The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC), on behalf of the Center of the American Experiment (CAE), has issued two formal letters to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) demanding timely access to the framework crafted by the MDE to guide school districts on the implementation of new ethnic studies requirements. Despite requirements under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) to respond promptly, MDE has yet to acknowledge or comply with these requests, raising concerns about transparency in the framework’s creation and objectives.
These letters, sent on October 2 and October 25, 2024, specifically request documents from the Ethnic Studies Working Group’s recent activities. This working group originally advised CAE that a framework would be released and available for public comment. Instead, the working group ended its last session in September with a draft framework but has kept it from the public. This timing is suspicious because the MDE has an October 31 deadline to complete the framework, leaving no time for public comment.
“Despite the initial expectation that the public would get to view, and weigh in on, the direction the Minnesota Department of Education plans on taking ethnic studies instruction in public K-12 classrooms, it is clear MDE wants to keep these documents private for as long as possible,” said Catrin Wigfall, Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experiment. “Skeptics might wonder if national politics are driving these decisions.”
The urgency of these requests is compounded by growing concerns about the framework’s direction and ideological motivations. In an alarming development, Brian Lozenski, appointed by Governor Tim Walz to spearhead the ethnic studies standards, has been reported by The Federalist as having publicly called for the “overthrow of the United States.” A video shared by The Federalist shows Lozenski, a prominent advocate for the framework, making statements that have raised serious questions about the motivations behind the program and its implications for Minnesota’s students.
“We believe Minnesota students deserve an education grounded in truth, not a radical rewriting of history,” said Doug Seaton, President of the Upper Midwest Law Center. “The new ethnic studies framework appears to prioritize ideological indoctrination over academic integrity, pushing an agenda that undermines our nation’s foundations. Parents and taxpayers have the right to transparency and accountability from the Department of Education to ensure that classrooms foster genuine learning—not politically motivated narratives.”
UMLC and CAE are exploring all legal avenues to compel MDE’s compliance with these data requests, reaffirming their commitment to accountability and transparency in Minnesota’s public education system.