Committee lays over bill to repeal ethnic-studies mandate after hours of student and educator testimony

The Minnesota House Education Finance Committee on Feb. 27 laid over House File 29 for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill after more than two hours of public testimony and debate over whether the state should keep a statutory mandate to embed ethnic studies across K‑12 standards.

House File 29, authored by Representative Kresha and introduced in the committee by the chair, would repeal the statutory requirement to embed ethnic‑studies standards across subjects and suspend implementation of the revised social studies standards until 2031. The bill also would cancel several appropriations intended to support ethnic‑studies implementation, including district grants and department staffing.

Supporters of keeping the standards said the change would disrupt districts that are already implementing the 2021 social studies standards and that students and teachers have seen academic and engagement benefits from ethnic‑studies coursework. ‘‘The 2021 standards have already been through . . . countless hours of public input, and legal scrutiny,’’ said Tim Bayosic, a current social‑studies teacher and former Army captain, who testified in opposition to HF 29. School district representatives from St. Paul and Minneapolis told the committee local efforts have produced positive classroom outcomes and that districts have already invested staff time and some funds in implementation.

Students provided much of the public testimony. Dominic Slaughter, a senior at Stillwater Area High School, told the committee: "As a student preparing to graduate and attend college and major in secondary education, I can't think of a single class more important to my high school education than ethnic and cultural studies." Mira Coelho Barrett, a senior at Central High School in Saint Paul, said ethnic studies "did not take away from my ability to learn and focus on other classes . . . but rather enhanced it." Several other student testifiers described improved attendance, engagement and critical‑thinking skills tied to ethnic‑studies coursework.

Opponents of the mandate argued that the statutory requirement embeds a particular ideological framework and imposes an unfunded mandate on districts. In written and oral testimony, Catherine Kersten, Senior Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, described the "liberated ethnic studies" language in the MDE implementation framework and urged repeal. "This bill repeals a mandate and that's all it simply does," Representative Kresha said while presenting the bill, adding that the repeal would not prohibit schools from teaching ethnic‑studies content voluntarily.

Fiscal staff outlined the bill's direct budget impacts to the committee. House fiscal staff reported cancellations or rescissions in multiple appropriations: $113,000 for community consultation (FY2025), a $680,000 FY2024 grant appropriation for ethnic‑studies school grants, a $700,000 FY2025 appropriation, and the cancellation of a $150,000‑per‑year position for an ethnic‑studies specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education. The fiscal analyst summarized projected general‑fund savings related to those cancellations at approximately $1,793,000 for fiscal years 2024–25 and smaller ongoing savings in subsequent budget years as identified in the fiscal note.

Minnesota Department of Education staff told the committee that the 2021 social studies standards were developed through a multi‑year process and that schools have already begun aligning curriculum and professional development for full implementation in 2026–27. Edo Shuni, director of government relations at the Minnesota Department of Education, said reverting to the older standards or delaying the revision would ‘‘cause serious disruptions at cost to our schools and districts that are deep into implementation work.’’

Committee debate included procedural motions. Representative Sensimera (Sensimir) moved to lay the bill on the table; a roll call was requested and recorded. The motion to table failed on a 10‑12 vote. Later in the hearing the committee chair formally moved to lay House File 29 over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill or for further consideration at a later date; the committee then closed public testimony and adjourned. Committee staff announced the next meeting for March 4.

The hearing featured both policy and fiscal arguments. Proponents of repeal pressed concerns about mandated instructional frameworks and the costs of statewide implementation, while opponents — including teachers, district representatives and many students — warned of disruption, additional expense to districts that have already begun implementation, and the loss of courses students said improved attendance and engagement.

The committee did not adopt a final recommendation on the bill. House File 29 remains laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill or future committee action. The committee clerk recorded that public testimony was closed and that the committee's next scheduled meeting is March 4.