The Minnesota Walz-appointed board mandates teachers to "affirm" their students' gender identities.

The Minnesota Board of Education has been appointed by Gov. Tim Walz, and its members are required to affirm students' gender identities, have racial consciousness, and learn to disrupt oppressive systems, according to public notices.

The Standards of Effective Practice for aspiring state teachers in Minnesota have been updated with new guidelines, which will be implemented statewide in 2025. Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, appointed all 13 members of the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) during his tenure as governor.

Teachers in Minnesota will be required to adopt controversial teaching methods that include "affirming" students' "gender," "gender identity," and "sexual orientation" under the new standards.

To become a licensed educator, the new standards mandate that a teacher comprehends various theories of identity formation and adopts "culturally affirming, proactive approaches to behavior."

The "Racial Consciousness and Reflection" section of the new standards mandates that teachers comprehend how ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, deficit-based teaching, and white supremacy hinder educational equality.

The teaching practice involves evaluating how one's biases, perceptions, and academic training may influence their teaching approach and contribute to oppressive systems. To address this, teachers employ strategies to modify their behavior and disrupt oppressive systems.

Catrin Wigfall, an education policy fellow at the American Experiment, a North Dakota conservative think tank, expresses concern that the proposed changes may worsen the teacher shortage, causing aspiring educators to avoid the profession due to the fear of being forced to incorporate ideological views into their teaching.

Despite significant opposition and criticism from the public, Gov. Tim Walz's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) proceeded with implementing changes to state teacher licensure requirements. These changes require aspiring educators to incorporate ideologically-driven content into their licensure coursework, regardless of where they plan to teach, and the expectation is that this will be reflected in their classrooms.

According to Wigfall, a former public school teacher, the changes made concerning and insulting generalizations about teachers, stating that they must consider themselves biased with intersecting oppressive identities and need to be trained on how to treat others of different demographics with respect and dignity, celebrate student diversity, etc.

The new rules under the Walz-appointed board will teach students about "power, privilege, intersectionality, and systemic oppression in the context of the various communities."

Teachers in Minnesota and those seeking an initial Tier 3 license through the portfolio process are subject to the standards.

As Walz campaigns for the Democratic presidential ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris, schools across the state are preparing to adopt these policies.