The Refreshing Power to Decide: 2026 Elections

Having retired to sleep early, I awoke the morning after the midterm election with a desire to put off looking at the news. I wanted to just revel for a while in the very act of having taken part in a high stakes act of voting to help shape our society—including our schools and colleges.

I eventually succumbed to looking at the results. I was stunned. It need not be a partisan opinion (it’s not) to recognize what a historic election this had been with the potential to massively shift social policy in a whole new direction. 

The MnEEP community had been dazed two years earlier when federal policy emerged demanding that our institutions of education abandon racial equity efforts. These efforts are meant to create inclusive learning opportunities where students who are people of Color and Indigenous people can achieve their academic aspirations. 

The federal administration wrongly claimed legal basis for ending such efforts (since rejected by federal court) and froze important funding for education programs Federal representatives  intimidated universities from supporting students explicitly. Armed and masked federal agents descended on public K-12 schools ostensibly to engage in immigration enforcement leading to the traumatization of school children and teaching staff. Citizens were racially profiled on our streets and even shot and killed in armed operations to supposedly find Undocumented immigrants.

Our schools are still struggling with the impacts. 

It is difficult to believe  that the violence and terror involved in Operation Metro Surge had no bearing on the midterm election results. 

It seems that most voters on this election day said “No” to fear and “No” to turning against  one another.

MnEEP believes they said “Yes” to education, to safe schools, to opportunity for all. 

In the coming months a new political landscape will govern our state of Minnesota. As we have consistently called for, MnEEP desires a landscape that advances racial equity in education. In this best version of our state:

• K-12 Schools will be  safe from violence – including from armed agents of ICE.
• Classroom instruction and student supports would be centered on culturally affirming pedagogies.
• Our K-12 students would have more opportunities to attend racially integrated schools with high academic outcomes for all.
• New ways to identify qualifying students for compensatory aid regardless of their race and immigration status.
• EL students would be better supported and their programs fully funded.
• We would make dual credit learning possible for each and all students and not just for those already excelling in secondary schools.
• We would have at least twice as many licensed teachers of Color and American Indian K-12 teachers.
• A stronger civil rights framework would apply to education, including review for disparate actions.
• Post-secondary would be much more affordable with a robust student aid program and stronger support for college institutions.
• The state would once again codify statewide education attainment goals into state statute.

This is a big list. But it is one we can achieve. For over 30 years MnEEP has worked to advance each of these. It involves practices that Minnesotans have already attempted at one time or another. The goal is to do better this time and to cover each and all our students.

This election we are reminded that democracy is about making decisions. We can decide to say “No” to separating and harming one another or, we can decide to say “Yes” to including and lifting one another up and designing schools and colleges to that. 

I awoke this morning to the sound of Minnesotans saying “Yes!”