A contract designed to protect Minneapolis teachers of color from layoffs and increase representation sparks debate as conservative media outlets say the policy is racist and unconstitutional discrimination against white educators.
in March, they celebrated a groundbreaking provision in their new contract that was meant to shield teachers of color from seniority-based layoffs and help ensure that students from racial minorities have teachers who look like them.
Recent coverage in conservative platforms such as the local news website Alpha News, Fox News nationally and the Daily Mail internationally sparked criticisms from prominent figures, including Donald Trump Jr. and former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who curbed the power of public employee unions in his state. Walker on Twitter called it “another example of why government unions should be eliminated.
Minneapolis is one of many districts across the U.S. struggling with declining teacher headcounts and tight budgets. But Callahan disputed that the provision threatens anyone’s job, noting that Minneapolis has nearly 300 unfilled positions as teachers and students prepare to go back to school, and the language won’t take effect until the 2023 academic year.
West said she feels strongly that students of color benefit from having teachers that look like them, but said she’s also seen that diversity can be empowering for white students. She said she’s sometimes been the first educator of color that Black or white students have had. He argued that a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as the Wygant case bars such provisions and would serve as a precedent in Minnesota.
Officials with other national public employee unions and professional associations either said they didn’t know of anything similar in their fields or did not respond to requests for comment.