Brainerd schools approve ‘commitment to equity’ despite community backlash

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Alpha News

The board passed a similar commitment to "Equity for All Students" last year after the death of George Floyd.

Megan Olson

July 23, 2021

At its July 19 meeting, the Brainerd School Board approved a district-wide “letter of commitment to equity” despite opposition from community members and parents.

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“Equality and equity are not the same thing,” said board member Kevin Boyles, adding that “if racial equity is your issue, that’s fine, we can have a dialogue about that.”

The public wasn’t allowed to offer comment since it was a “special” meeting, but several concerned parents and community members held signs expressing their opposition.

Just last month, opponents of the letter and critical race theory as a whole attended the Brainerd School Board meeting to express concerns over the direction the district was headed.

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[Valin]

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[Valin]

Coming Soon To A School District Near You. 

EXCLUSIVE: Minnesota schools spend big on equity consultants 

Multiple school districts across the state have paid upwards of $60,000 for outside consultants to conduct "equity audits."

Anthony Gockowski

July 25, 2021

Taxpayer-funded school districts across the state have spent huge sums of money hiring outside consultants to conduct “equity audits” and related work, in some cases using COVID-19 relief funds to cover the costs.

The primary beneficiaries of this scheme include Equity Alliance Minnesota and the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, a group managed by a current state legislator.

In the Sartell-St. Stephen School District, school administrators entered into an $80,000 contract with Equity Alliance Minnesota last October, according to a copy of the contract recently obtained by a group of concerned parents.

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According to one local news outlet, the cost of the contract was paid for with COVID-19 relief funds.

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The Narrative Strikes Again!

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Minnesota fourth grader speaks out on ‘secret’ equity survey

Rep. Tom Emmer, whose congressional district includes Sartell, called the story "incredibly concerning."

Anthony Gockowski

July 26, 2021

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Yasgar’s mom, Kelsey, told Fox News that parents were “informed that the equity audit was taking place,” but “they were not informed on the date of the activity and not given other details.”

“I was very upset when I found out that she was told not to repeat any of the questions to me or any other adult in her life,” she said.

According to one question on the survey obtained by Fox News, students were asked if they “currently identify” as female, male, transgender “or something else.”

“Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex. For example, they were born male but now identity as female,” the question says.

Haylee said she was “confused” by the question, and got “nervous and uncomfortable” when she was told she couldn’t discuss it with her parents.

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Minnesota parents lawyer up after schools allegedly diverted COVID funds to woke 'equity' survey

Legal nonprofit sent letter to Sartell-St. Stephen School District demanding it take responsibility for failure to seek parental consent for survey asking students what gender they identified with.

Scott McClallen

August 2, 2021

Concerned parents of Sartell-St. Stephen School District (ISD 748) in Minnesota have retained legal counsel after the district allegedly spent $80,000 of money meant for COVID-19 learning loss recovery on an equity audit.

 

The Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) sent a letter dated Aug. 2 to Sartell-St. Stephen School District demanding it take responsibility for using federal COVID-19 relief funds to perform an equity audit in which students in grades 3-12 answered private questions about themselves without parental consent.

The letter alleges the district violated federal, state, and its own policy in a Dec. 3, 2020 notice of the survey by not requesting written parental consent or offering parents a choice to inspect or opt out of the survey.

Lawyers allege the survey equated to "forced speech" since students and parents didn't know they could opt out.

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‘Scammed’: Sartell district cuts ties with equity group

The decision was made just hours after a group of local parents said they were prepared to sue the district in federal court.

Anthony Gockowski

August 3, 2021

Left: Parents and community members from "Kids Over Politics" gathered for a school board meeting last month. Right: Student Haylee Yasgar discusses her experience taking Equity Alliance Minnesota's survey.

The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board agreed to cut ties with Equity Alliance Minnesota at a special meeting Monday night amid the threat of a federal lawsuit.

At the recommendation of Superintendent Jeff Ridlehoover, the school board unanimously agreed to “amicably part ways” with the equity consultants, who were paid $80,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to conduct an equity audit and related work.

