Minnesota's new social studies standards face final hearings: 3 things to know

Minnesota may soon have a new set of social studies standards, marking the end of a three-year process that included a contentious debate over adding an ethnic studies component to the way public school students learn about history.

If an administrative law judge approves the Minnesota Department of Education's proposed standards, they'll be implemented starting in the fall of 2026. In a letter explaining the agency's approach to updating the standards, Education Commissioner Willie Jett said the new requirements streamline the way educators tackle social studies and allow students to focus more on mastering concepts while leaving teachers the room to include diverse perspectives in their lessons.

"The standards build on 30 years of research that supports enhancing student engagement and better preparing students for career, college, and civic life by teaching disciplinary inquiry skills," Jett wrote to the judge.

But the proposed standards have faced criticism over the last few years. Here are three things to know before a potential final ruling:

The Office of Administrative Hearings will wrap up a second round of public comment with hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.

Several comments on the proposed standards so far take issue with the inclusion of ethnic studies, echoing Republican concerns that it amounts to an overreach by the Department of Education.

State law explicitly states that Minnesota's social studies standards should address the topics of citizenship and government, geography, history and economics. Last year, House Republicans asked Administrative Law Judge Eric Lipman to require the state Department of Education to rewrite the proposed standards so that they cover only those core topics.

"We are just asking these questions to make sure that the new standards comply with state statute," former Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, said at the time.

In his letter, Jett wrote that several factors may have politicized the standards more than in previous years. He said national unrest in the wake of George Floyd's murder, a divisive presidential election and the attempted Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, may have hypercharged tensions over the process.

He also pointed to the difficulty of gathering public input virtually during the pandemic.

"While it was evident that these challenges complicated the review process because they impacted committee members, it is also important to understand that the events of the time period of this review impacted public perceptions about social studies, which then impacted public feedback on the drafts of the standards," he said.

Supporters of the standards say they reflect how educators across the state are already addressing social studies in the classroom.

For example, kindergartners would be required to create "a personal representation of themselves" under the new standards, describing their family and cultural background.

First-graders at Gideon Pond Elementary in Burnsville introduce themselves to their classmates at the beginning of the year by filling out an identity book. Each page includes a different prompt, which may ask a pupil to describe where they live or how their family celebrates the holidays.

Roseville Area High School offers an American history class that focuses on the subject through the Black perspective. St. Paul Public Schools also offer ethnic studies classes districtwide.

Still, critics say the proposed standards overemphasize the differences between students, which may cause division in the classroom.

Lipman, the administrative law judge, will wrap up the final virtual hearings on the social studies standards Thursday. After that, the Department of Education has 20 days to respond to the concerns raised during the public comment period.

A spokesperson for the Office of Administrative Hearings said the final ruling should come about one month later, or in early January.

In issuing his final order, Lipman will consider whether the new standards fall under the scope of the Department of Education's legal authority, whether the agency has gone through the proper protocol to gather community input and if it's demonstrated the standards are both necessary and reasonable.

Lipman could allow the department to adopt the new standards, tweak portions of them or send the agency back to the drawing board.

In his letter, Jett wrote that the Department of Education did its due diligence by inviting organizations representing educators, indigenous groups and LGBTQ Minnesotans to weigh in on the standards. He also said that the committee assigned to draft the new standards looked for ways to include lessons on literacy and to reduce mandates on curriculum to give educators more leniency in teaching students to tackle concepts.

"The proposed standards reflect this thoughtfulness and compliance with the statutory requirements," Jett said.