| 1 | 1 | | 1.1 A bill for an act |
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| 2 | 2 | | 1.2 relating to education; repealing the American Indian mascot prohibition; repealing |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1.3 Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.041. |
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| 4 | 4 | | 1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: |
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| 5 | 5 | | 1.5 Section 1. REPEALER. |
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| 6 | 6 | | 1.6 Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.041, is repealed. |
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| 7 | 7 | | 1.7 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment for |
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| 8 | 8 | | 1.8the 2025-2026 school year and later. |
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| 9 | 9 | | 1Section 1. |
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| 10 | 10 | | REVISOR CR/LJ 25-0345602/07/25 |
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| 11 | 11 | | State of Minnesota |
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| 12 | 12 | | This Document can be made available |
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| 13 | 13 | | in alternative formats upon request |
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| 14 | 14 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 15 | 15 | | H. F. No. 518 |
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| 16 | 16 | | NINETY-FOURTH SESSION |
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| 17 | 17 | | Authored by Anderson, P. H., and Knudsen02/13/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Education Policy 121A.041 AMERICAN INDIAN MASCOTS PROHIBITED. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the |
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| 20 | 20 | | meanings given. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) "American Indian" means an individual who is: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (1) a member of an Indian Tribe or Band, as membership is defined by the Tribe or Band, |
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| 23 | 23 | | including: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (i) any Tribe or Band terminated since 1940; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (ii) any Tribe or Band recognized by the state in which the Tribe or Band resides; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) a descendant, in the first or second degree, of an individual described in clause (1); |
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| 27 | 27 | | (3) considered by the Secretary of the Interior to be an Indian for any purpose; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (4) an Inuit, Aleut, or other Alaska Native; or |
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| 29 | 29 | | (5) a member of an organized Indian group that received a grant under the Indian Education |
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| 30 | 30 | | Act of 1988 as in effect the day preceding October 20, 1994. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) "District" means a district under section 120A.05, subdivision 8. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (d) "Mascot" means any human, nonhuman animal, or object used to represent a school and its |
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| 33 | 33 | | population. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (e) "Public school" or "school" means a public school under section 120A.05, subdivisions 9, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 11, 13, and 17, and a charter school under chapter 124E. |
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| 36 | 36 | | Subd. 2.Prohibition on American Indian mascots.(a) Starting September 1, 2026, a public |
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| 37 | 37 | | school may not have or adopt a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian |
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| 38 | 38 | | Tribe, individual, custom, or tradition to be used as a mascot, nickname, logo, letterhead, or team |
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| 39 | 39 | | name of the school, district, or school within the district, unless the school has obtained an exemption |
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| 40 | 40 | | under subdivision 3. |
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| 41 | 41 | | (b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) does not apply to a public school located within the |
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| 42 | 42 | | reservation of a federally recognized Tribal Nation in Minnesota, where at least 95 percent of |
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| 43 | 43 | | students meet the state definition of American Indian student. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (c) A school district with a prohibited American Indian mascot according to paragraph (a), that |
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| 45 | 45 | | has not received an exemption according to subdivision 3, must report to the chairs and ranking |
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| 46 | 46 | | minority members of the legislative committees having jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade |
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| 47 | 47 | | 12 education policy by February 14, 2025, and again by February 1, 2026, on the district's progress |
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| 48 | 48 | | to comply with this section; and the district must submit copies of the reports to the Legislative |
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| 49 | 49 | | Reference Library. The reports must include the following: |
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| 50 | 50 | | (1) confirmation that the district has removed the American Indian mascot, nickname, logo, |
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| 51 | 51 | | letterhead, or team name from the district website; |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) confirmation that the board of the district has approved a new mascot, nickname, logo, |
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| 53 | 53 | | letterhead, or team name; |
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| 54 | 54 | | (3) a summary of the district's progress on removing the American Indian mascot, nickname, |
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| 55 | 55 | | logo, letterhead, or team name from uniforms, equipment, signs, elements of facilities, and other |
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| 56 | 56 | | district items; and |
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| 57 | 57 | | (4) a summary of resources necessary to comply with the prohibition in paragraph (a) and the |
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| 58 | 58 | | district's plan to raise and allocate any necessary funds. |
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| 59 | 59 | | Subd. 3.Exemption.A public school may seek an exemption to subdivision 2 by submitting |
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| 60 | 60 | | a request in writing to all 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations in Minnesota and to the Tribal |
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| 61 | 61 | | Nations Education Committee by September 1, 2023. The exemption is denied if any of the 11 |
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| 62 | 62 | | Tribal Nations or the Tribal Nations Education Committee oppose the exemption by December 15, |
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| 63 | 63 | | 2023. A public school whose request for an exemption is denied must comply with subdivision 2 |
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| 64 | 64 | | by September 1, 2026. |
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| 65 | 65 | | 1R |
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| 66 | 66 | | APPENDIX |
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| 67 | 67 | | Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 25-03456 |
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