ST. PAUL, MN— Today, the House Education Finance Committee heard the Increase Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers Act of 2022, authored by Rep. Hodan Hassan (DFL-Minneapolis). The bill aims to attract and retain a field of more diverse teachers, with the goal of providing all students with equitable access to educators who reflect their students.
“We owe it to our students to give them the best education possible, and the most important factor in a quality education is our educators,” said Rep. Hassan. "It has been shown repeatedly that all of our students benefit when they have teachers of color and indigenous teachers. This act will ensure that our school education system has adequate resources to hire and retain teachers of color and American Indian teachers, while also creating a space for culturally relevant learning to take place.”
“All of our students deserve a quality education, no matter where they live or what they look like,” said Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis), chair of the House Education Finance Division. “The pandemic has highlighted the vast challenges our BIPOC students are facing. Investing in the recruitment and retention of more teachers of color and Indigenous teachers is one tool we can use to close widened opportunity gaps and deliver the quality education Minnesota students need now more than ever.”
According to the 2021 Minnesota Teacher Supply and Demand Report, while students of color and Native American students make up 35% of Minnesota’s K-12 student population, only 5.6% of teachers are teachers of color or Indigenous. This is an increase from 2019 when teachers of color and Indigenous teachers made up only 4.3% of teachers, but it is still a long way from proportional.
The Increase Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers Act of 2022, was compiled by a coalition of education and community organizations dedicated to increasing Minnesota’s percentage of teachers of color. Last session’s education budget agreement included approximately $20 million over the biennium from the 2021 version in new funding for programs.
The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a larger education bill. Materials from the meeting can be accessed on the committee’s webpage.
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