Star Tribune
After dispute with parents, St. Louis Park school board wants state to clarify how far challenges can go
The St. Louis Park school board is calling on the Legislature to make it clear that protected classes of people portrayed in school materials — whether defined by race, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation, among other categories — can’t be a reason for parents to seek alternative instruction for their children.
The board resolution, approved unanimously at the Feb. 28 meeting, follows a legal dispute over whether families in the school district may choose not to have their children exposed to books with LGBTQ characters. State law currently gives parents the right to review school materials and make “reasonable arrangements” for alternative instruction.
Under threat of lawsuit, the board agreed last month to grant the requests of six Somali Muslim families to take their children out of story times using such books. But at their Feb. 28 meeting, board members said that while they intend to follow the law, they also believe it needs to be changed.
“The way this law currently reads means that someone can opt out of anything for any reason,” said Board Member Anne Casey. “If protected classes aren’t excluded, someone could come in and say, ‘I don’t want my child to learn about people of color. I don’t want my child to learn about Jewish people. I don’t want my child to learn about people with disabilities.’ … That does not sit well with me.”
The resolution offers guidance to St. Louis Park teachers on what materials parents may review, and the process for reviewing these materials — and makes clear that teachers should not review materials on a parent’s behalf to screen for possible objections.
The resolution specifies that areas not subject to parental review include classroom discussions, teacher lesson plans, classroom decor and library material not being used for instruction. It holds that any parental objections must pertain to specific materials, and that blanket objections “will not be accepted.”
Board Member Virginia Mancini, who introduced the resolution, said that as a reading teacher she has learned that forming trusting relationships with students is critical — which she said means creating classroom environments that reflect their lives.
“Kids will not read unless they see themselves, unless they can relate to it,” she said. “What we’re saying in public education is that everyone matters, and everyone is equal. I am not interested in telling people that they’re not welcome. I’m only interested in making warm, inclusive environments for children.”
Kayla Toney, an attorney with the First Liberty Institute, a conservative Texas-based law firm focused on religious freedom that represented the Somali parents, said that one of her clients was told they would be notified in advance of any materials relating to the LGBTQ community. District officials said that agreement was reached for one student and that the district generally won’t review materials or provide advance notice of what parents might find objectionable.
Board Vice Chair Abdihakim Ibrahim, who was absent from the Feb. 28 meeting, issued a statement last week saying that he supported “our district’s commitment to equity and inclusion.” He clarified later that he did not support the resolution and would have voted against it if he had been there.
“People opt out for so many reasons,” he said. “So why is it different when the Muslim and Somali community are opting out?”
Fatuma Irshat, one of the parents who had requested alternative instruction for her children, said the board’s resolution demonstrated “hostility toward religious parents like me, and toward any parents who would like to know what their children are learning in school.” Parents will continue advocating for the right to review curriculum and opt out of lessons that contradict their religious beliefs, she said.
“The school board is making its hostility toward our clients clear,” Toney said. “They’ve even admitted that they would rather hide what they are teaching from parents than provide them advance notice like the law requires.”
It was not immediately clear whether a change in the law has broad support. Gov. Tim Walz’s education bill, introduced Feb. 21, includes a prohibition on banning books from school and public libraries but explicitly states that it doesn’t intend to change the parental curriculum review statute.
Kat Rohn, executive director for OutFront Minnesota, said that a number of metro school districts in recent months have seen an uptick in opt-out requests, from schools in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hopkins, Apple Valley and Ham Lake.
“We’re not expecting that there will be a change in the law based on timing and how these conversations are evolving before the end of this session,” Rohn said. “There’s not a clear easy fix for it.”
However, Rohn said, OutFront Minnesota would likely advocate for better guidance from the Minnesota Department of Education.
“You need to be able to have classroom conversations about people’s varied religions, LGBTQ identities, race and ethnicity,” Rohn said, citing Minnesota’s antidiscrimination laws. “You can’t just have people opting out broadly of those topics for classroom discussions without it causing harm to those diverse communities.”
