By: Cirien Saadeh

Agenda: Walk-through and testimony on House K-12 Education Finance Omnibus Bill (House File 2497) 

Chair: Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL – District 46B) 

Rep. Youakim moves House File 2497. 

Rep. Youakim moves the DE1 amendment. 

Rep. Youakim presents the House Education Finance and Policy Omnibus Bill. 

• “Members this bill was crafted by you all. It was crafted by the education finance committee and the education policy committee. With this proposal we make historic investments in our schools. We ensure that the learning environments in our schools, communities, work for all of our students and that our teachers, principals, and administrators have the tools they need to meet students where they are at.”
• “We have had over 20 years of underinvestment in our schools. While we cannot change that overnight or even in one biennium, this is an incredible start.”
• “Our proposal stabilizes school funding, supports the health and wellbeing of our students, works on equity and innovation in our schools, increases career pathways and connections with local communities, as well as building up and diversifying the workforce.”
• Thanks committee members, and legislative staff, for their work on the bill. 
• “You’ll find investments in our schools to stabilize their budgets so they can plan for the future.” 
• Says she will highlight pieces of the bill, won’t go line by line, before walkthrough
• “Using the base of Rep. Norris’ bill (DFL – District 32B), we index the formula to inflation and increase that formula by 4% the first year and 2% the second.”
• “While we scale back Rep. Wolgamott’s bill, we still tackle 50% of the special education cross-subsidy, and by 2027 we tackle 100% of the English Learner cross-subsidy with Rep. Her’s proposal.”
• “And with Rep. Hill’s bill we increase the transportation sparsity aid from 18.2% to 40% to help school districts that have to transport students long distances.”
• “We also make substantial investments in our youngest learners the year before kindergarten to set them up for success.” 
• “In this bill there are a variety of ways we invest in the health and wellbeing of our students. We put millions of dollars into the expansion of full-service community schools with a provision by Rep. Vang.”
• “We include Rep. Berg’s bill to increase our school support staff: social workers, counselors, psychologists, school nurses, and we include an investment for a pipeline for that work that was brought to us by Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan.” 
• “We use an entire article in this bill to focus on literacy, using Rep. Edelson’s READ Act as the base.”
  • Says that the READ Act was blended with the Governor’s literacy proposal “so that the package works for our students and our schools”
  • Money included in literacy package for teacher training, as well as curriculum grants
• “There’s a variety of innovative ways that we invest in our schools’ academic climate.”
  • Names grants to specific groups as well as grants to teach the updated social studies standards in areas of Holocaust and Ethnic Studies, as well as some work in financial literacy and computer science
• “We built connections with community by investing in after-school programming, community education, adult basic education, and our regional and county libraries. We also make investments in career & technical education for a variety of careers,” including EMS, aviation and ground transportation.
• “We also include Rep. Pursell’s bill to provide additional money to our consortiums across the State to coordinate increased investments in CTE programming.”
• “This bill provides money for our school’s infrastructure, both human and physical. There are dollars to increase teachers of color and Indigenous teachers in our classroom, as well as increasing our workforce in special education.”
• “This bill also provides unemployment insurance for the hourly workers in our school.”
• “We provide money to Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board to streamline the portfolio process and policy to make it easier for teachers to stay in the classroom in areas where there’s shortages.”
• “We also provide money to increase training for our paraprofessionals, our ESPs, and provide added times for our special education teachers to complete IEPs.”
• “We provide funding to the Minnesota Department of Education to build up our MTSS and Compass program, and develop an Office of Inspector General to increase oversight of the state dollars that are going into our schools.” 
• “This bill is well-rounded and balanced. It reflects every corner of our state and is a product that we can be very proud of.”

Solveig Beckel, House Fiscal Analyst 

• Describes bill spreadsheet, explaining what data is being shared and how, including the formula allowance per pupil
  • 2024 formula allowance increased to $7138/pupil
  • 2025 formula allowance increased to $7281/pupil 
  • 2026 formula allowance increased to $7425/pupil
  • 2026 formula allowance increased to $7586/pupil 

