SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the E-12 Education Budget on a vote of 105-20. The legislation makes the strongest level of investment in public schools in 15 years, preserves 4,000 pre-K slots set to expire without action, makes historic investments in increasing the number of teachers of color and Indigenous teachers in Minnesota, and holds down special education and English Language Learner budget shortfalls.
“This compromise was a hard-fought win for Minnesota students and families, especially after an unprecedented year of COVID-19,” said House Education Finance Chair Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis). “Despite being the only divided state legislature in the country, House Democrats fended off harmful private school vouchers and secured the strongest state investments in public education in 15 years. We’re making progress in closing the opportunity gap by hiring and retaining more teachers of color and Indigenous teachers to better reflect our student population. Our education budget delivers students and families the tools they need to recover from the pandemic challenges and thrive well into the future.”
Due to the diligence of House DFLers, “Education Savings Accounts” were not included in the final education budget, which would create a voucher-type program where parents could withdraw their child from the public system and take the state funding with them to a nonpublic school. Instead, the compromise bill includes the strongest level of investment in public education in 15 years with a 2.45% increase to the general formula in 2022, and another 2% in 2023.
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