Quality Education As A Civil Right: Renewed Push For Page Amendment At The Capitol

CBS Minnesota

February 15, 2021

ST. PAUL, MINN. (WCCO) — A proposal to ensure a quality public education as a constitutional right is resurfacing at the Minnesota State Capitol, an effort that supporters say takes on new urgency with the pandemic widening an already vast achievement gap that hurts poorer Minnesota children and students of color.

The Page amendment — named for retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, who has pushed for equity in education — was introduced Monday. It would change the state’s constitutional language to say the following:

All children have a fundamental right to a quality public education that fully prepares them with the skills necessary for participation in the economy, our democracy, and society, as measured against uniform achievement standards set forth by the state. It is a paramount duty of the state to ensure quality public schools that fulfill this fundamental right.

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