The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) is aware that many school districts and teacher preparation providers are seeking guidance on recent executive orders. Minnesota’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, has joined with other states in issuing guidance that helps educational institutions in the state understand the legality, viability, and importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies and practices in education. The multistate coalition’s guidance underscores that efforts taken by educational entities to seek out and support diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible educational experiences for students are legal, and that neither the executive order, the “Dear Colleague” letter, nor the FAQ from the Department of Education change longstanding and well-established legal precedent. 

In their guidance, the attorneys general emphasize that teacher preparation providers and districts can continue to create missions and set goals related to student body diversity and equitable outcomes for students and can use all legal methods to pursue them. The coalition also notes that institutions do not have to ignore race when identifying prospective students for outreach and recruitment programs, provided such programs do not give students preference based on racial status, and that all students have the same opportunity to apply and compete for admission. Schools can continue to target outreach to potential applicants based on a wide range of characteristics, such as academic interests, geographic residency, financial means and socioeconomic status, family background, and parental education level.

PELSB will continue to abide by state and federal laws and regulations in efforts to ensure that all Minnesota students have access to high quality educators in their schools and encourages teacher preparation providers and districts to continue to create missions, set goals, and direct outreach and recruitment efforts to promote educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds.

 To read Attorney General Ellison’s release on guidance in full, please visit the Minnesota Attorney General’s website.