Vice Presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is at the center of a new controversy following a report that his administration has effectively barred practicing Christians, Jews, and Muslims from teaching in public schools. New teacher licensing rules, set to take effect in July 2025, will require educators to affirm transgenderism and other culturally sensitive issues that may conflict with many religious beliefs.
The Federalist, a conservative news outlet, first reported the story, emphasizing the significant implications of these changes. Under Governor Walz’s administration, the new regulations mandate that teachers must create an environment that supports students’ identities, including their gender identity and sexual orientation, to obtain a teaching license. The policy affects both public schools and private schools that require state licenses for their educators, the outlet reported.
The outlet reported that the new rules could effectively “ban practicing Christians, Jews, and Muslims from teaching in public schools” due to conflicts with their religious beliefs. Teachers will be required to “affirm” students’ gender identities and sexual orientations, a mandate that religious educators argue forces them to compromise their faith. Additionally, universities that train future teachers will need to integrate these new standards into their programs or risk losing their ability to offer state licensing to their graduates, the report said.
According to the new standards, teachers must ensure that student identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, are “historically and socially contextualized, affirmed, and incorporated into a learning environment where students are empowered to learn and contribute as their whole selves.” The mandate puts religious teachers in a tough spot, as affirming these identities may go against their core beliefs.
Doug Seaton, the founder and president of the nonprofit Upper Midwest Law Center, voiced strong concerns about the regulations. He emphasized that while some Christian universities in Minnesota may comply with the new rules, others are resistant to doing so. “Some are not willing to do it [file a lawsuit] until they actually have their college programs tagged for noncompliance or their graduates actually not licensed as a consequence of not adhering to these standards,” he told The Federalist.
Under Walz, Minnesota has been moving further to the left. Walz has made diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a central focus of his agenda, despite facing significant opposition. His first executive order established a DEI council, and his administration has been persistent in advancing progressive education policies, even in the face of resistance from those who view these efforts as divisive.
The new policies, including the updated teacher licensing rules, are steering the state’s education system in a concerning direction. During Walz’s tenure, Minnesota has experienced a significant decline in student achievement, surpassing the national average in its decline. Notably, for the first time on record, fourth-grade reading scores have dropped below the national average, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The state’s national education rankings have also dropped, with Minnesota falling from 5th place in 2018 to 17th in recent assessments.