West said she feels strongly that students of color benefit from having teachers that look like them, but said she’s also seen that diversity can be empowering for white students. To Lindsey West, a fifth grade teacher at Clara Barton Community School who identifies as Black and Indigenous, the seniority language is one piece of a bigger mission of improving education. But Callahan disputed that the provision threatens anyone's job, noting that Minneapolis has nearly 300 unfilled positions as teachers and students prepare to go back to school, and the language won't take effect until the 2023 academic year.Ĭallahan called it “just one teensy, tiny step towards equity” that doesn't begin to make up for many teachers of color quitting the district in recent years because they felt underpaid and disrespected. struggling with declining teacher headcounts and tight budgets. Minneapolis is one of many districts across the U.S. Callahan said her union fought for years to get the protection added to their contract, and that she knows of two other Minnesota districts with similar provisions. Around 60% of the district’s teachers are white, while more than 60% of the students are from racial minorities.Īdvocates say students from racial minorities perform better when their educators include teachers and support staff of color, and that it’s especially critical in a district that suffers from stubborn achievement gaps. The contract exempts “teachers who are members of populations underrepresented among licensed teachers in the District,” as well as alumni of historically Black and Hispanic colleges, and of tribal colleges. The contract language doesn’t specifically say that white teachers would be laid off ahead of teachers of color, though critics say that’s what the effect would be. Walker on Twitter called it 'another example of why government unions should be eliminated.' Scott Walker, who curbed the power of public employee unions in his state. Recent coverage in conservative platforms such as the local news website Alpha News, Fox News nationally and the Daily Mail internationally sparked criticisms from prominent figures, including Donald Trump Jr. And we could not be more proud of this language.' “This is all made up by the right wing now. 'The same people who want to take down teachers unions and blame seniority are now defending it for white people,' said Greta Callahan, president of the teachers unit at the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers. Supreme Court cases that could reshape affirmative action. Meanwhile, the feud is unfolding just months ahead of arguments in a pair of U.S. The teachers union paints the dispute as a ginned-up controversy when there's no imminent danger of anyone losing their job.

One legal group is looking to recruit teachers and taxpayers willing to sue to throw out the language. Months later, conservative media outlets have erupted with denunciations of the policy as racist and unconstitutional discrimination against white educators. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - When Minneapolis teachers settled a 14-day strike in March, they celebrated a groundbreaking provision in their new contract that was meant to shield teachers of color from seniority-based layoffs and help ensure that students from racial minorities have teachers who look like them.

Battlefield 5 firestorm