Legislators, it’s time we prioritize education

Last week, we lost two Black youth – Jahmari Rice, 15, who was murdered by a fellow student just outside of his school in Richfield, and Amir Locke, 22, who was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department during a botched police raid.

As a mother, a woman of color, a former educator and the executive director of an education advocacy organization and organization that advocates for equity in education, I grieve, and I am angry. When is enough going to be enough? When will we decide to invest in our young people, hold oppressive systems accountable, and legislate for justice and for the good of all our communities? How many more young Black men do we have to lose? Minnesotans have the opportunity to make real change towards education equity and justice for all our students statewide this year at the legislature if we’re willing.

During a press conference, Amir Locke’s cousin Nneka Constantino put it best.

“Our family is not naive. We understand that it is not necessarily a person (who is solely responsible), but a system of injustice that has killed Amir Locke,” said Constantino. “It’s a layered system of injustice that starts with so many inequities and abuse.”

She is right. And it’s no secret that among those inequitable systems in our state is education.

Minnesota has the most disparate educational outcomes in the country between white students and students of color. This year, on top of all the staffing shortages and other crises brought on by the pandemic, the opportunity gap is only growing wider. During periods of distance learning, we see racial disparities in access to learning opportunities. Schools should be a place where students’ needs are met, where they feel safe and affirmed and where they receive a rigorous and relevant education. Instead, our schools have become the subject of red herring political battles over whether teachers can teach an honest history of the United States and whether students can use the bathroom and play on the sports team that matches their gender.

This year, Minnesota has an estimated budget surplus of more than $7 billion. Given this unprecedented financial opportunity, and in the face of all the pain experienced by communities across our state, the time is now to act on systems change. To Minnesotans and the legislators who represent us, how about we unite in favor of investing in children? Let’s eliminate the opportunity gap so that we can stem the economic disparities where they start. Instead of investing in more police, what if we could break the school-to-prison pipeline by funding alternatives to exclusionary discipline and by banning suspensions and expulsions in grades K-3 so that our youngest learners get a solid start? Let’s commit to diversifying Minnesota’s workforce because it is proven that increasing the number of teachers of color improves the outcomes of both white students and students of color. Let’s make sure that schools that need the most get the most, by fixing the broken school funding system. And let’s help solve the teacher shortage by maintaining and increasing accessible pathways for teachers to join the profession – and, of course, paying teachers the salaries they deserve.

Legislators, I urge you to invest in education and stop playing politics at the expense of our children. I challenge you to make the hard decision, a decision for the future, and be patient as you watch the current and next generation benefit from your investment.

Paula Cole is the executive director of Educators for Excellence-Minnesota.