Watchdog exposes taxpayer-funded teacher program for banning White applicants: 'Likely illegal'

By Fox News · Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: A leading education watchdog group released a report this week alleging that a state-funded teacher preparation partnership in Minnesota explicitly limits eligibility based on race, possibly in violation of federal law. According to a report released by Defending Education, the Minnesota Educators Partnership (MEP), a collaboration between MSU Mankato and several southern Minnesota school districts, operates multiple teacher pipeline programs that are restricted to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) applicants despite being funded with taxpayer dollars through the Minnesota Department of Education. The partnership in question, according to the report, received $1.5 million in state grants in 2023 as part of Minnesota’s "Grow Your Own" (GYO) program, which was designed to recruit and train teachers to work throughout schools in the state with the goal of diversifying the teaching workforce. The report focuses on two MEP initiatives known as "Teachers of Tomorrow," which targets high school students, and "Teaching Fellows," an adult pathway designed to help participants earn teaching licenses. GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE Program documents obtained by Defending Education for the Teaching Fellows initiative state that it is "open to applicants who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC)" and require participants to be "of color or American Indian." Some application materials require applicants to affirmatively check a box stating they are BIPOC in order to apply. In addition to eligibility requirements, the report also highlights race-based rules governing how the partnership is run. According to program documentation, all project decisions for the Teaching Fellows initiative are made by a council that "must be majority individuals of color." The Defending Education report argues that state data backs up their concerns and references a 2024 Minnesota Department of Education report showing that in several participating d…