Convert very-low-performing public schools to charter schools, self-governed schools or non-public schools — a key and controversial part of a ten-point education plan Republican candidate for governor Scott Jensen unveiled Tuesday at the State Fair. Jensen also pledges to set up a transparent portal system for parents to review curriculum, and he says he’ll ensure parents have a way to voice concerns to their local school board. Jensen says, with approval of the legislature, he’ll create more rigorous academic standards in reading, math, science and social studies — plus ban Critical Race Theory from Minnesota classrooms.
Governor Tim Walz’s campaign manager says Jensen’s “radical plan to convert public schools into private schools and put politicians in charge of students’ learning takes his ‘defund public education’ ideology to a new extreme.”