Effort to increase teachers of color finds bipartisan support at state Capitol

Minnesota has some of the widest education disparities in the nation between white students and students of color. When it comes to who is teaching students, the state lags far behind, too.

More than a third of the state’s K-12 learners are students of color, but fewer than 6 percent of teachers in Minnesota are educators of color. A set of bills at the state Legislature to close that gap, the Increase Teachers of Color Act, has garnered bipartisan support this year. Some provisions are included in a draft K-12 omnibus bill that a House committee will take up on Friday.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer talked with Jess Davis, a racial equity coach for St. Louis Park Public Schools and the 2019 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, about the Increase Teachers of Color Act.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.