Approved curriculum in Mankato high school says ‘white supremacy’ is ‘calling the police’

Curriculum used during an English 10 class at Mankato West Senior High School calls colorblindness, stating that there is only one human race, and calling the police on black people, to name a few, “covert white supremacy,” according to an article by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR).

The curriculum is believed to currently be in use by one teacher, according to the FAIR article. A formal decision by the Mankato district’s curriculum re-evaluation committee found the materials to be “appropriate for its intended educational use,” according to communication on May 15.

Mankato resident and parent Elizabeth Hanke formally challenged the curriculum’s use in accordance with district policy titled, “Reconsideration of Textbooks or Other Instructional Materials,” but her request was denied. Hanke also sourced the “Overt / Covert White Supremacy” pyramid to an article by Dr. Nicole Caridad Ralston with Beloved Community, a New Orleans-based consulting firm focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Under Minnesota Statute 120B.20, “each school district shall have a procedure for a parent” to “review the content of the instructional materials to be provided” to their child and, if the parent “objects to the content, to make reasonable arrangements with school personnel for alternative instruction” for their child. Additionally, alternative instruction may be provided by the parent if the alternative instruction offered by the school board does not meet the concerns of the parent. The child cannot be penalized academically or otherwise for using the alternative instruction.

As of spring 2022 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results, nearly a third of Mankato West’s then-10th graders couldn’t read at grade level, and nearly 64 percent of its then-11th graders couldn’t do math at grade level.