• General Education Base Funding
  • Average daily membership adjustment for children with disabilities: $140,000 in the first biennium, $152,000 in the second biennium
  • English learner aid for early childhood special education students: $1.083 million in the first biennium, $1.385 million in the second biennium
  • English learner cross-subsidy reduction aid: $81.77 million in the first biennium
    • Cross-subsidy reduced by 0% in FY24, 33% in FY25, 66% in FY26, and 100% in FY27
    • Cost for reduction over two bienniums is $272.015 million
  • Compensatory revenue formula change – no cost in 24-25 biennium, “but costs 20.658 million in the tails” 
  • Universal meals bill is not included/funded in the education omnibus bill
  • Extended time revenue for residential treatment facilities (for juvenile justice and mental health treatment facilities): $1.283 million in the first biennium and $1.395 million in the second biennium
  • Formula allowance increase (4% in 2024, 2% in 2025) indexed to inflation in 2026 and later: $704.996 million in the first biennium and $1.344369 billion in the tails
  • Discusses “interactions” between the general education formula allowance and the EL cross-subsidy reduction
    • EL aide for ECSE students and EL cross-subsidy reduction “when both done, as in this bill, have a cost of $912,000 in the first biennium and $2.171 million in the second biennium”
  • Voluntary pre-kindergarten seats included in the bill (discussed in Article 10) + basic formula increase: $4.886 million in the first biennium and $14.596 in the second biennium
  • Discusses interactions between targeted pre-K and the EL cross-subsidy reduction – cost is $2.778 million in the first biennium and $19.213 million in the second biennium
  • Says levy equalization number may be adjusted, may not have been done properly. “Because this committee has a zero-levy target meaning that it is the goal not to increase property tax levies via any legislation in this bill, this is the bill buying down any costs that otherwise would have been born via levy. So the cost of that would be around $19.77 million in the first biennium and $39.61 million in the second biennium.”
  • Menstrual products and Naloxone in schools: $3.628 million in the first biennium, $3.682 in the second biennium
  • Online learning aid for Bureau of Indian Education students: $6000 in each biennium
  • Special instruction extended to age 22: has a cost in the general education formula and the special education regular aid
    • Cost in general education is approximately $9.6 million in the first biennium and $10.1 million in the second biennium
  • Targeted PreK Program (entails Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) seats in this cost): $85.285 million, $154.986 million “in the tails”
    • Bill “extends the 4000 VPK seats that were otherwise set to expire in Fiscal Year 24 and then it increases the number of seats in Fiscal Year 25 by 5200,” for a total of 9200 in FY25 ongoing in the second biennium
  • Transportation Sparsity Revenue: $10.5 approximately in the first biennium, $13 million “in the tails” 
• Other General Education Programs
  • These items are appropriated elsewhere in the bill so only bill changes are discussed in Article 1 discussion, not base funding
  • Career & Technical Education (CTE) EMS course grants: $1 million/biennium
  • CTE Transportation pilot program: $450,000 one-time in FY24
  • Non-public pupil education aid increased by $723,000 in the first biennium, $1.4 million in the second biennium
  • Non-public pupil transportation, increased due to “formula interaction,” by $2.9 million in the first biennium and $7.7 million in the second biennium
  • Rural CTE Consortium: Increased funding from $3 million each year to $5 million each year
  • Transportation for ALC students: $2 million per biennium

Education Excellence

• Achievement and Integration Aid receives an increase of $630,000 in the first biennium and $1.013 “in the tails” 
• Building Assets Reducing Risks Center: $5 million in FY24 appropriated, available until June 30, 2026
• Another VPK interaction for charter school building lease aid: an increase of $1.03 million in the first biennium and $1.7 “in the tails” 
• Computer Science Education Advancement: $1 million/biennium
• Computer Science STEAM Grants: $1 million/biennium
• Educational Outcome & Accountability Pilot: $90,000 in FY24/25 only
• Ethnic Studies grants: $2 million/biennium
• Full-Service Community Schools: $27.532 million in the first biennium and $25.298 million in the second biennium
• Genocide and Holcaust Education Requirement: $150,000/biennium
• Girls Taking Action: $1.5 million in FY24 
• Minnesota Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs: one-time appropriation of $2.5 million in the first biennium split over the two years
• MAAP Stars: $50,000 one-time in FY24
• MN Center for the Book: $200,000/year ongoing
• MN Foundation for Student Organizations: an increase of $316,000 per year ongoing
• MN Math Corps Program: $500,000 in additional funding per year for a total of $1 million/year ongoing
• Multi-tiered Systems of Support Program “recommended by the governor receives funding for CAREI program at the UMN, grants to schools, and MDE and the service cooperatives implementation as well as the regional math network and Summer Math Institute” – funded at $2 million, $10 million, $14 million, and $10.5 million for the 24-25 biennium
• Non-exclusionary discipline: $1.75 million/year ongoing
• Paraprofessional paid orientation: $15.869 million in the first biennium and $16.672 million in the second biennium
• Sanneh Foundation: $1.5 million ongoing

The READ Act/BOLD Literacy 

• CAREI: Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement: $4.2 million in FY24 only
• Curriculum and instructional materials: $40 million in FY 24 only
• MDE grant administration: $250,000 in FY 24
• MDE Literacy Specialist: $250,000/year ongoing
• Regional Literacy Networks: $18 million in FY24, $0 in 25, $3 million ongoing in FY 26-27
• READ/Bold Statewide Training: $9.2 million in FY24 
• Substitute teachers and incentives for teacher training: $1 million in FY24

