Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page today called on Minnesotans to pass a constitutional amendment to give every child in Minnesota an equal right to a quality education.

Having not been updated since it was first enacted in 1857, Minnesota’s current constitution only provides students access to an adequate education system. While many other states have modernized their constitutions’ education provisions and put children first, Minnesota has not. Our education system today reflects its original 1857 design.

This proposal comes on the heels of new research by the Minneapolis Fed that shows that Minnesota has some of the worst educational disparities in the nation. Low-income white children, children of color, and American Indian children in Minnesota have far worse educational outcomes than children from higher-income families. These disturbing disparities are true across the entire state. It doesn’t have to be so.

“While many good faith attempts have been made to close our achievement gaps for at least two decades, we must be honest that we’ve made virtually no progress,” said Kashkari. “We need a bold approach to transform education in our state.”

Page said, “Updating our constitution by making quality education a civil right for all children will put power in the hands of families, where it belongs. This proposal will hold the state accountable to ensuring all children are getting the education they deserve.”

The proposed language would replace Art. XIII, Sec. 1 of Minnesota’s constitution in its entirety, and reads:

The current constitution reads:

Since October 2019, Page and Kashkari have been meeting with elected officials and community, education, labor, and business leaders to discuss the need to update our constitution.

“We have secured broad, bipartisan support for this proposal,” Kashkari said. “Minnesotans care about one another. We are pleased, but not surprised, that so many people agree on wanting to finally put children first.”

Among those supporting the proposal are:

• Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General
  “I’ve been fighting for children my whole life. Times have changed since Minnesota’s education clause was drafted in 1857. The amendment opens an important discussion about quality schools and placing all Minnesota children first. This bold step is long overdue. I applaud Justice Page and President Kashkari on their proposal and look forward to joining them in a continuing conversation as the proposal further evolves.”

• Houston White, Founder, HWMR & Black Excellence
  “In the 1800s, Horace Mann wrote that education was going to be the great equalizer of the conditions of men in society. Something has gone amiss. For students of color and American Indian students, our education system now serves not to equalize but to exacerbate inequality. It is time. Be the change.”  

• Doug Baker, CEO, Ecolab
  “The business community is committed to closing Minnesota’s education achievement
  gaps. This amendment is a potential game changer that can finally break through politics and put all Minnesota children first. Making quality education a civil right will enhance Minnesota’s economic competitiveness.”

• Archie Black, CEO, SPS Commerce
  “I strongly support this amendment that will ensure the right of every child to have access to an equitable quality education. This amendment will serve as a model in leading the nation to close education gaps and elevate opportunities for every child in Minnesota.”

• Cathy Chavers, President, Asabiikone-zaag'igan, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
  “My community has seen education used against it for generations. Our children need an education that gives them the same opportunities for success as it does to others—and I believe that we can do that together. This amendment is the first step.”

• Mike Ciresi & Roberta Walburn, Founders, Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children
  “Minnesotans—all of us—must face the hard truth that we have been failing too many of our children for too many years. The proposed amendment will put us on a path where we can be proud of our commitment to a quality education not only for some but for all of our children.”

• Rebecca Crooks-Stratton, Secretary/Treasurer, Dakota, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
  “We need to change the narrative for our kids to be able to see themselves as past, present, and future leaders in Minnesota.”

• Jeff Harmening, Chairman & CEO, General Mills
  “As a business leader in Minnesota, I care deeply about our state’s future. I know that our state’s continued success is intertwined with our commitment to ensuring that all children receive a quality public education. Ensuring we provide and measure educational outcomes is critical if we want to keep Minnesota thriving.”

• Bukata Hayes, Executive Director, Greater Mankato Diversity Council
  “In all efforts at bettering our circumstance, we must first commit to ideals, then act in accordance with these ideals. Ensuring quality public education for all students is one of the central ideals in a connected and engaged society. This amendment change moves us in that direction. This change allows for communities to address this standard of quality public education in ways and means that are unique to communities, depending on their demographics, which is key in eliminating achievement and opportunity gaps that currently plague our public education system.”

• Chris Hilger, CEO, Securian Financial
  “I support this amendment because it is time to finally put all Minnesota children first.”

• Michael Goze, CEO, American Indian Community Development Corporation
  “Education is the key in providing all students of Minnesota the tools to succeed. Schools were once used as tools to exterminate the languages and culture of American Indians. American Indian students continue to face a crisis in the educational system even today. It must stop! It is our responsibility to create the change needed to improve the educational system to be a tool for the benefit of our babies and youth now and in the future. Only then will we all succeed!”

• Carlton Jenkins, Superintendent, Robbinsdale Public Schools
  “I support the proposed amendment to Article XIII, Section 1, of the Minnesota State Constitution by President Kashkari and Justice Page. If accepted, this recommendation will serve as the foundation in transforming outcomes for all children, families, and communities in the state of Minnesota. By design, this proposed amendment illuminates the fundamental right of all children and families to gain access to pathways for excellent educational and economic outcomes. Furthermore, this recommendation would serve as a catalyst for addressing Minnesota’s opportunity gaps and restoring our state to global leadership in innovation and education. As such, this proposed amendment will contribute to our pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness for all."

