Tim Walz Signed Law Requiring ‘Ethnic Studies’ Courses in Elementary Schools

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz signed a law in May 2023 as Minnesota governor that will require schools to offer “ethnic studies” courses that may include “anti-racist” lessons and discussions on “social identities.”

The law requires elementary and middle schools to teach ethnic studies classes by the 2027 to 2028 school year, while high schools must offer a course on the topic starting in the 2026 to 2027 school year, though some districts have already begun implementing ethnic studies programs. The program is described as an “interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity” and says it will emphasize “perspectives of people of color” and analyze “the ways in which race and racism have been and continue to be social, cultural, and political forces.”

Some intended learning outcomes of ethnic studies that were set out before the legislation was signed include identifying “the ways power and language construct the social identities of race, religion, geography, ethnicity, and gender” and understanding “the roots of contemporary systems of oppression,” according to a 2021 academic standard document released by the Minnesota Department of Education. The standards outline learning requirements for ethnic studies for every year from kindergarten through ninth grade.

The standards also call for Minnesota children to be introduced to racial topics starting in kindergarten, such as forms of resistance against systemic power and how they can fight against injustices. The benchmarks for high school students include “racial capitalism” and “anti-Blackness” and mention “contemporary systems of oppression” such as “how criminality is constructed and how social, political and legal systems define a person as a criminal.”

“For me, this is about justice. Our educational system has systematically failed children of color, Indigenous, disabled, and poor children,” Minnesota Justice Alan Page said in a 2021 press release when the governor first announced plans for an ethnic studies curriculum as a part of a plan to address learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is important that the plan recognizes this failure, and acknowledges that systemic change is needed.”

St. Paul Public Schools, the second-largest school district in the state, adopted a high school program in 2021 that it describes as a “critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color” that uses “equity, anti-racism, and social justice,” according to the course guide. The course invites students to be “aware of your own bias, power, and privilege” and “resist all systems of oppressive power rooted in racism through collective action and change.”

The 2023 law also includes a requirement for the creation of an Ethnic Studies Working Group to advise the education commission on the law and help guide the curriculum. The legislation appropriates $150,000 per year to the state’s Department of Education for an “ethnic studies specialist” to assist schools in creating the programs.

The requirement was heavily criticized when it was initially released, facing legal backlash before being passed with minor alterations to clarify a “vague” rule that required teachers to “apply lessons from the past in order to eliminate historical and contemporary injustices,” according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.

“We stand ready to work with the commissioner of Education to draft academic standards that will promote rigor, avoid bringing politics into our classrooms, and respect local control and parental engagement,” Republican Minnesota State Rep. Ron Kresha, an outspoken critic of the bill, said following the judge’s ruling to allow the law, according to the Tribune.