Blog Archives

Alright – so, I know the session ended months ago and I am just writing my take on it. The reason being it has been such a disappointing year for advocating discipline disparities in the Minnesota education system. Honestly, this is by far the most difficult issue I have ever had to advocate for. Education is the key to success and to living a life worth living. Education is knowledge and knowledge is power. Thus, the reason why this state has such high education disparities. Those with the power do not want to share it nor ever give up.  It does not matter if facts and data suggest children are failing in schools because they are being kicked from their education environment by teachers and administrators who are at best bias and at worst racist.

No one wants to hear they are racist, but those doing it do not want to stop it. I along with so many other parents, organizations, and even some legislators have testified endlessly to sadly no end.

Let’s dissect what happened and who did what and why.

Gov Walz (aka one hoax Minnesotans) put the kitchen sink in his education policy bill as he does every year. Let’s be clear this governor is by far the worst I have ever seen. He preaches sugar, but his policies are as salty as ocean water. The teacher’s unions were against anything good and the governor as usual backed them up and his useless policy proposals were deleted from the final omnibus education bill as they have been for the past several years. No surprise there.

The Senate controlled by Republicans had a new chair this year. Sen. Chamberlain whom I actually like and for the first time gave discipline disparities hearings. Sadly, that is all there were – hearings, where parents spoke about their experiences and we, were told thanks for sharing your story. If I hear one more legislator tell me – thanks for sharing your story, I am going to scream. Chamberlain wanted public funds to go to private schools which of course hell will freeze before the democrats vote for that. Chamberlain said if you want X then take my Y. Neither x nor y went anywhere and all policy parts were sadly taken out of the final bill.

The House controlled by Democrats as usual preached sugar, sugar, and more sugar. They had more hearings on education disparity issues, pretended to care, but when the rubber needed to meet the road sided with those blood-sucking teachers unions and threw the kids under the bus again. Rep. Davnie is the finance chair; ultimately he had the final say even though Richardson chaired the policy committee and Pinto the early childhood. In case, you are wondering why the house has three committees for work that the senate does in one committee then you must not know how dflers function. Lots of hoopla with nothing tangible for communities of color.

Education Minnesota headed by Denise S who rules with an iron fist mostly stayed behind the scenes but her words bled into every committee and every decision including the final ones. No surprise there.

Administrators and lobbyists – this year, they did not send their usual lobbyist, instead principals and others testified but the message was the same which was as cold as Minnesota ice.

In summary, telling our stories about discipline disparities has not worked. I am not sure if it will. Voting for legislators who look like us does not always work as well because when they get there – they become spineless and worthless. Unless you are one or two and those are picked on by the majority of that party.

So what now? I actually have no idea. I do know that insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. We have to come up with different strategies as current ones are not effective. I thank Education Allies team who were relentless in providing data and facts that no one can deny. I thank Solutions not Suspensions’ parents and advocates whose testimonies were inspiring and heartbreaking, sadly it was not enough to sway the legislators and/ or the leadership. If there was one suggestion that I can think of now would be next year is an election year for many of them including all of them in the house. I say we vote out the speaker (Melissa H) from Brooklyn Park. Getting a minority person isn’t always the better choice. We need someone with a spine and backbone to represent that city and all of our communities. Voting for the same people and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. I know she takes pictures with communities of color, but that is it. Her policies are as harsh as needles.

Finally, Minnesota is the only state in the country with a divided legislature. Having a one-party rule in both will not be better. Think about it. If the GOP is in power in both chambers, discipline disparities issues will not prevail. If the DFLers are in charge will be even worse because they will eliminate charter schools, protect the teachers, preach sugar, and practice salt.

As usual, the above words do not reflect any agency, candidate, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Alright – so, as I have mentioned many times the state of Minnesota has become and has been for generations a place that is very difficult for black and brown folks. I am not going to go over why and what we can do about it as I have already done in this blog many many times.

