Minnesota public high school adds prayer room, 'foot washing station' in renovation plans

Alpha News reporter Liz Collin revealed that Osseo Schools are adding a prayer room and "foot-washing stations" to the Park Center High School and Osseo Senior High School, in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis. These plans for a "foot-washing station," intended entirely for Muslim students, "were included in updated plans after hearing from user groups on student needs," she said.

The plans were leaked to Collin by a tipster, who said, "this is undoubtedly for Muslim students only. I cannot understand how this can be happening in this era of no religion in schools." The renovations will happen over the next three years.

These plans are part of the Building a Better Future Initiative, which was a $375 million plan supported by voters in 2022 and 2023. The Daily Mail reached out to school officials who said that the plans were "mislabeled" and the prayer room is just a "multipurpose space" that was labeled a prayer room in construction documents.

Plans used in the construction documents phase of a building project are the final phase of plans that have gone through several rounds of design revisions.

"The space could be used for prayer, or other student or staff multipurpose needs throughout the day," executive director of school/community relations Kay Villella said.

"At all sites multipurpose needs have included calming/quiet, studying, testing or a small club or academic gathering. These spaces are scheduled out and supervised by staff." Foot washing stations, however, are not multi-purpose and are part of Muslim religious practice.

"Turns out, when the woke left says they want religion out of schools, they're only talking about Christianity. Maybe if Osseo worried about Somali gang violence as much as they worry about pandering to America-hating leftists, their schools and streets would be safer for their students. Just a thought," Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer said.

According to Minnesota law, "Students in public schools may pray or engage in religious activities or religious expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in nonreligious activities or expression.

"Students may organize prayer groups, religious clubs, 'see you at the pole' gatherings, or other religious gatherings before, during, and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other noncurricular student activities and groups.

"Religious groups must be given the same access to school facilities for assembling as is given to other noncurricular groups without discrimination based on the religious content of the students' expression.

"If student groups that meet for nonreligious activities are permitted to advertise or announce meetings of the groups, the school district may not discriminate against groups that meet for prayer or other religious speech. A school district may disclaim school sponsorship of noncurricular groups and events in a manner that neither favors nor disfavors groups that meet to engage in prayer or religious speech."