We are in the midst of a global pandemic and the State of Minnesota is under a shelter-in-place order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While schools across Minnesota are currently closed and families are grappling with the impacts of this crisis, the Minneapolis Public Schools Board has chosen to proceed with voting on a controversial, complex plan to restructure and redesign Minneapolis Public Schools. This plan, known as the CDD, will shift school boundaries and attendance zones for thousands of students, transform some schools from K-8 to K-5, shudder some popular magnet school programs, while creating new citywide magnets, and will cost MPS tens of millions of dollars to fully implement. It is also unclear how this plan will specifically address racial inequities with regard to academic outcomes between white students and students of color, literacy rates, discipline disparities, special education, alternative school placements, and the lack of teacher diversity-- systemic issues which cannot be addressed by reshuffling students and programming around.

The Minneapolis Public School Board is set to vote on April 28th, 2020, and it is unclear whether the public will be allowed to physically attend the meeting and provide public comment on the record. A change as drastic as the CDD, should not occur without the opportunity for public input at physical meetings.

Finally, given MPS's history of failing to successfully implement previous comprehensive plans, broken promises, and sustained inability to address racial disparities in academic outcomes for students of color, we demand that MPS invest in an equity audit of its plan by a credible, national firm that can provide MPS and the public with more insight regarding the soundness and efficacy of this plan and its likelihood for success or failure at closing the academic performance and opportunity gaps between white students and students of color.