The good news is Dakota County attorney who has been there for decades stepped down from his post. I am no fan of him or any county’s justice system for that matter. Because he left during his tenure, the board commissioners have to select the next county attorney until the next election in a couple of years. Who applied? more of the same who have the same bias policies that created this racial disparity, to begin with.

Kathryn Keena served under Backstrom and if you can believe is worse than him. You see she has indifference attitude towards justice whereas Backstrom was rude and arrogant. She is the wrong person for this and I hope the board does not appoint her. Minnesota is at a crossroads and at a gut-wrenching moment in racial inequalities. If this state is to make any progress in this, people like Ms. Keena are all wrong. They are about the past, not the future.

Elizabeth Lamin – she is from Ramsey county attorney which is the only county that has a minority as the head. My bet is she is probably better than Ms. Keena for sure.

Tom Pugh – a democrat who is a retired judge. He may also be better than Ms. Keena.

Dakota county has a lot of diverse communities including a lot of autism families. As you can see no one looks like us on the board; not yet anyway.

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom & Advocate

Alright – so, the state of Minnesota has become the poster child for racial injustice and disparities of the country. Black and Brown folks in Minnesota are at the bottom of the pit in almost every category from education to health to employment to wealth to the justice system. Why, Why, and Why?

Three reasons:

1. We do not know and have not thus far learned how to use our votes to get what we need. What do we need? Better policies, to appoint people from our communities to be judges, commissioners, board members, etc. For example, Judge Peter Cahill was appointed by the Gov of Minnesota in 2007 then he won two elections which he probably did not even have anyone running against him. Judge Cahill was selected to oversee the trial of the century and will decide the sentencing time by the first black judge to be chief in Hennepin County. Guess who appointed him in 2006? No, not a liberal governor; Gov Pawlenty – the irony of this is interesting Who appointed him you ask? Well – I have written about how we need to run against judges in every category in Minnesota. Sadly, we never do. Imagine if this judge was someone who reflected us. How amazing would that have been.
2. To run for office – I mean by black and brown folks who have a backbone and not butt kissers. Sadly, majority (not all) black and brown legislators brownnose to whatever party they belong to. They forget who elected them and who they are supposed to represent. After black and brown legislators are in office, they need to write policies and laws that hold racists accountable, change and amend policies/laws that are hurting our communities, etc. This includes protecting not teachers’ unions who fail and kick our kids from their educational environments, voting no to giving twenty million dollars to a white life in Mpls while giving cents to black lives taken by Mpls police. This simply means representing your voters – period.
3. Sue everyone and anyone who discriminates against you even if you lose or think you will lose. The goal being make them uncomfortable as they have made you feel.
4. I do not honestly think if we do above three well with a laser-like focus we do not need the fourth one which is demonstrations. This is time-consuming and is basically begging someone else to give you the power you already have.

Think about this: What if the few black attorneys I can think of run to be judges or county district attorneys. For example, we (all Minnesotans) have heard of Nekima Levy; clearly, she is an eloquent speaker who has a legal sound mind. Imagine instead of marching in the streets of Hugo, MN, she ran the halls of Hennepin county by running against attorney Mike Freeman and defeating him.

Another example, imagine if black attorney Cedric Frazier instead of pandering to the teacher’s unions run to be a judge where he oversaw families suing schools for discrimination and disparities.

Imagine if Athena H (And I do not even like her) instead of saying useless words in a public safety committee in MN House of Reps run for a county attorney where she can make an actual difference instead of just talking. I blogged about this before, back then out of Minnesota’s 87 counties – there was one minority county attorney. Think about that. How insane is that? We cannot just march. We need to also become those that make the law, run agencies, run courtroom, etc., etc.

Alice Walker said, “The most common way for people to lose power is by thinking they don’t have any”. You see we assume we do not have the power to be judges, lawmakers, district, and county attorneys, etc., etc., etc. But we do. We should not always ask someone else to give us a seat at their table. We need to create our own tables, get our own chairs, and fill with diversity, equality, and fairness for all. That is the true American idealism and dream.

