Government Records
Mainly documenting the education department's efforts to implement federal and state desegregation/integration legislation from the 1960s into the 1990s, the records contain materials detailing various court cases brought against state districts, particularly Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth; files covering various federal and state grant programs which provided money for desegregation and civil rights purposes; computer generated enrollment statistics detailing both racial and gender ratios; and subject files documenting not only general information on desegregation/integration but also selected sets on the State Board of Education, Minnesota Department of Education/Department of Children, Families and Learning, Duluth Public Schools, Minneapolis Public Schools, and St. Paul Public Schools.
Although the majority of the records deal with racially based issues, there are also files involving gender equity, especially in sports; underserved and underrepresented students in such areas as math and science; minority teachers; magnet schools and immersion programs; diversity training; and multicultural, gender-fair, and disability-sensitive programs. Included are large sets of files on race, sex and national origin desegregation grants (1980-1996), the State Board of Education's Roundtable Discussion Group (1993-1995), the Minnesota Department of Education's Office of Equal Educational Opportunities (1969-1993) and Office of Desegregation/Integration (1994-1996), and the Minneapolis Public Schools' Desegregation Plan (August 1990). There is a also a small set of photographs showing the migrant education program in Owatonna, Adams Spanish Immersion School in St. Paul, and related programs.
These records are organized into the following sections:
Minneapolis Public Schools. Board of Education. Desegregation/integration files (cataloged separately).
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession number(s): 989-68; 995-55; 2002-17
Processed by: Jessica Haidet, August 2001
Catalog ID No.: 0900322988 RLIN ID No.: MNHV94-A759
The following court cases involve either individual schools or the State of Minnesota. They almost all deal with desegregation efforts or lack there of, but may also cover gender equity and special education cases.
Contested implementation of a desegregation plan without community input.
Concerned failed desegregation efforts.
Concerned special education; includes Brief and Appendix of Respondent Department of Education.
Concerned sex discrimination in the St. Paul athletic program.
Concerned school district financing constitutionality case press release.
Concerned segregation and unequal education in Minneapolis Special School District No. 1.
Concerned proposed State Board of Education rules on the standard for determining school segregation.
Both the federal and state governments set aside grant money for desegregation and civil rights purposes.
Federal grants were given both to the individual school districts and to the state Department of Education. Of the following grants, individual districts could apply only for the Magnet Assistance Program.
This grant was used to develop and implement the Minnesota Civil Rights Information System (MINCRIS).
Applications for race and sex were filed separately and National Origin was not part of the program until 1988 when all three were recognized on the same application form. Some years have two proposals: a new one and one of continuation or renewal of the previous year's award. Each listing is for the fiscal year.
These state funded grants were awarded to individual districts or schools by the Minnesota Department of Education (unless otherwise noted).
Includes information about applications, as well as correspondence with the applicants.
Sheets generated by the MINCRIS computer program, compiling data from the years 1985-1986 and 1990-1995 dealing with the numbers of students of different racial groups, as well as gender ratios for each school in each district. Material in the subdivision "Minnesota Department of Education," is further processed to compute compliance data.
The CUE is a licensure program allying the Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools with the University of St. Thomas.
"Three Ethnic Specific Schools in the Twin Cities: Making Desegregation a Choice?" pp. 1-8.
Most of the letters and memos included in these folders are either addressed to or produced by the Minnesota Department of Education, its various offices, or the State Board of Education.
With the sponsorship of the Department of Children Families and Learning and the Office of Desegregation/ Integration, the Center orchestrated three leadership activities in 1996: "Leadership for Diversity: Planning for the Future of all our Children" symposium for superintendents and school board members (January), Leadership for Diversity Symposium (March), and a leadership shadowing program for principals (March-May). This folder contains information on all three of these activities, as well as general information about the Center.
The Metropolitan Learning Alliance consisted of five districts - Bloomington, Minneapolis, Richfield, St. Louis Park, and St. Paul.
Contains sight counts, national testing data, and numbers of minorities enrolled.
Includes a summary listing of on-site compliance visits from years 1981-1991, as well as a list of criteria.
Reports/speeches by and information about Gary Orfield, one of the national leaders in school desegregation and a Minnesota native.
Cornel Pewewardy was principal of the American Indian Magnet School and the World Cultures and Languages Magnet School in St. Paul from 1991-1994.
Most of the photographs are undated and depict students, both children and adults, in the Migrant Education Program in Owatonna; other photographs include children in the Adams School, Spanish Immersion School in St. Paul, a school celebration of the Chinese New Year (1994), and a game of Kato (1990).
PEO is a program of the University of Michigan. It serves as a technical assistance center for the Minnesota Department of Education and school districts in Minnesota, as well as those of Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
Includes the Minority Staffing Committee (1988), the Committee of Minority Recruitment, Preparation, and Retention (1990), and the Joint Committee on Minority Staffing in Minnesota Schools (1990).
Begin in April, when the Desegregation/Integration Work Group began to plan for the legally mandated Roundtable Discussion Group.
These folders include drafts of the Desegregation Rule, Inclusive Educational Programs Rule (name changed in 1993 to Educational Diversity Rule), and Rules Relating to Equality of Educational Opportunity and School Integration.
The surveys are arranged by geographic area and were conducted by the Educational Cooperative Service Unit of the Metro Area.
The Metropolitan Academy was a September 27, 1990, conference sponsored by the Equal Educational Opportunities Section of the Minnesota Department of Education and the Desegregation Policy Forum of the State Board of Education.
Chronology covers 1967-mid 1970s.
These records include agendas, minutes, and handouts.
The MEE allowed licensed and tenured staff members to exchange temporarily between Minneapolis/St. Paul and the metropolitan suburban districts. Most of the files are identified by the applicant's name and contain applications, letters of recommendation, and letters of placement (for those where it is applicable) dated by the year of the original application -- once an application had been filed, it was referenced in later years, so that the applicant did not have to reapply.
The CIIP, a collaboration between the Minneapolis Public Schools and the school districts of Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Edina, Hopkins, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony/New Brighton, and St. Louis Park, was funded by the State Legislature from 1991-1993 with the task of developing and implementing a pilot interdistrict integration plan. For Cooperative Interdistrict Integration records involving the CIIP school districts after 1993, see the West Metro Education Program. For records prior to 1991, refer to the Southwest Metro Planning Committee.
Covers years 1987-1990.
Report prepared for the Superintendent by William C. Phillips.
Covering 1981-1985 and 1984-1990.
Covering 1963-1974.
Alliance of the St. Paul Public Schools with North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Schools and Roseville Area Schools.