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Schools in Minnesota have been closing or providing remote learning options in the wake of an ICE shooting that has sparked violent protests, which experts tell Digital is a political move that will ultimately result in learning loss and unnecessary harm to children.
In response to the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, the St. Paul, Minnesota school system announced temporary closures and the option for students to learn remotely. Additionally, Minneapolis public schools are offering remote learning until February.
The choice to take children out of classrooms was described as being due to “safety concerns,” but experts who spoke to Digital say it’s a decision based purely on politics that will negatively affect students in the same way COVID-19 lockdowns did.
“Minnesota’s Teachers Unions did generational damage to the state’s children when they demanded schools be locked down for prolonged periods during COVID,” Stefano Forte, executive director of 1776 Project PAC, told Digital. “Once again, the teachers union is acting against the interest of children and showing themselves as being nothing more than a political arm of the Democratic Party.”
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Students gather and listen to speakers during a school walkout to protest federal immigration enforcement at the State Capitol building on Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Numerous studies and reports have been released in recent years showing that remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic severely hindered student learning, including a Department of Education report in 2022, reported on by Digital, showing math and reading scores declined more during the coronavirus pandemic than they have in decades.
Since the ICE shooting that set off protests and violent agitators across Minneapolis, numerous videos have circulated on social media showing young school-age children at protests, including one apparent student walk-out at the Minnesota state capitol.
Paul Runko, senior director of Strategic Initiatives for Defending Education, told Digital, “Nearly six years after the start of the COVID pandemic, American families know that school closures and mass remote learning were a complete disaster for kids; academically, socially, emotionally, and mentally.”
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A pedestrian walks on the University of Minnesota campus. (Getty)
“Every day out of the classroom is a day students can’t get back. These decisions aren’t being made for children, they’re being made for adults, often to score political points or to accommodate priorities that have nothing to do with student success. Students deserve classrooms, not excuses.”
Earlier this year, Digital reported on a release from Defending Education alleging that a state-funded teacher preparation partnership in Minnesota explicitly limits eligibility based on race, possibly in violation of federal law.
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Minneapolis police in tactical gear arrive on the street in downtown Minneapolis as protesters gather on Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Rhyen Staley, director of research for Defending Education, told Digital that far-left ideology is ingrained in educational decisions being made throughout the state.
“What is happening with Minnesota schools is a feature, not a bug, of the current dominant ideology permeating Colleges of Education and the education system writ large,” Staley said. “Too many teachers are being trained to be far-left social justice activists to the detriment of the children they are hired to serve. This tragically will continue until this is changed.”
Digital reached out to Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools for comment.
