by MJ Cadman
The University of St. Thomas will “increase the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics…teachers, particularly teachers of color, who work in the community,” with the aid of $1.1 million in taxpayer dollars.
The Catholic university in St. Paul received the federal grant with the assistance of Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Congresswoman Betty McCollum, according to a news release.
“The funding comes from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program,” according to the news release. “The funds will support the Pathways program at the university to help provide a much-needed pool of qualified STEM teachers who better reflect the changing demographics of Minnesota’s public schools.”
But the program may be illegal according to a former Department of Education official.
The university’s media team, including director Bryce Butzer, did not respond to three emailed requests for comment in the past three weeks.
The College Fix also asked for citations for a claim behind the program. “Studies have shown that students of color taught by teachers of the same race or ethnicity have lower dropout rates and higher standardized test scores, which helps young learners develop STEM skills and participate in the STEM workforce,” the university stated in its news release.
The Fix asked if the university attorney had reviewed the program to ensure that it complied with the Title VI’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of race and if white students could apply.
Elsewhere, a university official made clear the program targeted teachers who are not white.
“The addition of STEM teachers of color will provide valuable role models for children from underrepresented populations where such role models are scarce,” Amy Smith, dean of the school of education, stated in the news release.
These new teachers will make it “more likely that these students will follow a STEM pathway as they continue their education.”
The program likely violates Title VI and the Constitution, according to former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs Adam Kissel.
“Privileging students by race or sex in an education program violates the Equal Protection Clause and likely also Title VI and Title IX of civil rights laws,” Kissel, who served in the Trump administration, told The Fix via email.
“It is doubtful that the legislation intends to waive civil rights,” he said. “Pointing to correlation studies will not satisfy strict scrutiny to permit this program to discriminate.”
“Many federal grant programs suffer from such deficiencies,” Kissel also said. “The next administration should put a stop to this discrimination through the whole of government.”
There are similar efforts at the state level to direct money only toward non-white teachers.
The state of Minnesota extended this spring a program that gave millions of dollars to minority teachers only. The “Increase Teachers of Color Act,” “would allocate $10 million to the ‘aspiring Minnesota teachers of color scholarship program,’” as The Fix reported in May. It eventually passed as part of a larger budget, allocating $3.5 million in 2024 and 2025, and at least $4.5 million in 2026.
The education department denied that it was racially exclusionary, pointing to the fact some recipients identified as white. However, participants could select multiple races but at least one had to be “underrepresented,” according to a summary report.
“Students were not required to select any category, but in order to receive an award they are required to indicate they identify as a race or ethnicity underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce.”
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College Fix contributor MJ Cadman is a graduate student at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she is studying theology.
