The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that its Civil Rights Division has filed a federal lawsuit against Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) for racially discriminating against teachers employed in the system.
The DOJ is alleging that the district’s collective bargaining agreement unlawfully gives preferential treatment to teachers based on race, color, national origin, or sex.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
It challenges provisions negotiated between MPS and the teachers’ union, arguing that the district uses categories such as “underrepresented population” to grant certain employees protections during layoffs, involuntary reassignments, and reinstatement decisions that are not available to others.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, this system effectively grants special protections to teachers who fall within designated demographic groups, while disadvantaging those who do not.
DOJ Targets MPS Partnership with “Black Men Teach”
The lawsuit also scrutinizes MPS’s partnership with the Black Men Teach program.
The DOJ alleges that fellows in the program receive employment advantages denied to other teachers, including extra paid training days and exemption from standard layoff rules.
The complaint asserts that these benefits are offered to black male teachers but not to women or non-black teachers, placing the district in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, or religion.
MPS has openly set racial hiring targets as part of its DEI initiatives, seeking to raise the proportion of staff who identify as “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” (BIPOC) to at least 40 percent by 2026.
The district is requiring at least 54.3 percent of new teacher hires in 2026–2027 to identify as BIPOC.
Bondi: Schools Must Be “A Bastion of Merit”
Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the policies, stating:
“Discrimination is unacceptable in all forms, especially when it comes to hiring decisions.
“Our public education system in Minnesota and across the country must be a bastion of merit and equal opportunity — not DEI.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon added that federal law is unequivocal.
“Employers may not provide more favorable terms and conditions of employment based on an employee’s race and sex,” she said.
“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.”
DOJ Seeks Permanent Ban on Racial Preferences
The Justice Department is asking the court to declare that MPS’s contract provisions violate Title VII and to issue a permanent injunction blocking the district from implementing or negotiating similar arrangements in the future.
The lawsuit marks one of the most direct federal challenges yet to public school DEI hiring structures, signaling an aggressive push by the Trump administration to restore merit-based employment standards and roll back race-based preferences in education systems nationwide.
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