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My organization, Center of the American Experiment, has been battling for four years to keep leftist indoctrination out of Minnesota’s public schools. A climax of sorts came in 2023, when Minnesota’s Democrat-controlled legislature mandated that Ethnic Studies be incorporated into every K-12 class. So, welcome to the world of Ethnic Algebra.
Governor Tim Walz’s Department of Education appointed a committee to implement that legislation by drawing up Guidelines to be followed by the public schools. The key member of Walz’s committee is Brian Lozenski, a local professor who is a national leader in the “Liberated Ethnic Studies” movement. Lozenski became notorious during this year’s presidential campaign because, as a prominent Tim Walz appointee, he calls for the overthrow of the government of the United States:
This is a direct quote from Tim Walz’s education appointee in Minnesota:
“You can’t be a critical race theorist and be pro-US…CRT is an anti-state theory that says the U.S. needs to be deconstructed.”
Now ask yourself who’s the threat to our democracy & vote accordingly. pic.twitter.com/0XFQkJMSzT
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) October 19, 2024
That gives you some idea of how radical Minnesota’s Ethnic Studies Guidelines will be.
Lozenski’s committee’s Framework originally was supposed to be released in August, but that date was pushed back, presumably so that the Framework’s radicalism would not damage the Harris/Walz ticket. Then the Framework’s release was rescheduled for October, but it still hasn’t happened. My colleague Catrin Wigfall, who fights this battle every day, as one person against hundreds or thousands, tells the story here.
The Walz committee’s publicly available records indicate that their long-awaited Framework has been complete for some time. More than two months ago, American Experiment served a Data Practices Act request for deliverables written by the Department of Education’s Ethnic Studies Working Group that will guide public schools on implementation of the new Ethnic Studies requirements.
Having gotten no response, we wrote multiple follow-up requests to Walz’s Department of Education, which they also ignored. Finally, in view of the Walz administration’s repeated and blatant violations of Minnesota’s Data Practices Act, we hired our friends at the Upper Midwest Law Center (full disclosure: I serve on the UMLC board) to sue Minnesota’s Department of Education on our behalf. This is our Complaint against the MDE, which I personally approved:
2024-11-27-CAE-v-MDE-Complaint-FINAL-v2
To paraphrase Joe Louis, they can run, but they can’t hide. With the assistance of a local court, we will pry loose the shameful documents that Tim Walz wants to remain hidden–the Framework that will institutionalize the teaching of racism and anti-Americanism in Minnesota’s public schools.
We fight this battle against the forces of extreme leftism every day. They have vast resources, we are a tiny nonprofit. Yet, somehow, they haven’t been able to beat us. If you want to help us continue the fight for sanity and accurate history in the public schools, you can donate to American Experiment here.