Proposed Standards of Practice for Minnesota Teachers Opposed by Conservatives Over the Inclusion of Race and Gender Identity

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) is updating its ‘standards of effective practice’ to incorporate language that it believes will better prepare new teachers “to teach racially and ethnically diverse and multilingual students” as well as students “who have experienced trauma and [those] with disabilities...” 

The new standards, if approved, will focus heavily on creating more equitable and safe learning environments for students from every background. The latest draft calls for teachers to “[foster] an environment that ensures student identities such as race/ethnicity, national origin, language, sex and gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/developmental/emotional ability, socioeconomic class, and religious beliefs are historically and socially contextualized, affirmed, and incorporated into a learning environment where students are empowered to learn and contribute as their whole selves.”

Additional excerpts from the draft state that teachers must understand and be prepared to teach theories involving the intersectionality of race, gender, ability, sexuality, and class. The draft also urges the use of teaching materials and literature written by those with marginalized identities and those whose perspectives were not included in dominant historical narratives. 

The last time PELSB revamped its standards (the current version can be found here) was in 1999 and the entity insists the new updates will “align with national standards, high leverage practices, and [the] changing demographics of Minnesota students.”

PELSB is in charge of guiding the information that educators receive in teaching college, as well as the professional licensure of teachers and educators throughout the state. The board, which has been working on creating this new set of standards since 2019, attended a public hearing regarding the changes on Wednesday of this week, and opinions were widely divided. 

PELSB’s suggested standards updates have been backed by many of the state’s major education players, including Education Minnesota, the Minnesota Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, and EdAllies, among others. 

However, the changes have been met with resistance from conservatives, many of whom allege that the new language is overtly political in nature and pushes a liberal ideology. During the public hearing, which was attended virtually by nearly 500 people, conservative leaders, organizations, and teachers entered public comments opposing the new standards.

The Center for the American Experiment and Child Protection League, among other conservative organizations, have called for public support in ensuring the proposed standards are rejected. 

Catrin Wigfall, a policy fellow for the Center for the American Experiment told Fox News Digital, "The proposed changes to Minnesota’s licensing standards would require the state’s aspiring educators to ‘demonstrate’ ideologically driven content to obtain their teaching license," She continued her response to the conservative news outlet by stating, "The new standards are dripping with critical race theory, gender ideology, and identity politics."

Conservative teachers have complained that some of the concepts they would be required to teach if the standards are approved, would be in conflict with their religious beliefs. While other opponents worry that adopting the standards would exacerbate the state’s teacher shortage. 

This is not the first time PELSB has been vocal about the need for equity within education and pedagogy. In 2020, after a series of racist incidents in and around Minnesota, the board released a statement calling for accountability and vocalizing its need to “be reflective about its duty to increase equity and access to educator preparation and high standards in Minnesota.”

Now, in a written response to the proposal’s pre-hearing comments, PELSB reiterated its stance that “the proposed Standards of Effective Practice are needed and reasonable to ensure Minnesota’s teachers have the necessary foundation of knowledge and skills to be effective in the classroom.” 

A representative for PELSB went on to explain that the updated standards “build off of the last 20+ years of pedagogical understanding in order to incorporate concepts and themes that have emerged as key factors of student success.”

ACTION: Submit a public comment now through September 13th HERE to voice your support of the PELSB’s proposed new standards.