• Robert L. Larsen, President, Cansa'yapi, Lower Sioux Indian Community
  “I do not see why anyone would not support this amendment. Our children need this, and it is our duty as leaders to put their needs, their future, and their success at the forefront of all we do.”

• Mike McFadden, Co-Founder, Pathfinder Companies; Senior Adviser, Lazard; Former Chair, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School; 2014 Republican Nominee for U.S. Senate
  “I strongly support this constitutional amendment, which will create the strongest constitutional rights in the country regarding education, and propel Minnesota to a global leadership position in education outcomes. In our current hyperpartisan environment, this amendment provides a unique opportunity for all Minnesotans to join forces to ensure that every child receives a first-rate education regardless of zip code.”

• Rena Moran, Minnesota State Representative
  “The ‘adequacy standard’ has created a system that is inadequate for far too many in my community. No one dreams of providing their children with an ‘adequate’ education. Whether they live in Frogtown or on the Iron Range, all parents aspire for more than ‘adequate’ for their children. Employers are not looking for ‘adequacy.’ The time has come for Minnesota to do the right thing and commit to preparing all children for a successful future.”

• Sondra Samuels, President & CEO, Northside Achievement Zone
  “On December 28 of 2019, an educational justice advocate and civil rights legend died. His name was Bill Wilson. As the first black city councilperson in St. Paul and later founder of a high performing public charter school, Higher Ground, he was a pioneer. And this pioneer, while commemorating Dr. King at the state Capitol on one cold January day in 1992, celebrated the students in attendance by saying, ‘What a beautiful, beautiful representation of the dream. Let us make their paths a little clearer.’ That is what Bill spent the rest of his life doing. And this is what we must do to honor his legacy and the legacy of all who have worked to ensure that all Minnesota children receive a quality public education. We too have to do all we can to make their paths a little clearer."

• Michelle J. Walker-Davis, Executive Director, Generation Next
  “I applaud the leadership of Justice Alan Page and President Neel Kashkari in developing this bold proposal and engaging the public around the urgency of delivering results for all children in our state. This amendment promises to be a powerful tool to test our collective will to serve those children left behind by our current system. I am encouraged by the potential to shift the balance of power in educational decision-making toward those most impacted, giving more voice to parents and students themselves.”

• Charlie Weaver, Executive Director, Minnesota Business Partnership
  “Minnesota continues to lag in efforts to close persistent racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps. The state’s business leaders recognize that accelerating efforts to narrow gaps is an economic and moral imperative—this constitutional amendment will compel our state to enact the types of systemic reforms in K-12 education that will ensure we are preparing every child for future success in the global economy.”

• Jay Xiong, Minnesota State Representative
  “The future belongs to our children—whose minds we either mold and fill with knowledge, empowering them to lead, or we waste. Minnesota ranks the worst in almost every equity measure—health, wealth, incarceration, employment—and education is the necessary foundation to eliminate these persistent disparities. We must work now to end the inequalities and disparities in our system that hold some children back.”

Page and Kashkari pledge to travel the state to build even more support for this proposal. “Neel and I agree, a quality education is both a civil rights issue and an economic issue,” said Page.

Kashkari and Page are hosting a community conversation on Monday, Jan. 13, to discuss the proposal. Additional speakers at this public event are scheduled to include:

• Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General
• Rena Moran, Minnesota State Representative
• Jay Xiong, Minnesota State Representative
• Doug Baker, CEO, Ecolab
• Carrie Brimhall, President, Minnesota State Community and Technical College
• Kathleen Harrington, President, Rochester Chamber of Commerce
• Carlton Jenkins, Superintendent, Robbinsdale Public Schools
• Erin Rathke, Principal, Justice Page Middle School
• Sondra Samuels, Executive Director, Northside Achievement Zone
• Charlie Weaver, Executive Director, Minnesota Business Partnership

While registration for the conversation is full, interested individuals can watch it live at minneapolisfed.org/live. To see the full agenda, go to http://minneapolisfed.org/events/2020/children-first-a-community-conversation-on-educating-all-children.

Page and Kashkari each bring a unique, but complementary, perspective to their work to end educational disparities. In his 22 years on Minnesota’s Supreme Court, it became clear to Page that quality education is a key driver of justice. He said, “Children who don’t get a quality education are far more likely to fall through the cracks of society.”

As president of the Minneapolis Fed, Kashkari advances the mandates Congress set for the Federal Reserve: achieving stable prices and maximum employment. He believes a quality education is central to success in the job market. This initiative builds on the Minneapolis Fed’s two decades of work on promoting early childhood education, especially for low-income children.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is responsible for the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous banking organizations, and provides a variety of payments services to financial institutions and the U.S. government.

Alan Page is a former Minnesota Supreme Court justice and is a founder of the Page Education Foundation, which has provided more than $14 million in grants to 6,750 scholars of color at 128 Minnesota high schools over the past 30 years.