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About 50 Ukrainian refugees have signed up to donate blood on Saturday in Minneapolis as a way to give thanks to Americans for welcoming them to this country and for support in the face of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The donated blood will then be given to the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.
The Ukrainian American Community Center, located at 301 NE Main St. in Minneapolis, has organized the event. The blood drive will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, said Iryna Petrus, community outreach manager at the center.
“It’s a sign of gratitude to Americans for supporting Ukraine and saving children’s lives in Ukraine,” said Yosyf Sabir, speaking on behalf of the blood drive.
It’s also a way to say “thank you to the United States for welcoming us so warmly,” said Petrus. She said there will be a program at 10 a.m. Saturday when several leaders of the Ukrainian American Community Center will speak. She said the center is hopeful that Ukrainian groups in other parts of North America will do similar blood drives.
Those who are unable to give blood have been asked to donate cash, which will be used to purchase tourniquets that will sent to Ukraine to be used by persons who have been injured in the war. Every $50 raised will purchase one hemostatic tourniquet, the Ukrainian Center said in a news release.
If approved, that approach would drop the district’s fund balance to 6% of general fund expenditures. The current board policy is to maintain a fund balance of at least 10% of general fund expenditures.
Anoka-Hennepin’s current operating referendum brings in about $1,154 per student, but the state-allowed cap is about $2,200 per student. If increased to the cap amount, a referendum would bring in another $40 million, McIntyre said.
According to community feedback collected through surveys and community meetings over the last month, nearly 90% of respondents said they supported a referendum. Parents and families also expressed concern about growing class sizes as a result of cuts.
The two options have already been revised based on board members’ requests to reduce cuts that would mean fewer teachers at schools, McIntyre said.
At one point in the discussion, the district floated changes to middle and high school class schedules to save money, but that was removed after board member feedback. At the board’s meeting last month, several board members thanked district staff for transparency about potential cuts and responsiveness to board and community feedback.
“I would encourage people to keep asking questions,” Board Member Michelle Langenfeld said at the September board meeting, “because as we unfold more information, the opportunity becomes greater for us to make the most informed decision under these very, very difficult circumstances.”
On Monday morning, contract workers began snipping razor wire and removing it from fencing that was propped atop concrete barriers along the perimeter of the former Third Precinct police station, which was set ablaze during the uprising over George Floyd’s police killing.
Finally, the concrete barricades will come down, after 4.5 years. As private security guards looked on, contractors began removing the security measures put in place to secure the building at 3000 Minnehaha Av. after it became a focal point of protests.
For the past three years, Third Precinct police officers have been based out of a city building in downtown Minneapolis, with plans to eventually bring them back to a south Minneapolis Community Safety Center just down the street at 2633 Minnehaha Av.
What to do with the former police station – home to what has been called a “playground” for renegade cops – has been the subject of heated debate, with the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey at odds.
While the city debated its future, some conservatives jumped at the chance to use the charred building as a backdrop to hold press conferences and news reports in which they blasted the city and its leaders. Most recently, vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a campaign stop in front of the building earlier this month to blast his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz, for his handling of the 2020 riots and portray Minneapolis as a city overrun with crime.
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance speaks outside the former Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis on Oct. 14. (Leila Navidi)
After that, several council members expressed frustration at the city’s failure to clean up the site. Despite signs saying “cleanup efforts are underway,” concrete barriers, fencing and razor wire remained all summer.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said earlier this month that the blight makes people feel uncared for and gives opportunists a backdrop to manipulate the scene for political gain.
Council Member Linea Palmisano blamed some of her council colleagues for the delays, accusing some members of being “desperate for any objection” to Frey’s proposal. The council passed a resolution saying that the building should not be used for any law enforcement functions again. Palmisano called it disgraceful that the building remains, scarred and secured, over four years later.
