April 15, 2025
- Jessica Premo
- Apr 13
- 4 min read
Hello, EPEA!
With Spring Break firmly behind us, some of our colleagues have started the countdown to summer vacation. We all know how busy these final weeks can be, especially as observation season is drawing to a close. Thursday May 8 is the deadline for our 3rd observation to be completed, according to our Q-Comp plan. Please be sure to schedule with your supervisor, as appropriate, to ensure your successful completion of our Q-Comp requirements.
I’m not a fan of looking forward to the end, but for those keeping score, there are 39 working days, 38 student contact days, 8 weeks, 3 paychecks, 2 days off, or 1 grading day between now and the start of summer. It’ll be here before we know it, and I hope we make the most of our final quarter of 2025-26!
In solidarity,
Charles Cooper
Guidance from Your Member Rights Advocate
If you are in need of support at an administration meeting, believe there is a contract violation, or have a performance/conduct-related support request, please connect with Carla Thompson
(Lead MRA) cthompson@edenpr.org or 952-240-6577
Member Benefits:
Built In Benefits With Membership
ESI PerksConnect - discounts to area activities and restaurants
NEA Discount Marketplace - discount tickets and travel programs
Update: U.S. Department of Education Directs States and K-12 schools to certify compliance with Title VI or lose federal funding
On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education released a memo directing the leaders of all state education departments and K-12 schools to sign within 10 days a “reminder of legal obligations” certifying that there are no “illegal DEI” programs in schools. The USDOE makes the dubious claim that failure to sign the document could result in losing federal money already appropriated by Congress for special education, Title 1 and other programs.
In the wake of this memo and some of the misleading news coverage about it, I want to make a few things clear:
Whatever the legal-sounding pretext for this illegal policy, the biases of this administration are clear to anyone who has followed the president’s politics. He’s going after public schools that serve every student because he prefers some Americans over others. Local school boards and superintendents that rush to strip away students’ freedoms to read, learn and attend welcoming schools are following their own prejudices, not the law.
It is premature to conclude that the USDOE would consider every diversity, equity or inclusion measure in a school to be illegal.
The biggest danger created by this memo is that it will lead to some districts and higher education institutions abandoning or prohibiting equity-related programing and practices that are perfectly legal. See my statement in the link above for a list of programs and policies in K-12 schools would still be permissible, even under the USDOE memo's legal reasoning.
If you see districts abandoning DEI measures because of this memo or other USDOE or Executive Orders, please let your [local president and/or] field staff know and complete this survey. Having these district-level reactions compiled in a single database will help us get the information to national partners who are already in litigation with the USDOE.
Where possible, we can also push back on changes to district policies if we believe they violate state laws, such as the Minnesota Human Rights Act or the Safe and Supportive Schools Act. We will continue to follow this very new development and be in touch with district and state leaders on their responses.
Together,
Denise Specht, President
April 14 School Board Workshop Meeting
Last night, the school board held their monthly workshop. This meeting is reflective of the reality of living in two school years at this time of year as the board began to discuss planning and scheduling for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. The board also discussed their operating budget for the same period. Following in the new year mentality, the board discussed the process for introducing new district-wide policies. On April 28, the board will publicly read their operating budget prior to approving the district's capital budget for FY 2025-26 in addition to approving the next year’s school board calendar.
April 16 - Labor Management Committee Meeting
April 17 - QComp Steering Committee Meeting
April 21 - READ Act Advisory Committee Meeting
April 23 - EPEA Executive Board Meeting
April 25-26 - EdMN Representative Convention
April 28, 4:30PM - EPEA Representative Congress
April 28, 6:00PM - EP School Board Business Meeting
May 17 - EdMN End of Session Rally
May 27 - EP School Board Business Meeting (Closed Session on Negotiations)
"Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in the standarized tests because they do not have standardized minds." - Diane Ravitch
In Solidarity,
Charles Cooper, EPEA President
Mike Woizeschke, EPEA Vice President
Brent Bovitz, EPEA Treasurer
Jessica Premo, EPEA Secretary
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