The U.S. Justice Department has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). The lawsuit says MPS has given preferential treatment to “black teachers, teachers of color, and ‘underrepresented’ teachers” in violation of federal law.
According to the federal lawsuit, MPS’ collective bargaining agreement with the Minneapolis teachers union allows “underrepresented” teachers to be exempt from layoffs in certain cases, prioritized for reinstatement after layoffs, and exempt from being involuntarily reassigned.
The lawsuit notes that “upon information and belief, ‘underrepresented populations’ include BIPOC individuals, otherwise known as black, indigenous, and people of color.”
“Discrimination is unacceptable in all forms, especially when it comes to hiring decisions,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Our public education system in Minnesota and across the country must be a bastion of merit and equal opportunity — not DEI.”
The federal lawsuit also says MPS has an agreement with a group called “Black Men Teach” which allows “Black Men Teach Fellows” to be exempt from the normal layoff procedures and gives those fellows additional paid training days.
“While Defendants claim that these provisions are to stop discrimination, they required Defendants to blatantly discriminate against teachers base on their race, color, sex, and national origin,” says the lawsuit.
In turn, the U.S. Justice Department says MPS is in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, sex, national origin, and other categories.
The lawsuit also says MPS has set “specific, percentage-based goals for their hiring and retention of BIPOC staff and teachers.” Specifically, the Justice Department says MPS has a goal to make sure 54.3% of its new teacher hires are “BIPOC” by 2026-27.
“The provisions of the [collective bargaining agreements] exempting ‘underrepresented’ teachers from adverse employment actions serve Defendants’ goals for increasing the number of ‘BIPOC’ teachers and staff,” says the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, MPS is actually required by their collective bargaining agreement to “classify teachers by race, color, and national origin” to determine which teachers will be subjected to adverse employment actions.
“Employers may not provide more favorable terms and conditions of employment based on an employee’s race and sex,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a press release about the lawsuit.
“The Department of Justice will vigorously pursue employers who deny their employees equal opportunities and benefits by classifying and limiting them based on their race, color, national origin, or sex,” added Dhillon.
The Justice Department is asking a federal court to declare that MPS’ collective bargaining agreement illegally discriminates against teachers base on their race, sex, national origin, and color. In turn, the federal government is asking that MPS be prohibited from exercising the discriminatory elements of its collective bargaining agreement.
When reached for this story, a MPS spokesperson said “Minneapolis Public Schools does not comment on pending litigation.”
In 2022, a Minneapolis resident sued MPS over the policy which gives “underrepresented” teachers favorable outcomes in employment actions. However, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed that case in January of 2025 saying the resident lacked standing.
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