HF 4663

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 05/11/2020 09:18am

A bill for an act
relating to education; creating an ethnic studies requirement and advisory board;
requiring rulemaking.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin ETHNIC STUDIES EDUCATION.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definition. new text end

new text begin "Ethnic studies" means the critical and interdisciplinary study
of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people
of color within and beyond the United States. Ethnic studies analyzes the ways in which
race and racism have been and continue to be powerful social, cultural, and political forces,
and their connections to other axes of stratification, including gender, class, sexuality, and
legal status.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Requirement. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of education must adopt in rule statewide
academic standards for ethnic studies to be implemented and required by the 2030-2031
school year for all K-12 students.
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new text begin (b) Every public school in Minnesota must offer as part of the social studies curriculum
ethnic studies courses that include the following topics:
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new text begin (1) Latinx Studies;
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new text begin (2) African American Studies;
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new text begin (3) Asian American Studies;
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new text begin (4) Indigenous/First Nations Studies; and
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new text begin (5) Ethnic Studies 101.
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new text begin (c) Ethnic studies courses may also focus specifically on a particular group of national
or ethnic origin, including Hmong Studies or Somali Studies.
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new text begin (d) An ethnic studies course is required to graduate from a Minnesota high school.
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new text begin (1) The course must be a semester in length at a minimum.
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new text begin (2) Ethnic studies courses must fall under the social studies state standard and graduation
requirement without adding an extra credit requirement. A student may take an ethnic studies
course to fulfill the graduation requirement and the course must count as part of the social
studies state standard.
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new text begin (e) Ethnic studies courses must be finalized and implemented in middle and elementary
level schools by the 2030-2031 school year. Details of the requirement, process, procedure,
and timeline must be established by the Ethnic Studies Advisory Board under subdivision
5.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin School needs assessment. new text end

new text begin A school district must conduct an ethnic studies
school needs assessment with students, parents or guardians, and community members to
determine the priorities for course selection, implementation, and timeline. The ethnic
studies school needs assessment must include qualitative and quantitative components.
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new text begin (1) Qualitative priorities must include a schoolwide listening session or feedback forum
with students, parents or guardians, and community members.
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new text begin (2) Quantitative priorities must include a school survey as advised by the advisory board.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Standards. new text end

new text begin Ethnic studies courses must follow the ethnic studies standards
established by the advisory board. The advisory board must create a standard curriculum
that school districts are encouraged to use. The advisory board must base standard curriculum
recommendations on the following:
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new text begin (1) school districts are encouraged to use materials authored by the community from
which the course speaks or represents;
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new text begin (2) curriculum must use various forms of pedagogy to properly meet all students' needs,
including participatory or research-based models for real-world connections to the current
society;
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new text begin (3) curriculum must include a power, race, class, and gender analysis as part of the course
via literature, discussion, classwork, and homework as it relates to ethnic studies courses;
and
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new text begin (4) ethnic studies courses must include an intersectional analysis of climate, health, food,
housing, education, and policy.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Ethnic Studies Advisory Board. new text end

new text begin (a) The Ethnic Studies Advisory Board
consists of the following 25 members:
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new text begin (1) five community members invested in ethnic studies;
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new text begin (2) three public school students in grades 9-12;
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new text begin (3) two public school students in grades 6-8;
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new text begin (4) three parents or guardians of public K-12 students;
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new text begin (5) three Minnesota-based, college-level faculty experts in ethnic studies;
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new text begin (6) three ethnic studies high school teachers;
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new text begin (7) three ethnic studies grades 6-8 teachers; and
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new text begin (8) three ethnic studies grades K-5 teachers.
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new text begin (b) Advisory board members must be appointed by the Minnesota Ethnic Studies
Coalition with input from the Department of Education. Members receive a stipend of $250
per month for their time, work, and expertise.
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new text begin (c) Demographics of the advisory board must be inclusive and represent the ethnic and
racial diversity of the state, including gender and sexual orientation, immigrant status, and
religious and linguistic background.
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new text begin (d) The advisory board is responsible for the following:
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new text begin (1) creating an updated ethnic studies curriculum for statewide implementation and use;
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new text begin (2) developing an ethnic studies school survey for school districts to use as part of their
school needs assessment;
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new text begin (3) developing ethnic studies standards to propose for adoption into existing statewide
standards for public schools;
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new text begin (4) identifying professional learning requirements for educators and staff to facilitate
the successful implementation of ethnic studies courses via an ethnic studies licensure
program, including teacher preparation support and licensure programs for ethnic studies;
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new text begin (5) working with school districts to create a plan to recruit and retain teachers of color
as part of ethnic studies courses and overall school goals to increase teachers of color and
indigenous or native teachers;
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new text begin (6) identifying a list of suggested and required materials, resources, sample curricula,
and pedagogical skills for use in kindergarten through grade 12 that accurately reflect the
diversity of the state of Minnesota;
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new text begin (7) developing resources to assist public schools in successfully implementing the adopted
ethnic studies standards; and
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new text begin (8) providing necessary training materials for teachers and school district staff to
successfully implement the ethnic studies requirements, including implementation of the
ethnic studies school needs assessment under subdivision 3 and ethnic studies district
coordinator under subdivision 6, clause (5).
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new text begin (e) The advisory board must convene on at least a bi-monthly basis and must hold the
first meeting no later than January 15, 2021.
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new text begin (f) The advisory board must create a work plan that outlines the timeline for completion
of the responsibilities in paragraphs (a) to (e).
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new text begin (g) Within the first six months of the advisory board convening a timeline for the work
plan under paragraph (f) to be completed, the board must plan a gradual scale-up approach
to statewide implementation of the ethnic studies requirement, including a focus on high
school for the first one to four years of the program's development, phasing in middle and
elementary schools over a period of time determined by the committee.
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new text begin (h) By the 2030-2031 school year, the advisory board must ensure that all K-12 public
schools have an ethnic studies component.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Department of Education. new text end

new text begin The Department of Education must:
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new text begin (1) adopt ethnic studies standards based on recommendations of the advisory board;
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new text begin (2) require each school district to implement ethnic studies standards;
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new text begin (3) support school districts in providing training for teachers and school district staff to
successfully implement ethnic studies standards;
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new text begin (4) require each school district to annually evaluate students, parents or guardians, and
community members regarding the implementation of ethnic studies curriculum. The
department must require each school district to submit a report on how the school district
plans to modify implementation based on feedback from evaluations; and
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new text begin (5) encourage school districts to hire a dedicated coordinator for ethnic studies
implementation with support from the Department of Education.
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