Minnesota School District Asks Attendees to Keep ‘Equity’ Summit Private Amid Political Scrutiny
The second-largest public school district in Minnesota has instructed invitees to its upcoming “Equity Summit” not to promote the event publicly, citing “current political attacks on equity.”
Saint Paul Public Schools is set to host the “Beyond OUR Walls: Equity Summit” on April 26. In a March 10 email obtained by The Daily Wire, Edairra McCalister, the district’s Equity Specialist from the Office of Equity, outlined “communication guidelines” to keep attendees “safe while holding to our commitment to equity.”
“Current political attacks on equity have real, potentially harmful consequences for our students, staff, and families,” McCalister wrote. “We ask that you DO NOT share to social media or public-facing platforms (e.g. Facebook, X, community bulletins or newsletters, district websites open to the public).”
However, she encouraged invitees to share information about the summit privately with “trusted people and groups who are committed to equity who may want to submit a workshop or attend,” including those aligned with “racial and gender equity” and “social justice.”
The request comes as the Trump administration has implemented an executive order barring federal funding for school districts that promote “discriminatory equity ideology.” According to The Daily Wire, Saint Paul Public Schools’ Equity Office links to a “racial equity” policy aimed at confronting “institutional racism,” as well as a “gender inclusion policy” that allows transgender-identifying students to participate in sports and use facilities that match their gender identity. This policy runs contrary to the president’s order.
When questioned about the email, the district said it planned to market the event more directly to increase turnout.
“Our previous marketing strategies for this event did not yield as high of a participation as we had hoped,” Saint Paul Public Schools told the outlet. “This is an event centered around youth and youth-serving organizations, and we realized our greatest recruiting efforts came through talking to and communicating directly with those who are interested.”
“It is important that we have networks and positive relationships in place for youth to be able to feel comfortable exercising their leadership,” the district added.
