EXCLUSIVE: A new report from a leading advocacy group alleges that a race and gender center at the University of Minnesota is supplying K-12 teachers with ethnic studies lessons that promote a variety of left-wing causes, including defunding the police, Black Lives Matter, and the dangers of "white supremacy" and "settler colonialism."

The report, from the education watchdog group Defending Education, focuses on RIDGS, a University of Minnesota hub that builds materials for Minnesota classrooms with lessons themed around Black Lives Matter, the death of George Floyd, "radical capitalism," and "settler colonialism."

RIDGS’s Ethnic Studies Initiative explains on its website that it works "directly with K-12 teachers, staff, and students to ensure our programming meets their immediate and long-term needs."

The report describes a course assignment that calls on students to create "protest art" for a "cause" that the students choose, and the students are given suggestions, including "creating liberatory art meant to make people feel safe in spaces that they do not already feel safe or welcome in."

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Some "optional" themes for the students include "Black Lives Matter," "people over property," "defund the police," and "all power to the people."

Course documents also include a "social identity wheel activity guide" that helps students figure out their different identities, including if they fall into a "privileged" or "marginalized" group.

Minnesota law, signed by Gov. Tim Walz in 2023, requires districts to offer ethnic studies at the high school level by 2026‑27, and provide instruction in elementary and middle school by 2027‑28. The state is currently building implementation plans in order to do this, which presumably would include the University of Minnesota.

"It is deeply concerning to see the University of Minnesota’s ethnic studies initiative working directly with K–12 teachers and students on ideological concepts like the guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement and exercises that ask students to sort themselves into ‘privileged’ or ‘marginalized’ groups," Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives in K-12 programs for Defending Education, exclusively told Fox News Digital after the report’s release.

"This goes far beyond teaching about history or culture — it’s about imposing a particular worldview in the classroom. UMN is yet another example of how political agendas developed in higher education are filtering down into K–12 schools, shaping what children are taught and how they see themselves and others."

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The report from Defending Education isn’t the first time the University of Minnesota has faced scrutiny over promoting far-left ideology.

In 2023, UMN liberal arts professor Melanie Yazzie called for people to "dismantle" and "decolonize" America during a pro-Palestinian event.

In Defending Education’s report, campus emails obtained via FOIA request show faculty members circulating calls for anti-Israel demonstrations and seeking volunteers to ""honor martyred Palestinians" and describing the situation in Israel as a "genocide."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a university spokesperson said, "The University of Minnesota is steadfast in its commitment to the principles of academic freedom."

Additionally, the spokesperson provided a link with more information on the university’s "approach."

The spokesperson did not address questions about how this program would be vetted, if parents are notified or can opt out, or if the university condones or supports the messages promoted in the curriculum. 

Reagan Dugan, Project Manager for Higher Education at Defending Education, called the situation "troubling."

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"Minnesota and many other institutions have framed political activism and divisive ideology as legitimate academic study under the guise of Ethnic Studies," Dugan explained. 

"However, courses focused on questions like ‘how indigenous feminists have theorized from ‘the flesh’ of their embodied experience of colonialism,’ and calling for students to "consider how indigenous women are articulating decolonization and the embodiment of autonomy through scholarship, cultural revitalization, and activism," show their framing to be dubious at best."

Dugan added, "UMN's Ethnic Studies initiative is proof that the deeply divisive and ideological curriculum contained in Ethnic Studies is not just a higher education problem. By cloaking outright political activism in academic terms, the program aims to sneak divisive ideology into the state curriculum. Encouraging 6th grade students to embrace slogans like ‘Defund the Police’ has no place in our schools."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) held a ceremony Thursday at the Nahal Oz base marking the second anniversary of when it was attacked by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.

The General Staff Forum, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Yiska Steinberg, the widow of the late former Nahal Brigade commander Col. Yonatan Steinberg, were in attendance. At 6:29 a.m. local time — the same time the attacks started in 2023 — the attendees held a moment of silence in memory of those who fell on Oct. 7, 2023, and in the war that followed.

After the moment of silence, Col. Ido Kass, who led the inquiry into the battle, recounted the sequence of events that occurred on Oct. 7, 2023, at the Nahal Oz base.

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In addition to the memorial ceremony, members of the General Staff Forum took part in a panel called, "Memory, Responsibility, Heroism, and Hope." The panel also included Cpt. Bar Zonshine, who commanded and fought in battles in communities near the Gaza Strip. Two former hostages, Chen and Agam Goldstein-Almog, were also part of the panel.

"On this day, we face head-on the failure of October 7th and look forward toward our future. We bow our heads before the civilians, commanders, and troops who bravely gave their lives. Our commitment is to continue accompanying the bereaved families, the troops, the wounded, both in body and in spirit, as well as the survivors of captivity. In addition, we will not rest and will not be silent until we bring back the last of the fallen hostages; this is a moral duty for us," Zamir said.

"Out of our commitment, we have conducted inquiries into the battles and presented them to the communities. We continue to study, evaluate, and implement the lessons learned. The IDF will not repeat the mistakes of the past," he added. "It is the IDF’s duty to emerge from the past two years toward growth, renewal, and hope."

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Zamir noted that amid the IDF failures on Oct. 7, stories of heroism emerged. He said those who acted selflessly in the face of terror needed to be honored, announcing the establishment of the Decorations Committee, which would fulfill that mission.

Matan Angrest, one of the 20 living hostages who returned to Israel on Monday, was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, while defending Nahal Oz.

Several hostages' testimonies indicated that Angrest was subjected to particularly harsh treatment while in captivity, including starvation and torture. The Jerusalem Post reported that Angrest suffers from asthma, which worsened in the damp and humid tunnels.

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In April 2025, while Angrest was still in Gaza, former hostage Ron Krivoi — who was released from captivity in November 2023 — spoke to Israel's Channel 12 and said that Angrest was being severely abused by Hamas, according to The Times of Israel.

"The interrogations he went through happened while still in Israeli territory — that’s where it started. They already connected him to a car battery on the way and tried to revive him. Using car batteries, they electrocuted him," Krivoi told Channel 12, according to The Times of Israel. "They weren’t able to interrogate him. He probably wasn’t even in a condition to speak because he was badly injured. His injuries were very severe."

On Monday, all remaining living hostages returned to Israel. So far, Hamas has only handed over the remains of nine out of the 28 deceased hostages the terrorist group is required to hand over according to the ceasefire terms. Two of the deceased hostages whose remains are in Gaza are U.S. citizens, Omer Neutra and Itay Chen. Chen was killed while fighting alongside Angrest.