Minneapolis Public Schools is facing a federal civil rights complaint after its American Indian Education Department announced a back-to-school backpack and supplies giveaway strictly limited to American Indian students, in clear violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The event, scheduled for August 24 and 25 and promoted on the department’s Facebook page under the heading “2026-27 School Year Distribution of Backpacks & School Supplies,” is explicitly restricted to “MPS American Indian Students ONLY.”
Participants must be enrolled in Minneapolis Public Schools and have a completed Federal 506 form or tribal affiliation identification form on file to receive the assistance.
University of Michigan Professor Emeritus Mark Perry, who has filed nearly a thousand civil rights complaints against educational institutions for similar race-based discrimination, has submitted the complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
In the filing, Perry states that the event “illegally excludes certain students based on their race and ethnicity, including students who are Asian, Black, White, and Hispanic.”
Perry is seeking remedies that would require the district either to cancel the segregated giveaway or open it to all Minneapolis Public Schools students regardless of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.
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