
A Jan. 28 St. Louis Park School Board meeting featured a group of special education teachers, known as the “Special Education Design Team,” delivering a presentation on dismantling systemic racism and oppression.
The team, originally created as part of a consulting effort, was formed last year to assess special education practices. Their “phase one” initiative centered on racial equity and social justice.
Before the meeting began, the school board set the tone with a land acknowledgment.
“We are gathered on the land of the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples … this acknowledgment demonstrates a commitment to dismantling the ongoing legacies of colonial power,” stated school board chair Colin Cox.
Educators frame special education as a tool of oppression
Once the presentation began, the educators wasted no time making their mission clear.
“Our commitment as anti-racist educators is to challenge the status quo and excavate deep-seated racism within the public school system,” said Blair Okey, a special education teacher at St. Louis Park Middle School, while reading from the group’s “racial equity purpose statement.”
The Jan. 28th St. Louis Park (@SLPublicSchools) School Board Meeting felt like a parody. A group of special education teachers and a speech pathologist gave a presentation—not on improving academic outcomes, but on ‘racial equity,’ ‘dismantling oppression,’ and their ‘commitment… pic.twitter.com/GsLwYYbURh
— Mark Gilson 🌱 (@markwgilson) February 1, 2025
Aquila Elementary speech pathologist Kristina Doyle, who identified herself as Afro-Latina during the meeting, argued that special education has “historically oppressed the most marginalized” communities.
“Racial equity work requires that we engage in continuous self-reflection and learning,” Okey commented. “That means listening to our students, acknowledging their lived experience, and creating spaces where they can engage in honest and meaningful dialogue about race, power, and privilege.”
Doyle’s colleague, special education teacher Meghan Settingsgard, expanded on the idea.
“We have a responsibility as racially conscious educators to provide the best education possible to create lifelong learners. Historically, special education was created to continue segregation within the school system … our current reality is that there is a disproportionate representation of students of color within those special education systems,” said Settingsgard.
She later said the “current system often treats students in special education as an afterthought, perpetuating racially and neurodiversity-predictable outcomes that reinforce systems of oppression.”
The teachers committed themselves to challenging “these inequities, dismantling oppressive structures, and fostering an inclusive environment where every student is valued and supported.”
The educators announced that the first phase of their anti-racism rollout involves reading “The Unteachables,” a book that explores how disability labels have historically been used to marginalize black students in public schools.
They are also gathering feedback from parents and analyzing enrollment data as part of their effort to “review who, why and how students are entering our special education system.”
After the presentation, the board members offered their thanks, with Chair Cox expressing enthusiasm for the group’s message.
“I think we’re just excited to be hearing from you,” Cox said. “We know that it’s underfunded by the state—we’re very aware of that—and I think there’s plenty of people who are trying to leverage that and say if this is a requirement that we must do, why don’t we get more funding to do this work.”
The St. Louis Park School Board will host a virtual school board listening session on Feb. 10.