What makes America great is the idea that anyone from nothing can make it and be whatever their heart desires as long as their mind works towards that. I remember I once went on vacation to Paris, (no not Paris, Texas), France. And I remember being so excited to be the city of love and life. To my surprise, every French person, I have met wanted me to tell them about America and how great it is. There was a McDonald’s restaurant near our hotel, and it was always busy; I remember thinking why anyone would want to eat a big mac when there is French food everywhere. You see Mcdonald’s represented this great nation that promises justice, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to everyone.

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom and Advocate

Alright – so, Minnesota is arguably one of the racist states in the country. No, this not my opinion; it is a fact and based on data. While Minnesota has exceptional education and health care system; black and brown people are failing in schools and have one of the highest racial health disparities in the nation.

Minnesota Governor was being interviewed by Gayle King from CBS regarding yesterday’s verdict and he kept on preaching as though he was running for office. Walz stated Minnesota is a good place to live and raise a family except for black and brown people including education, health, homeownership, etc. At one point Gayle K told him “You are the governor, do something about it”. This coming from Gov Walz is ridiculous given he is the mother and father of systemic racism. Gov Walz has been here for years now and we are still struggling with disparities in every corner. Department of Human Services under him has discriminated against more black and brown employees than the past several governors combined. His health dept commissioner refused to hire a Somali Ph.D. public health professional from Mayo even though she wasted his time and interviewed him kazillion times. Note this is the health agency that hires clueless hillbilies as asst commissioners and/or in leadership positions. Under Gov Walz, teachers (protected by teacher’s union which he unapologetically supports) fail our kids while he helps the adults and screws with students.

The audacity of him preaching equality would be Jay Leno funny if it weren’t true. He needs to take a look at the mirror because he will see systemic racism. He needs to be a one-term governor. We (Black and Brown) folks need to stop voting for politicians like Walz who dismiss, disregard, and discriminate with impunity.

Something is rotten in Minnesota.

How did Minnesota become one of the most inequitable states?

Racial inequality in Minneapolis is among the worst in the nation. 

How Minneapolis, one of the most liberal cities struggles with racism.

Minnesota 2nd worst for inequalities for blacks in the nation. 

Minnesota among the worst in education gap.

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Dear MN DLF Chair Mr. Martin,

I guess you have finally displayed your true racist colors. I see the Minnesota DFL staff and board, and it could not be any more vanilla. An Alabama golf club in the 1950s had more diversity. The only person of color is your secretary. How lovely.

I still cannot understand why so many minorities do not see the MN DFL caucus’ true colors. It is not an accident for a state this liberal to have such a horrible and shameful racial disparity record. It is because of exactly how your staff and board are. Think about it. What is even sadder is that you always manage to find some minority person who is clueless and does not understand policy from poop. You use them as a token to get our votes then drop them faster than a hot potato.

Thus far, our people have not figured your bias and subliminally racist policies in your hiring, how you help minority legislators or lack thereof, how all these vanilla liberal politicians preach equity during elections then practice inequality after they win.

I know I keep hoping the next election we will get smarter; it just has not happened yet. I also know the other side could not sell a minority voter who was drowning a life jacket. You on the other hand can sell a minority person who is drowning – water.

Don’t get too comfortable though we will not be stupid forever.

Finally, think about how Gov Walz fooled all of us with his one Minn hoax crap. Then when the rubber needed to hit the road, see how many Somalis or even black/brown staff with any shred of power in his exclusive office. Think about how many Somalis have helped you win elections. Where are they now? Do they work for you? Do they work for one hoax MN gov? do they work in the MN House controlled by the DFL? Of course not.

This is soooooooo frustrating. I don’t know why our people fail to see you for who you really are; a closet racist who fools us with charisma and charm every election cycle.

