North Dakota education letter from Lisa Finley-DeVille

After my first session as State House Representative for District 4A, I am writing to express my concern about the recent wave of anti-education bills that have been introduced in our state legislature. These bills threaten the quality of education in our state and could have long-lasting negative consequences for our children.

One concerning bill is Senate Bill 2260, related to fundamental parental rights and parental involvement in education. This bill proposes to eliminate certain courses and topics from the curriculum, including history, social studies, and critical race theory. This kind of censorship is not only antithetical to the values of free speech and academic freedom, but it also deprives students of a well-rounded education that prepares them for the complex and diverse world we live in.

I support our public school teachers and our public education system. It is no doubt that our teachers are overworked and underpaid, yet spend countless hours going above and beyond their duties to educate our children. I’ve received multiple messages from educators that know that SB 2260 would have added more requirements that schools and teachers do not need added to their already complex list of requirements. This bill would have placed an undue extreme burden on teachers and hamper school districts in their number one responsibility, which is to keep our learners safe during the school day. 

As our Nation is already facing teacher shortages, our rural North Dakota communities are already having trouble attracting teachers to their districts. SB 2260 would have caused more undesired consequences and forced teachers to go into new fields or take jobs in other fields because of the lack of support for hardworking schools and teachers. It would have caused the decline of our already frail education system and jeopardized our children’s future due to the lack of support. It is unreasonable and unjust to require instructional materials be made available to parents seven days prior to implementation when our educators are already operating beyond capacity to meet state standards. Thankfully, Senate Bill 2260 failed to pass both houses.

Senate Bill 2254 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to intervene in a school or school district that is chronically low-performing. The bill defines chronically low-performing districts as ones that show a “consistent mishandling of processes, reporting, or funds, resulting in inadequate educational services for the district’s students.” A chronically low-performing school is defined as a “school identified by the state for comprehensive or targeted support and improvement in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act for one or more cycles.” Inadequate education services is defined as a “lack of annual progress in academic achievement, student engagement, resource allocation, teacher effectiveness, chronic absenteeism, and persistent subgroup opportunity gaps.” The intervention by the superintendent of public instruction includes withholding of funds, annexation, consolidation, or closure, changes to the curriculum, instruction, assessment, or school calendar, and/or reassignment or hiring of school or school district staff. 

The ambiguity of this bill implies that school districts that fall within the bill’s purview take their responsibilities lightly and are refusing to take action or accountability for the well-being of their student’s success. Many educators work beyond the 40-hour work week and found the attempt to pigeon hold all school districts to standards offensive. It is ridiculous to consider holding all schools to the same cookie-cutter standard when every demographic learns differently. This bill passed and has been filed with the Secretary of State. 

House Bill 1531 was introduced to prohibit institutions of ND higher education from waiving application fees based on certain group characteristics of the applicant. House Bill 1531 has impacted Native American Students in North Dakota who, as we know, are underrepresented and underserved in institutions of higher learning. Tuition waivers and scholarships aimed toward Native American students create opportunities to pursue higher education in colleges and universities throughout North Dakota. Without these waivers and scholarships, students that come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds would have lost the opportunity to attend a college that they might not otherwise be able to attend due to the extravagant costs to apply in some cases, and institutions will lose the opportunity to create cultural diversity that enriches the college experience. 

The intent of House Bill 1531 would have drastically limited the opportunities for everyday citizens to attend universities such as the University of North Dakota. The estimated cost of tuition and fees for attending, for example, UND costs approximately $456.31 per credit and $10,951 per academic year.  For many North Dakotans, colleges have been the only available step up to greater stability for themselves and their communities. Unfortunately, that step is getting steeper; the passage of HB 1531 would have made it much more difficult for students to pay for and adequately resource the cost of attending college. Thankfully, this bill has also failed to pass. 

I urged fellow legislators to reject these anti-education bills and instead invest in our public schools, support our teachers, and promote a well-rounded curriculum that prepares our children for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The attack on our school systems should not go unnoticed. When we have the Superintendent of Public Instruction advocating to pass legislation that would hurt communities like ours, we need to consider how disconnected this person is from our communities.

I have been fortunate to receive my entire education on Fort Berthold Reservation. Our school systems implement core standards but also add an element of cultural education that is important for our youth to receive. My biggest fear is that certain curricula will be challenged and will be a direct threat to our cultural education. Unless you come from a reservation or spend time in a tribal school, you could never understand how important it is for tribal schools to teach about our people’s heritage, culture, and languages. 

These bills are not only short-sighted but also dangerous. Education is a cornerstone of a healthy and thriving society, and any attempt to undermine it is a threat to our future. We must prioritize education funding and ensure that all students have access to a quality education that prepares them for success in life. Our school boards are elected to represent local values, maintain educational standards, and effectively manage school operations. These bills attempt to usurp the role of those already-elected, already serving individuals by appearing to seek to address parental concern and response to the lurid headlines we have seen in recent times.

Public school teachers are the backbone of our education system, and we must support them in any way possible. We should recognize their hard work and dedication, provide them with the resources they need to do their jobs effectively, and compensate them fairly for their efforts, not take away what little power they have. If our lawmakers continue with the dangerous trend of attacking our education system, we will see teachers will leave in groves.    

Representative Lisa Finley-DeVille