Minnesota students would see new lessons in ethnic studies and climate change added to their K-12 curricula under a pair of proposals traveling through the state Legislature.
The Minnesota Education Policy Committee on Wednesday took up and passed the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party proposals. The first would create a new graduation requirement that students complete a high school ethnic studies course and that public and charter schools integrate ethnic studies into primary and secondary classes. St. Paul and Minneapolis school districts have set similar requirements at the local level.
The second would require schools to teach students about climate change and how it contributes to “social and economic justice issues.”
Authors of both the proposals told the committee they brought the bills after hearing from students and educators who felt the topics weren’t getting adequately addressed in the classroom.
“All students deserve to see themselves in the classroom, their own cultures, communities and histories, including in their curriculum,” Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, said in support of his effort to create an ethnic studies standard. “Our students are yearning for this.”
The proposal defines ethnic studies as “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.”
The Department of Education could set a model for the coursework, under the plan, and school districts could decide which cultures might be relevant to highlight based on their student body and community.
Minnesota students said the new curricula could help them to learn about their cultures and those of their peers.
“Ethnic studies in our school would let me and my friends see that our people are more than people who suffered and needed to be saved as a biracial human being,” Jocelyn Thepmontry, a Worthington Middle School student, told the panel.
Meanwhile, some GOP lawmakers said the state should prioritize getting students up to grade level in reading and writing before adding new requirements. And they raised concerns about the new standard forging division.
“I think we need to focus on being one and being unified instead of being victimized in different groups,” Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, said. “I just see this as a backwards step in terms of our American culture. It competes with it and sends us in a different direction than we need to go.”
Minnesota students also said they’d not seen enough emphasis on climate change in their schools and they urged lawmakers to add scientifically accurate coursework.
“Students understand the different effects of climate change and environmental racism and are committed to fighting against it,” Adri Arquin, a high school student and member of the Minnesota Youth Council said. “However there’s one thing that inhibits our ability to take action: the lack of a proper education framework.”
Both proposals move next to the House Education Finance Committee. They’ve not yet been introduced in the Republican-led Senate and could have a tough path forward there.