Guess who was the last governor who did autism research? That is right Gov. Pawlenty. Yet children born in Minnesota to Somali parents have the highest autism rate in the country.

Examples of how subliminal MN DFLers are:

1. Asst Comm for Minn Dept of Education was a committee administrator (CA) in the MN DFL house of reps. I dare you to name a black/brown CA who is now in any state agency let alone an asst comm. Remember Abou Amara. He was arguably one of the smartest CA’s I have ever seen. How did MN DFLers reward him? You guessed it – no job or career advancement. This is one example of many black and brown folks who are highly articulate, intelligent, and educated but are never hired nor appreciated by the MN DFL party.
2. https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/03/30/ayanna-pressley-democrat-committee
3. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article240156358.html

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Alright – so, Education Minnesota which as I have said before is very powerful politically in this state has done it again. They crafted and led a bill that will reduce and get rid of one of the pathways many teachers of color enter in the classroom. Yes, they are charming, savvy, and even got someone who looks like us to do their dirty work. PELSB also supported this which surprised me. They have a fair amount of diverse folks there, but for some reason; they do not seem to get the gravity of this bill. Anytime the teacher licensure body and the teacher’s unions agree is never good for our kids. This is really sad. The principal’s lobbyists were against this bill, but not to hire or nurture teachers of color which make-up about 20% or so, but to support the 80% white teachers they normally hire.

I soooo wanna cry right now. Who is in the corner of the children and families?

Minnesota House of Representatives Education Policy Committee

Chair – Rep. Richardson

March 1, 2021

My son who has nonverbal autism was suspended by teacher Kelly Morris and principal Jaysen Anderson on Thursday, May 3rd, 5:18pm in 2018. The teacher neglected to give him his communication device, disrupted his routine then called the principal and security on my kid.

I never took him back. My son now goes to a charter school which has been simply wonderful. They understand he has a disability and does not comprehend suspension nor cause/effect. I will never forget that day.

       Re: HF 1376

Madam Chair and Members, many thanks for the opportunity to testify today. I too oppose this horrifying bill along with the many other testifiers. My reason is simply from the parent’s perspective. The teacher who suspended my child was licensed and followed all the “so-called” licensure pathways. Yet, she was not trained in teaching high school students, nor did she understand my son’s needs or our culture.

My son’s current charter schoolteacher did not follow this so-called licensure pathway and I would take Asha over Kelly any day in any school. You see – Madam Chair and members, Asha is a kind, caring and compassionate teacher who reflects my son, understands our culture and most of all sees my son’s potential.

I am heartbroken about this bill. I am mortified that it was written by a black man who should at the very minimum understand how hard it is for black and brown students to learn. To be an effective and amazing teacher does not require one size fits all pathway.

Let me put it in another way that you all can perhaps understand. All the legislatures in this committee are all house of representative, right? But your journey and pathway to this place at this moment have been different from one another. Some of you are attorneys, some are teachers, some are mental health professionals, and others got here from different areas. Imagine, if you were all required to take the same pathway to become a legislature. The majority of you would not be here.

Life is not one size fits all. We must enhance not restrict the pathway to finding knowledgeable and competent teachers who reflect our children. This bill will hurt our kids and ultimately our state.

Please reconsider and vote no on this bill.

As always, I thank you for your time. Idil – Somali Autism Mom

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Minnesota House of Representatives

Education Policy Committee

Chair – Rep. Richardson  

February 24, 2021

 My son who has nonverbal autism was suspended by teacher Kelly Morris and principal Jaysen Anderson on Thursday, May 3^rd, 5:18pm in 2018. The teacher neglected to give him his communication device, disrupted his routine then called the principal and security on my kid.

I will never forget that day.                                 

I never took him back. My son now goes to a charter school which has been simply wonderful. They understand he has a disability and does not comprehend suspension nor cause/effect.

