On December 18, 2024, Parents Defending Education (now Defending Education) filed a complaint against Rochester Public Schools in Rochester, Minnesota, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint claims the district is breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. It also claims the district is violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bars government bodies, including public schools, from treating people differently because of their race except in rare cases.
Rochester runs an “Employees of Color Resource Group,” an affinity group for teachers of color. According to the district’s report to the state legislature, it used a $136,400 state grant to support this group, with training workshops and networking events for “teachers from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.” The district also paid extra stipends to mentors of color. Its “Grow Your Own” program likewise works to recruit, mentor, and retain teachers of color. Teachers of other races are left out of these opportunities because of their race.
Defending Education urges the Department to investigate every claim in its complaint, fix the district’s illegal policies and practices, and order the right remedies.
Read the complaint and see its evidence below:
