‘Blatant civil rights violation’: Watchdog group calls for inquiry into Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision regarding teachers of color
A conservative watchdog group is requesting a federal investigation after the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against Minneapolis Public Schools, which accused the district of racial…

A conservative watchdog group is requesting a federal investigation after the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against Minneapolis Public Schools, which accused the district of racial discrimination against teachers.
“Minneapolis Public Schools is unabashedly discriminating against teachers based on their race, and the school district is using taxpayer dollars to do so,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton in a statement.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of Deborah Clapp, a Minneapolis taxpayer who challenged a teachers union contract giving immunity from layoffs to teachers of color.
“At issue in the case was a measure in the 2022 Minneapolis teachers union contract that upended decades of last-in, first-out employment practice by promising to protect teachers who are part of ‘underrepresented populations’ from district layoffs,” explains MPR News.
“The provision was intended to retain teachers who might have fewer years on the job.”
However, such stipulations violate the Equal Protection Guarantee of the Minnesota Constitution, according to the lawsuit.
After a district court ruled the lawsuit lacked standing, the state appeals court reversed this decision. But the state’s supreme court sided with the original ruling, arguing Clapp did not have standing to sue the district.
Despite this decision at the state level, Judicial Watch has appealed to the federal government for further action.
‘Racially discriminatory’
“This woke, racially discriminatory contract cannot stand,” Fitton wrote. “Judicial Watch will ask the Trump administration to investigate this blatant civil rights violation and take all necessary steps to ensure teachers do not lose their jobs because of their race.”
Minneapolis teachers who believe they have suffered racial discrimination should still consider legal action against the district, advises James Dickey, a senior attorney at Upper Midwest Law Center.
“A teacher who is laid off because of the color of his or her skin could bring a claim like that,” he told Fox 9 KMSP. “And it certainly is possible if the federal government believes that civil rights violations are taking place, they could take action.”