A coalition of parent and education groups is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to conduct a “top-to-bottom audit” of the state’s education laws and policies to root out what they describe as toxic diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandates that conflict with federal law.
In a letter sent Monday to Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, and House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, the group Defending Education — joined by School Boards for Academic Excellence, Minnesota Partnership for Achievement, and Protective Parent Coalition — warned that many state-level policies may “run contrary to federal constitutional and statutory law” and could jeopardize federal funding.
“The time for self-examination and legal housekeeping is now,” the letter states.
National examples cited
The letter begins by noting that parents are growing increasingly concerned about whether “their state education provisions ensure public school employees are properly vetted.”
“For example, in its 2015-2016 Civil Rights Data Collection Report, the U.S. Department of Education catalogued 9,649 incidents of sexual violence in public schools. And a 2023 report assessing that data set revealed that many school districts are under no obligation to notify parents or note the investigation in the employee’s personnel file. A public school employee who sexually abuses children is, on average, passed to three school districts and can abuse up to 73 children before they are fired or face legal consequences,” the letter says.
“Collective bargaining agreements negotiated between teacher unions and school districts are a ‘key contributor to the problem, as they often allow for scrubbing of personnel files,’ so no record of abuse is left once an offender leaves the system. This widespread lack of transparency in educational employment is staggering and unacceptable,” it adds.
The coalition then points to recent examples of “education-related events” from across the country, including a scandal in Iowa, where former Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts, a Guyanese national, resigned after what the group called “a host of legal and ethical violations,” including falsifying documents and fleeing police while possessing a loaded handgun.
They also highlighted race-specific education initiatives such as Chicago Public Schools’ “Black Student Success Plan,” which they argue violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause because it directs resources to one race over others.
In states like Maine and Minnesota, “maintaining separate athletic programs based on biological sex” is treated as discrimination — a stance they say conflicts with Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment.
‘Widespread conflicts with federal law’
“This is just a sampling of what our organizations have discovered to be widespread state conflicts with prevailing federal law in publicly funded educational programs,” the letter says.
The coalition cited federal statutes including Titles VI, VII, and IX and the Equal Protection Clause, arguing that many state DEI provisions unlawfully prioritize certain groups for hiring, admissions, and scholarships.
“Entities receiving federal funds, like all other entities subject to federal antidiscrimination laws, must ensure that their programs and activities comply with federal law and do not discriminate … no matter the program’s labels, objectives, or intentions,” the letter says, quoting from recent Department of Justice guidance.
Questions for lawmakers
The letter includes 15 questions for Minnesota lawmakers to guide their audit, asking whether public schools are permitted to use race or gender identity in hiring, admissions, or programming; whether staff must undergo mandatory DEI training; and whether schools are required to report sexual misconduct allegations or use E-Verify to confirm employee status.
Parents, the letter adds, “must also worry about the access that un-vetted adult employees may have to their minor children at school, and whether those schools themselves will be divested of federal funding for failure to follow guiding federal law.”
Defending Education President Nicki Neily, Minnesota Partnership for Achievement’s Cristine Trooien, Protective Parent Coalition’s Jill Grunewald, and School Boards for Academic Excellence executive director David Hoyt all signed the letter and say they want “to secure educational excellence in this state.”
They argue Minnesota can’t afford to wait: “As the nation’s recently released abysmal NAEP scores so starkly indicate, there is not a moment to waste.”
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
