Labor and advocates for historically disenfranchised students to speak out about the stakes of the 2023 school board elections in Minnesota
For more information, contact:
CHRIS WILLIAMS
651-292-4816 (work)
651-247-5539 (cell)
KARLTON LASTER
OutFront Minnesota
216-410-0206
ST. PAUL, Minnesota., Sept. 27, 2023 – Advocates for safe and welcoming schools for all students – no matter where they live, what they look like, who they love, or how they pray – will address the rise of dog-whistle politics in Minnesota school board races this fall at a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, in the Capitol Pressroom.
Representatives of Education Minnesota, Outfront Minnesota, Gender Justice, Jewish Community Action, Unidos MN, and other groups are scheduled to attend. They will be joined by several parent groups pushing back against book bans, anti-LGBTQ+ policies, and the intimidation of educators who believe in students’ freedom to learn.
About 20 school board races in the Twin Cities suburbs and Duluth have become flashpoints for the carefully engineered moral panic about how the history of America is taught and whether all students deserve to be safe and welcome as their authentic selves in public schools. Because these school districts overlap with legislative districts that will decide control of the Minnesota House in 2024, there has been an influx of dark money from state and national groups intent on harming LGBTQ+ students and whitewashing history to serve a political agenda.
Supporters of truth in education, and welcoming schools for LGBTQ+ students and educators, are concerned that extreme candidates, who don’t share the values of most Minnesotans, will win seats on school boards in November. Once elected, they will attempt to deny students access to diverse, age-appropriate authors; lessons on the role of race and gender in history; and even robust enforcement of the state’s anti-bullying laws. Recent reports that a Holocaust denier is on the ballot in Roseville have only heightened those fears.
Logistics
What: News conference on the stakes of the 2023 school board races
Who: Labor unions, advocates, and parent groups
When: 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 28
Where: Capitol Press Room, Room B971, Minnesota State Capitol.
The news conference will also be streamed to the Facebook page of Education Minnesota. https://www.facebook.com/EducationMinnesota
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
