Kendall Qualls: Tim Walz has destroyed Minnesota’s education system

Minnesota’s education system is in freefall. As reading and math scores have fallen to an all-time low, Gov. Tim Walz and DFL leaders are sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring our children’s basic needs. Instead of focusing on solutions, Walz is doubling down on political agendas that don’t belong anywhere near a classroom.

A disturbing report in Alpha News revealed that Minnesota schools are racing to teach gender identity and sexual orientation to third graders. Students who are struggling with basic math, writing and reading skills are being indoctrinated by gender ideology. At the same time, they continue to fall further behind in core subjects. This is not education, this is indoctrination.

Unfortunately, this is the Walz education agenda in a nutshell: prioritizing gender-affirming care and teachers’ unions over education standards, student successes and parents. Moreover, the children who depend on public education for their future are paying the price.

It wasn’t always this way. Not long ago, Minnesota’s schools were a standard-bearer for the rest of the country. In 2021, the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked Minnesota’s education system seventh in the nation. Today, our schools have fallen to nineteenth, and the trend continues downward. Fourth-grade reading scores are now below the national average for the first time in state history. The majority of Minnesota students no longer meet grade-level benchmarks in reading or math.

I know what a strong, stable education can do for a child. Growing up in dire poverty in Harlem and a trailer park in Oklahoma, education was my only path to opportunity. It gave me, and millions of others across the country, the tools to build better lives for ourselves and our future families. Unfortunately, under Tim Walz, that door of opportunity, and a pathway towards the American Dream, is closing and students are being left behind.

Parents deserve choices, transparency, and respect. They should not have to fight officials to learn what their children are being taught. And for too long, their concerns have been dismissed by politicians and bureaucrats who believe they know better than mom or dad.

Restoring trust in our education system starts with restoring parental rights. Parents deserve transparency about curriculum, clear communication from schools, and the freedom to choose the education that best fits their child’s needs, whether that be a public, private, charter, or homeschool education. When schools are held accountable and parents are empowered, students thrive and communities become stronger as a result.

As the next governor of Minnesota, I will focus on education, not political ideology. In addition to championing school choice, I will sign an executive order that will allow retired professionals, experts in their fields including nurses, doctors, lawyers, and trade professionals, to be eligible to teach in public schools without earning a teacher’s college degree or certification.

A similar program was recently launched in Florida where veterans and first responders can obtain teaching credentials without a degree, aiming to fill hard-to-staff classrooms and open doors for veteran families. Minnesota should follow their lead.

We’ve all heard Tim Walz try to distract from his record with more education funding and new materials but it’s all baloney. The fact is that money isn’t going to students’ education; it’s putting tampons in boys’ bathrooms and creating social studies lessons that border on progressive, far-left talking points. Instead of teaching kids how to think, this administration is focused on telling them what to think.

Minnesota’s strength has always come from an educated workforce and a strong middle class. A top-tier education system built this state. It created opportunities for innovation and allowed generations of Minnesotans to rise as far as their talents and hard work could take them, but that foundation is quickly cracking. If we don’t course-correct now, today’s education crisis will become tomorrow’s economic disaster.

Our children and parents deserve better than ideological experiments and empty graduation statistics. They deserve a shot at earning a real education and graduating high school with every door open for them and every opportunity to succeed. It’s time to put our kids first — their future depends on it.

Kendall Qualls is a conservative candidate for Governor, U.S. Army veteran, and former business leader. He is also the founder and president of TakeCharge, an organization devoted to uniting Americans of all backgrounds around a shared history and common set of beliefs.

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