Weekly Reflections from MnEEP’s Executive Director: Building our Shared Future Right Now
As Minnesota and the nation continue to navigate a shifting and volatile federal landscape, this past week reminded me of the strength we draw from our relationships — and from the leadership of Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and multilingual communities — as we work together to build a more racially just future for public education.
Below are a few reflections on where MnEEP has been this week, and where we are moving towards, together.
Monday: Strengthening Our Push Back/Push Forward Work
I had a productive meeting with a funding partner who encouraged us to apply for resources to deepen our Push Back/Push Forward work. Phase One is for providing educators and school leaders with how to push back by offering legal clarity, narrative analysis, and a grounding in civil rights which are all needed to uphold their equity mission and protect the dignity and belonging of every learner amid federal rollbacks and threats.
The next phase will build on that foundation, strengthening the collective capacity, narrative power, and cross-regional alignment needed to push forward a shared, community-rooted vision for racially equitable public education at a pivotal moment for our state.
Later that day, I participated in a national Community of Practice convened by the Migration Policy Institute with partners from ten states, from California and Texas to Georgia, Florida, and New York.
We heard sobering updates on the rapid expansion of federal immigration enforcement and discussed the deep impacts on students, families, and educators. These conversations underscored the urgency for Minnesota to advance proactive, durable strategies to protect every immigrant student’s rights, dignity, safety, and success.
Tuesday: CREAAC Federal Higher-Ed Policy Webinar
MnEEP’s College Race Equity Director Tami Williams and the MnEEP CREAAC team hosted the webinar “State of Higher Education: Federal Policies Impacting Race Equity,” featuring a powerful presentation from national thought leader Art Coleman of EducationCounsel.
Art, the former Deputy Assistant in the U.S. Department of Education, underscored that eight federal courts have now rejected the administration’s anti-DEI legal claims and effort, and offered important clarity for Minnesota’s higher education landscape and how we move forward with equity at the center of our public institutions. A timely and deeply informative session.
Wednesday: Minnesota Push Forward Coalition & Legislative Momentum
Nan Yurecko of MnEEP helped convene and facilitate the Minnesota Push Forward Coalition of several Minnesota education sector organizations to form two Action Teams:
- advancing legislation to protect immigrant students’ access to public education, and
- supporting low-income learners impacted by the federal OBBBA/HR1 Budget Reconciliation Bill.
Meanwhile, MnEEP’s Jon Peterson informed State Senator Alice Mann on the first action team’s goal and she proposed to sponsor legislation for it by essentially codifying the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court Plyler v. Doe decision into Minnesota state law. This ensures immigrant students retain protected access to public education under state law regardless of shifting federal policies.
Thursday: MDE EL Coordinators Day & National Postsecondary CoP
Molly Priesmeyer of MnEEP joined a panel of education equity leaders at the Minnesota Department of Education’s EL Coordinators Day to share strategies from the MnEEP Creating Safe & Supportive Schools for Immigrant & English Learner Students Toolkit. She grounded coordinators from districts across the state in Minnesota law and PELSB standards that equip and empower them to uphold students’ rights and dignity and embed safety, belonging, and culturally affirming practices into all aspects of school life, from navigating ICE-related threats to addressing absenteeism driven by fear.
Later that afternoon, I participated in a national Community of Practice convened by the Joyce Foundation, focused on federal shifts in college-and-career pathways and their implications for Minnesota learners.
Friday: Board Leadership & Governance
Our MnEEP Board Executive Committee met to continue planning around Board recruitment and strengthening our governance structure, a key piece of our long-term sustainability and organizational growth.
Looking Ahead
As I prepare to visit our daughter in Dallas for the Day of Giving Thanks (Acción de Gracia), I wish each of you a peaceful holiday full of family and friends, free from heavy commercialism, and mindful of the First Peoples from whom this nation took so much and harmed so deeply.
Let us continue working toward reconciliation, justice, and an education system that equips us all to be able to do so.
Paz,
Carlos