Madam Chair and Members, many thanks for the opportunity to testify today. Reading this legislation feels like déjà vu. Gov Walz and the Minnesota Department of Education have been saying school districts use non-exclusionary methods before kicking a child from his or her educational environment.

The problem is I am not sure if they believe this and really want it. Here is why: I have been around the advocacy block for over a decade. And I know that what the governor wants the governor gets because he holds the ever-powerful veto pen. In other words, governors can negotiate what is important to them and their constituents pass and become law, but only if they want it.

However, this language (non-exclusionary) in section 7, subd 12, lines 21.24 to 22.4 gives parents like me the illusion but not the tangible action our kids need. For example, if Gov Walz really wants this then he should have made sure Education Minnesota supports this on the record. His office would have also made sure they communicated with the principals and administrators to get their support. In the end, perhaps no-one would get everything they want, but everyone would get something they need.

If I were a betting person, I would bet this language will be scrapped during the conference committee and Governor and the state education department will blame the other side thereby guaranteeing minority votes while doing nothing to ensure the success of our kids was accomplished.

I know I am sure I have irritated some of the politicians here, but please put yourself in my shoes, put yourself in so many student’s and family’s shoes. Imagine testifying for the same bill knowing while the seeds appear to be good, it will never produce fruitful fruits.

Idil – Frustrated Somali Autism Mom & Advocate

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Alright – so, Rep Craig sadly won again in the last election, though not by a lot; only a mere couple of percentages and just a few thousand votes. Yep, this should tell you that people in the 2nd district which includes lots and lots of minorities did not vote for her including me. She has refused and neglected to address this district’s needs and concerns. She has refused to hire (other than powerless community outreach, liaison, etc) folks who represent this thriving and diverse district.

Most of all, she has neglected to speak and help autism families; even though she is an autism parent. How do you like them apples?

As we all know, Minnesota and nationwide – school districts protect teachers and their unions over children and families. We also know that special education has never been fully funded by Congress to what it promised. Nevertheless, Rep. Craig gave this issue a deaf ear and a blind eye. If you look at her legislative record; it will make you wonder what the heck she has been doing. A toddler could have done more work. On the surface, she appears genuine, but internally she is as cold as Minnesota ice and as clueless as Rose from the Golden Girls show. She often holds as though that is something to brag about, these useless town-hall meetings but she never takes her constituents’ concerns to Congress, nor address them.

Her opponent from last year had a lot of good ideas, but as I have said before a DFL’er can sell water to a drowning minority person whereas a GOP could not sell a life jacket to a drowning minority voter. As a result, we have her in office now; hopefully only until the next election. I hope her opponent next time, realizes what makes America fantastic is its ability to give everyone the same opportunity and level the playing field. America is amazing because of its diversity, its colorful colors, its inclusiveness, and most of all its welcoming demeanor. That is how you can win an election; welcome all and include all, not just with words which is what Craig does, but with tangible action which she has failed miserably and purposefully.

The above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Alright – so, I am still mad and will never forget what Kelly Morris and Jaysen Anderson did to my kid. As a result of the heartbreak and sadness from that day; I have been trying to advocate in the Minnesota state legislature for policies and laws to ensure another autistic child and family does not go through that horrible life-altering experience.

This afternoon, the Minn Senate Education Policy & Finance Committee had lots of incredible bills that could (if they pass) move this suspension needle towards some light of hope and fairness. I testified; below is my testimony. Here is the direct link as well.

Minnesota Senate Education Policy & Finance Committee

Chair Sen. Chamberlain

February 24, 2021

Mr. Chair and Members,

Many thanks for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Idil Abdull, I am an autism mom & advocate. I would like to offer my support for the following legislations: My son who has non-verbal autism was suspended by teacher Kelly Morris and principal Jaysen Anderson on Thursday, May 3rd; 5:18pm in 2018. The teacher neglected to give him his communication device, changed his routine then called the principal and security on my kid. I will never forget that day. I never took him back. My son now goes to a charter school which has been simply wonderful. They understand he has a disability and does not comprehend suspension nor cause/effect.