“While I still had fairly limited interactions with the personnel there, I do believe they value students and are committed to their work. That said, this board as well as members of the community have struggled to make sense of the equity audit presented, and the frustrations that have ensued have only been compounded by the inability of Equity Alliance Minnesota to provide answers to this board and residents of the school community in a timely manner,” said Ridlehoover, according to a video of the meeting posted online by parents.

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Second draft of social studies standards dominated by CRT, ethnic studies

The draft asks fourth graders to analyze "anti-racist resistance movements" and kindergarteners to tell a story "that illustrates power balances and imbalances."

Rose Williams

August 6, 2021

The second draft of the state social studies standards, released last week, is ridden with critical race theory rhetoric, hidden behind the term “ethnic studies.”

After reviewing thousands of public comments regarding the first draft, the Minnesota Department of Education has now released a second draft of the social studies standards for grades K-12 in Minnesota.

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Fourth graders will be asked to analyze “anti-racist resistance movements,” and fifth graders will examine why the names of places may change.

High school students will be asked to study Islamic centers and their impact on the scientific revolution and today’s society. They’ll also be required to look at the “hierarchies” of race, religion, and social class, how these were used to justify slavery, and how they continue to influence society today.

LGBTQ studies is on the docket for high school students as well, with standards that require students to “develop a respectful awareness about how ideas and norms about gender have changed over time.”

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[Valin]

On 8/4/2021 at 6:23 AM, Valin said:

‘Scammed’: Sartell district cuts ties with equity group

The decision was made just hours after a group of local parents said they were prepared to sue the district in federal court.

Anthony Gockowski

August 3, 2021

 

 

Equity Alliance threatened with lawsuit for lack of transparency

Equity Alliance may be legally obligated to release a copy of the survey it administered to students, according to attorneys.

Anthony Gockowski

August 8, 2021

The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board may be done with Equity Alliance Minnesota, but that doesn’t mean parents are giving up the fight.

The controversial equity consultants could face legal actions if they refuse to hand over a survey that was administered to students as part of a taxpayer-funded “equity audit,” according to a letter obtained by Alpha News.

Concerned parents, who banded together under the name Kids Over Politics 748, have been fighting against Equity Alliance’s involvement in the district all summer.

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Ridlehoover and the board expressed frustration with the “inability of Equity Alliance Minnesota to provide answers,” such as the questions it asked students as part of the equity audit.

But Equity Alliance may be legally obligated to provide a copy of the survey under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, according to attorney James Dickey of the Upper Midwest Law Center, which is representing the parent group.

Equity Alliance’s history sheds some light on this argument.

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[Valin]

On 8/9/2021 at 8:35 AM, Valin said:

 

Equity Alliance threatened with lawsuit for lack of transparency

Equity Alliance may be legally obligated to release a copy of the survey it administered to students, according to attorneys.

Anthony Gockowski

August 8, 2021

The Sartell-St. Stephen School Board may be done with Equity Alliance Minnesota, but that doesn’t mean parents are giving up the fight.

The controversial equity consultants could face legal actions if they refuse to hand over a survey that was administered to students as part of a taxpayer-funded “equity audit,” according to a letter obtained by Alpha News.

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Equity group releases survey questions after being threatened with lawsuit

One question asked students if they've learned about Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in class or if they've read "Becoming" by Michelle Obama.

Rose Williams

August 14, 2021

An “equity survey” students were allegedly asked to hide from their parents was recently released by the group that administered the survey to students in the Sartell-St. Stephen School District.

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One question asked what gender identity students identify with.

“Do you currently identify yourself as female, male, transgender (transgender people have gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex. For example, they were born male but now identify as female), or something else?” the survey reads.

Another question asked what religion students practice.

Both questions violate the school district’s policy 520, a parent group called Kids Over Politics 748 argues.

Policy 520 says that no student will be asked questions “pertaining to the student’s … personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality, and religion” unless parents are notified in writing, give explicit “written permission” or have the opportunity to opt out.

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