(Center of the American Experiment) — Since late spring, the Minnesota Department of Education’s Ethnic Studies Working Group has been drafting a “framework” and other resources that are expected to direct school districts on implementing new ethnic studies requirements.
With the Oct. 31 deadline just around the corner, the working group continues to keep the materials close to the chest, despite the initial expectation that the public would get to view, and weigh in on, the direction MDE plans on taking ethnic studies instruction in public K-12 classrooms.
During the June working group meeting, a July deadline was set for the first draft of the framework, so I reached out to MDE via email for more information on the draft timeline and where the draft would be published. Anna Arkin, MDE’s assistant communications director, responded: “The draft Ethnic Studies Framework will be available on the MDE website for the public comment period, which will be from Aug. 9-22.”
But those dates came and went, and it wasn’t until the Aug. 27 working group meeting when it was briefly mentioned by MDE Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Teaching and Learning Bobbie Burnham that a draft had not been released because “it just wasn’t quite ready” to receive public feedback, and group members had asked for more time.
Certainly plausible, of course. But skeptics might wonder if national politics are driving the decision to delay the release one month before the election.
One working group member appeared to hint at why, perhaps, more time was needed, referencing “friction points” while airing his concerns during that August meeting.
“It would be helpful if … the writing could take a more inclusive and welcoming tone because this is unfamiliar territory for so many people, particularly the part of the state that I live in. If school boards in my area were to look at the framework and the professional development recommendations the way they were written, they would pick them up and drop them in the trash because it feels almost vindictive … and it doesn’t say, ‘I feel like this represents my community,’ and to look for ways to bring vocabulary in that is welcoming and inclusive and offers guidance that brings people together … I’m not seeing that kind of vocabulary, and I think that that’s part of the friction points, at least from my perspective.”
The group held its last public meeting Tuesday—Sept. 24—and is still finishing up its deliverables for the Oct. 31 deadline. A public comment period sometime following that deadline will be considered.
This article was originally published at the Center of the American Experiment.
Catrin Wigfall
Catrin Wigfall is a Policy Fellow at Center of the American Experiment.
Catrin’s experience in education and policy research began during her time with the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. Her interest in education policy led her to spend two years teaching 5th grade general education and 6th grade Latin in Arizona as a Teach for America corps member. She then used her classroom experience to transition back into education policy work at the California Policy Center before joining American Experiment in February 2017.
Catrin graduated summa cum laude from Azusa Pacific University in California, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