S.F 446, I fully support this bill. One of the reasons, Minnesota has a shameful education gap is that we do not have enough teachers of color. Black boys are less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to attend college if they have one black teacher in elementary school (Gershenson et al., 2017). Think about that for a minute – one black teacher can reduce dropout and increase attending college, thereby reducing education gap. I know 100% if my son’s teacher reflected him, he would not have been kicked out of his education environment. His current teacher, principal & director (Ahmed, Asha, and Maria) have been nothing short of superb, kind, and welcoming to my son and our family.

Doesn’t every student deserve that?

https://releases.jhu.edu/2017/04/05/with-just-one-black-teacher-black-students-more-likely-to- graduate/

S.F 781, I cannot thank the author enough for having a spine to introduce this legislation. For far too long, schools kept incompetent and ineffective teachers simply because of their seniority. Teacher of the year, Qorsho Hassan still lost her job because of seniority-based layoffs. This practice must stop if we want to keep effective teachers in the classrooms and reduce education gap for kids. Please take a read below.

https://www.swnewsmedia.com/savage_pacer/news/education/award-winning-teachers-of-color-lost- to-budget-cuts-in-burnsville-call-for-introspection-policy/article_a83023c4-a222-5133-8426- 5c7ed8aa4bfa.html

https://www.aei.org/education/k-12-schooling/why-dont-teachers-get-fired-for-poor-teaching/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/2018/05/teachers-agree-teachers-union-makes-harder-fire-bad- teachers/

S.F 784, Seriously, if there was a heaven in education; today’s committee hearings would be Mozart music to my ears along with so many other parents. Based on data I received, my son’s teacher who kicked him out of his educational environment did not have the training needed to help my son.

The idea of school districts must mentor and retain teachers including those from black and brown communities is – oh what is the word……Fantastic. If this committee passes these amazing legislations and gets students and families to the finish-line this year, Minnesota will finally have an attainable chance to reduce education gap and decrease unnecessary suspensions. I thank the author for this bill from the bottom of my heart. And I urge all the members here to co-author all these remarkable and forward-thinking legislations. The time to act and support the students is now.

https://sites.ed.gov/osers/2019/08/effective-personnel-for-all-attract-prepare-retain/

With gratitude,

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

As usual, the above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom

Alright – so, Dave Hutchinson become sheriff in Hennepin County (the largest in Minnesota) defeating Stanek with less than 0.44% or about 2,300 votes. This was not a landslide win by any stretch of the word. How did he win? two words; community outreach. Hutchinson campaigned on building bridges, bringing communities together, and representing underserved folks who have been marginalized. All commendable and sounded good during an election. I remember him coming to one Somali event with some guy who kept telling us (the audience) to vote for him because he was going to hire Somalis in positions of power and was going to treat our community fair and kind.

Shortly after taking office, Hutchinson took away the transparency portion of the county by encrypting radio information. In other words, let’s hide from the public what is happening at the Sheriff’s office. Why you ask? good question for the guy who run on transparency and accountability. This was apparently a surprise to some county commissioners. What now?

He also released his annual 2019 report which highlighted community engagement and outreach. Yep. How lovely.

Fast forward to the end of December 2020, with the Sheriff Hutchinson’s blessing, his officers’ stormed into this family’s home and traumatized a small child with a disability after they killed his brother and harassed their entire family. Now you ask; where is the outrage from our community? where are all those people telling folks to vote for him because he was going to be kind and compassionate.

You see we reap who we vote for. I am profoundly disappointed in this Sheriff’s response to this child who clearly (anyone who watched that horrifying video could see) was scared and did not understand what was happening. But I am livid and pissed at those from our community who do not understand policy from poop and allow our votes to be taken for granted.

Above words do not reflect any candidate, agency, or committee.

Idil – Somali Autism Mom