John –
Thirteen years ago, I was one of the plaintiffs in a case against the Anoka-Hennepin School District over the discrimination, harassment, and bullying of LGBTQ+ students in the district. That case ended with a consent decree between the district and the Departments of Justice and Education.
Five years ago, another Anoka-Hennepin student brought suit against the district because of their discrimination of them based on their gender identity. That suit ended with the District paying out more than $300,000 in damages.
What they call a fight against "wokeness" is actually a fight against the students of their district. Students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and more are under attack yet again in Anoka-Hennepin.
Many of the items targeted by these extreme-right, Minnesota Parent's Alliance backed board members are required by federal and state law, or previous lawsuit settlements.
What these board members are trying to do isn't just bad for students, it's against the law.
The Minnesota Parents Alliance and their hand picked board members aren't going to let law stop them though.
That's why I was so proud to see the Anoka-Hennepin students banding together with hundreds of them rallying and speaking up at the board meeting yesterday, and thousands more students planning to join them in the coming days and weeks.
This show's just how much progress my old school district has made, despite the far-right's best efforts.
This isn't an isolated incident though.
Students across the state are under attack from far-right fringe school board members who've only run to enact hateful policies on the students they're supposed to be educating.
This is exactly why the School Board Integrity Project was founded, and I'm proud to be doing this work.
Thank you!
Kyrstin Schuette
Executive Director, School Board Integrity Project
