secondary student seeking to enroll in a postsecondary
course under this section during the application process or base any part of the admission
decision on a student’s race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, or sexual orientation or
religious beliefs or affiliations.
Sec. 2. [120B.25] CURRICULUM POLICY.
A school board must adopt a written policy that prohibits discrimination or discipline
for a teacher or principal on the basis of incorporating into curriculum contributions by
persons in a federally protected class or protected class under section 363A.13 consistent
with local collective bargaining agreements.
ADDITIONAL INFO FOR OPPOSING THE BILL:
Kofi Montzka testimony: /https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDfhmhM0-s4
Hillary Swanson testimony: /https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noc24Mj5w8U
FAIR Twin Cities: /https://www.fairforall.org/twin-cities/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/2023/03/230307-FAIR-TC-Written-Comments-to-SF-1311_signed.pdf
Center for the American Experiment: /https://www.americanexperiment.org/intentionally-ideological-how-familiar-terms-are-being-hijacked-to-advance-an-illiberal-worldview/
ANOTHER BILL CURRENTLY IN LEGISLATURE WHICH SEEMS TO EXCLUDE SCHOOLS FROM OBSCENITY LAWS. I hope that I am misunderstanding this bill, but I am not aware of any other laws keeping sexually explicit material out of our schools.
Elizabeth for Owatonna Schools 