Opinion | Minneapolis Schools Discriminate by Race

‘The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,” Chief Justice John Roberts famously wrote in 2007. Yet too many institutions continue to discriminate in the name of remedying discrimination. The latest example is Minneapolis Public Schools.

The new Minneapolis teachers collective-bargaining agreement requires that layoffs be based on seniority—also known as “last-in, first-out”—if positions have to be cut for financial reasons. But minority teachers tend to be younger and less experienced than white teachers. So the contract exempts members of an “underrepresented group” from the seniority layoff rule.