Minnesota’s largest teachers union is facing scrutiny over a series of professional development programs that focus on topics including “Interrupting Whiteness,” “LGBTQ+ Training,” and other race- and identity-based instruction.
The programs are listed on the Education Minnesota website and are available to members who request them for their schools.
According to the union, the “racial equity trainings” can be brought “to your building” and include courses such as “Culturally Responsive Teaching With a Racial Justice Lens” and “Cultural Competency.”
Minnesota’s largest teachers union has a program to come to schools and train teachers on “interrupting Whiteness” and social justice.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 27, 2025
Why do they hate White people??
Blatant anti-white racism. pic.twitter.com/io974bzSbA
State law requires Minnesota educators to complete cultural competency training in order to renew their teaching licenses.
The state government lists topics that may be included in those trainings, such as “Systemic Racism,” “Gender Identity, Including Transgender Students,” and “Language Diversity.”
The union website also features content related to “Anti-immigrant rhetoric & deportation,” various “anti-racism” resources, and a section dedicated to “racial and social justice.”
That page states that “certain politicians” are using police officers in ways that harm minority students.
“Most of us believe that every child, no matter what they look like or where they come from, deserves a safe and welcoming school where they can thrive,” the website says.
“But certain politicians try to divide us by sending police to monitor and punish Black and brown students in schools that have been denied funding to even cover the basics, while ensuring well-resourced schools with mostly white students have enrichment activities, teacher training, and parent engagement.”
The union’s website references “the murder of George Floyd” and cites “attacks on honesty in education” as challenges it seeks to address.
Education Minnesota’s offerings are part of its “Facing Inequities and Racism in Education” (FIRE) series, which the group says is designed to “disrupt systemic racism and racial inequities in Minnesota’s education system.”
The union also runs a “Racial Equity Advocate network” and organizes events under its “Equity EdCamps” banner.
While these programs have expanded, recent academic performance data shows that more than half of Minnesota’s 4th-grade students tested below the national proficiency standard in 2024.
The same year, approximately 66% of 8th-grade students tested below proficient in math, and 72% tested below proficient in reading.
I just want Minnesota kids to be able to read and write at grade level.
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) November 27, 2025
The Teacher’s Union: https://t.co/oARRWvc5u3
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, former vice presidential nominee, signed legislation in 2024 that allocated funding for race-based teacher training programs and set goals for increasing the number of “diverse” teachers in the state’s schools.
In 2023, Walz approved a law requiring schools to offer “ethnic studies” courses, which begin introducing students to these topics starting in kindergarten.
