Call to Action: Why MN Needs a Special Legislative Session to Protect Minnesota’s EL and Immigrant Students – 

This week, MnEEP is launching EL-evate MN, a statewide collaborative initiative advocating for the educational rights and opportunities of immigrant and English Learner (EL) students in Minnesota. We urgently call on Governor Tim Walz and the Minnesota Legislature to convene a special session for immediate action for responding to the escalating threats of mass deportation and hostile federal policies that jeopardize the human rights, safety, and well-being of immigrant students and their families in our public schools.

Immigrant students are heavily represented among Minnesota’s 76,000 EL students and speak a wide range of languages, including Spanish, Somali, Hmong, Karen, and Vietnamese. During the 2022-2023 school year, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) reported a 3.6% increase in EL students, continuing a trend of rising enrollment.

Yet, for decades, systemic inequities and chronic underfunding have left EL and immigrant students in Minnesota without the resources and supports they need to thrive, creating persistent barriers to academic success.

Now, new potential federal policies and deportation threats are compounding these inequities, fostering fear and instability in schools that should serve as safe havens of learning and opportunity for all students. Together, these failures undermine students’ legal protections, disrupt their education, and threaten Minnesota’s commitment to equity and inclusion.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Plyler v. Doe decision guarantees all children—regardless of immigration status—the constitutional right to a free public education. Minnesota’s Constitution further ensures every student’s right to an equitable, safe, and inclusive learning environment.

Yet without swift and decisive action by the Minnesota Legislature, the constitutional rights of Minnesota’s EL and immigrant students remain at serious risk.

Why a Special Session Is Necessary

The challenges facing EL students and immigrant families are urgent:

  • Immigration Enforcement Threats: Schools must remain safe and supportive places of learning, free from fear of deportation or federal intrusion. Federal actions that create fear in school environments undermine students’ rights under Plyler v. Doe to education, safety, and dignity.
  • Gaps in Funding and Resources: EL students in Minnesota face severe funding inequities, resulting in inadequate access to quality education and student supports.
  • Systemic Inequities: Persistent disparities in EL teacher shortages, EL program funding, and educational outcomes leave EL students without the support they need to succeed academically and economically.
  • Rhetoric and Policies That Harm Communities: The hostile national climate toward immigrant and multilingual families risks alienating and marginalizing students who are vital to Minnesota’s shared future.

A special session is vital to uphold EL students’ constitutional rights and prevent policies that threaten their guaranteed access to equitable education under Minnesota’s Constitution.

Legislative Priorities for the Special Session

To protect EL students and ensure their ability to thrive in Minnesota schools and beyond, we urge state leaders to prioritize the following:

1. Strengthen Protections for EL and Immigrant Students

Minnesota must ensure schools are sanctuaries of safety and learning, free from fear of deportation or federal overreach:

  • Enact statewide “safe haven” policies to shield schools and campuses from federal immigration enforcement, ensuring students are free from fear and educational disruption.
  • Codify legal protections for EL and immigrant students into state law to prevent federal overreach that compromises the safety of our schools..
  • Require and assist schools to develop emergency plans for handling ICE inquiries, including judicial warrants and legal counsel consultation before granting access.
  • Strengthen privacy laws to prevent the sharing of sensitive student information, such as addresses or parental details, with ICE or federal agencies without explicit consent or a court order.

2. Ensure Equitable Funding and Culturally Validating Supports for EL Students

To eliminate systemic inequities, Minnesota must commit to investing in EL students’ academic and cultural success:

  • Tie EL funding to inflation, ensuring programs keep pace with rising costs.
  • Commit to sustained, reparative investments to close historic funding gaps and address systemic inequities.
  • Invest in culturally validating curricula and teaching practices that honor students’ cultural and linguistic identities.
  • Expand culturally validating counseling, tutoring, and after-school programs to meet EL students’ academic and mental health needs.

3. Empower Educators to Better Support EL Students 

Equipping educators is essential to ensuring EL students thrive in safe and inclusive classrooms:

  • Mandate training for educators and administrators on students’ rights and how to respond to ICE actions.
  • Establish statewide legal hotlines for schools to access real-time legal support if ICE enforcement is anticipated or occurs.
  • Enhance EL teacher recruitment and retention through loan forgiveness, Grow Your Own initiatives, and other targeted programs.
  • Invest in professional development and micro-credentialing programs to provide all educators with the skills and resources to support EL students effectively.

4. Protect Students from Bullying and Harm

No student should face bullying or harassment for their language, cultural identity, or immigration status. Schools must foster safe, inclusive environments for EL and immigrant students:

  • Expand the Safe and Supportive Schools Act to explicitly address bullying tied to language, cultural identity, or immigration status.
  • Enforce zero-tolerance policies for bullying, harassment, and discrimination targeting EL students.
  • Provide mandatory anti-bullying training for educators, emphasizing culturally and linguistically inclusive practices.
  • Fund culturally validating, trauma-informed mental health services and counselors for schools serving EL and immigrant students.

The Cost of Inaction

Failure to act will have far-reaching consequences:

  • Widening Opportunity Gaps: EL students will continue to lag behind in academic achievement and graduation rates.
  • Economic Stagnation: Without a well-educated, multilingual workforce, Minnesota risks losing its competitive edge.
  • Community Harm: Persistent inequities will deepen divides and weaken trust in our state’s education system.
  • Constitutional Violations: Continued underfunding denies EL students their constitutional right to an equitable education.

Minnesota cannot afford to leave these students behind. Their success is tied to the success of our state.

Join Us in Urging the Minnesota Legislature to Lead

We call on the Minnesota Legislature and Governor Tim Walz to hold a special session to address these urgent challenges and reaffirm Minnesota’s commitment to educational equity and human rights. Minnesota has a proud history of leading on civil rights—now, let us extend that leadership to the most vulnerable students in our state.

What You Can Do

  1. Contact Your Legislators
    Demand that they make EL and immigrant student protections a priority in a special legislative session. Your voice can help ensure these critical issues are addressed.
  2. Get Involved
    Participate in EL-evate MN webinars and education sessions to support and equip educators, schools, districts, and communities with the tools and resources they need to uphold and honor the educational rights of EL and immigrant students.
  3. Spread the Word
    Share this message with your networks. Every voice strengthens the momentum for legislative action to protect Minnesota’s most vulnerable students

Our schools must be places of learning, not fear. Together, we can ensure that every student in Minnesota—no matter their immigration status—has the opportunity to thrive. Time is of the essence. Let’s act boldly, decisively, and in solidarity.

Contact your legislators and demand action today. The future of Minnesota’s EL students and our state depends on it.

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