Minnesota Needs a Coalition Dedicated to Assuring the Constitutional Right to an Adequate Education

  Although the Minnesota Supreme Court has issued two decisions decreeing that our state constitution demands that the legislature provided districts with enough funding to afford each student with "an adequate education that meets all standards," Minnesota opinion leaders have not stepped up to the plate to insist that the constitutional right be faithfully fulfilled.  

Now, more than ever, it is critical that those who care about a genuinely robust and adequate education unite to make an adequate education a reality for all students in all districts. But we can't get their by merely advocating for more money: true reform will require greater district accountability, implementation of proven best practices, and of course more funding. In this post, JvonKorff on Education begins an examination of how coalitions have formed in other states to demand education reform and educational adequacy.  While these other states may offer guidance, we in Minnesota must recognize that our constitution provides a far more powerful tool than most other states: we already have a Supreme Court precedent that establishes adequate funding as a fundamental right enforceable in the Courts. 

Today's post takes a look at how Michiganders have organized to reform their educational system.   Michigan Partnership for Equity and Opportunity is a coalition of civil rights, social justice, civic and business leaders working to promote educational equity for all Michigan students, especially the most underserved.  Their partners include long established civil rights organizations including NAACP, the Urban League, and numerous non-governmental organizations and the nationally recognized Education Trust.  It advocates at the legislature and builds support for needed reforms.  For example, the Partnership has actively urged that the Michigan legislature take action to provide additional funding to compensate for the Trump administration's cuts to education. 

The Michigan Education Justice Coalition  is a statewide network committed to advocating for equitable public education policies and funding to create safe and healthy learning environments. The organization focuses on the idea that young people must play a central role in demanding educational improvement.  However, its organizational partners include about 34 advocacy organizations that include teacher and parent organizations. 

Education Trust Midwest.  The Education Trust is a leading advocate for educational reform focused on effective practices and adequate funding.   EdTrust-Midwest successfully drove important policy changes to improve educational outcomes for Michigan’s students. It shaped the statewide narrative and engaged in strong advocacy to close opportunity gaps, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds and Black and Latino students. It launched a new campaign to drive more investment for students with the greatest needs in our public schools, driven by years of data, policy, research, and best practices. Through a multi-pronged advocacy effort with partners, it scored significant fair funding wins for students from low-income backgrounds, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities. The trust scored a major policy victory to improve early reading outcomes for Michigan’s students through bipartisan legislation that took more than six years of collaboration with advocates and policymakers. 

Now, Michigan faces great challenges. We in Minnesota begin with a head start, because our funding system is fairer in many respects.  But that merely means that we don't need to go so far to reform our system and make it adequate.

Importance of Advocacy on Behalf of Underserved Students:  Michigan suggests the importance of developing strong coalitions of advocates for students and especially the students that Minnesota is not serving well. Education Minnesota, MSBA, AMSD, SEIU, and similar organizations perform a valuable function in fighting for public education, but they are compelled to focus on protecting the interests of their members.  Minnesota also needs a strong coalition of advocacy organizations whose number one reason for existence is to fix the system and make it work for the students who need education the most. 

Our next post will look at coalition building in another state.