American Indian Education

• American Indian Education aid increased by $12.974 million in FY24-25 and increased by $14.751 million in the tails
• American Indian Teacher Training Program: increased by 1.61 million in FY 24, “also transferred to a special revenue fund” 
• Native language revitalization grants: $7.5 million/year
• Tribal contract schools formula allowance increase: $531,000 in the first biennium and $1.023 million in the second biennium

Teachers

• Targeted Pre-K/VPK alternative teacher comp interaction: $1.662 million in the first biennium and $2.932 million in the tails
• Black Men Teach: new funding, $500,000 each year ongoing
• Come Teach in Minnesota: FY24 adjustment – $200,000 that had been appropriate for FY24 is reduced to 0
• Grow Your Own program: receives an increase of  $17 million/year ongoing
• Licensure shortage areas: $10 million per year ongoing
• Student support personnel aid: $25 million in FY24, $50 million in FY25, $75 million in both years “in the tails”
• Student support personnel workforce pipeline “receives separate funding of $5 million per year ongoing” 
• Teacher Residency Program: $3 million per year ongoing

PELSB (Teachers) 

• Alternative Pathways to Licensure support position: $150,000/year ongoing
• Barriers to teacher licensure removed: one-time $77000 in FY24
• Collaborative Urban and  Greater Minnesota Educators of Color grant: an increase of $5 million per year ongoing, for a total of $6 million per year total
• Heritage Language and Culture Teachers: an increase, receiving $208,000 ongoing
• Licensure via Portfolio: $150,000/year ongoing
• Licensure Pathway Preparation grants: $400,000/year ongoing
• PELSB Board membership and stipend: $67,000 per year ongoing
• Reports on increasing teachers of color: $60,000/year ongoing
• Teachers of Color Mentoring and Retention program “receives an increase of $504,000 in the first biennium and $1.504 million in the tails, making the total appropriation for this program $3.5 million per year in the first biennium and $4.5 million per year in the tails”
• Recruitment marketing campaign receives an increase of $250,000/year for a total of $500,000/year

Special Education

• Separate sites and program aid (for Setting 4 & Higher): $9.461 million in the first biennium and $10.941 million in the tails
• Special education due process preparation time: funded at roughly $50 million in the first biennium and $35.4 million in the tails
• Special education regular funding (made up of several smaller appropriations): Included in this is
  • the registry of interpreters for the deaf – $268,000 in the first biennium and $610,000 in the second biennium
  • Special education cross-subsidy reduction aid – funded at the same level as the Governor’s recommendation, a cost of $729.863 million in the first biennium and $843.726 million in the second biennium
  • Special Education Homeless Student Transportation program: $2.477 million in the first biennium, about $3 million in the tails
  • Special Education Foster Student Transportation: $519,000 in the first biennium and approximately $1.2 million in the tails
  • Special education portion of  special instruction extension to age 22: $34,000 in the first biennium and $78,000 in the second biennium
  • Targeted Pre-K/VPK special education cost/interaction: $2.954 million in the first biennium and $5.421 million in the tails

Facilities: 

• Building & Cyber Security Grant Program: $35 million in FY 24 and available through 2027
• Gender-neutral Bathroom grants: $2 million/biennium
• Targeted pre-K/VPK interaction with long-term facilities and maintenance equalization aid: $596,000 in the first biennium and $1.051 million in the second biennium

Nutrition

• Breakfast aid for ECSE students: $150,000 in the first biennium and the second biennium
• VPK school breakfast: $857000 in the first biennium and approximately $1.5 million in the tails
• School Lunch VPK: $286,000 in the first biennium, $504,000 in the tails

Libraries 

• Basic System Support – Regional Libraries: $4.18 million increase in the first biennium,  $4.4 million in the second biennium 
• Multi-County, Multitype Library Systems: $285,000 increase in the first biennium, $300,000 in the second biennium 

Community Education and Lifelong Learning

• Adults with disabilities program: $1.083 million increase in the first biennium and $2.406 million increase in the second biennium
• After school program grants (IGNITE): $25 million in FY24 only but available through 27
• Community education program: an increase of $1.98 million in the first biennium and $3.96 million in the tails
• EPP (Education Partnership Program) Implementing Grants: an increase of $220,000 per year ongoing

Lifelong Learning

• High school equivalency tests: an increase of $490,000 in FY24 only but are available through 2027

State Agencies 

Minnesota Department of Education

• MDE is given funding for athletic race and ethnicity data collection – $180,000 in the first biennium and $130,000 in the second 
• MDE audit and internal control resources: $800,000 per year ongoing
• Operating adjustment: $9.596 million in the first biennium and $9.984 million in the tails
• Reasonable Force Reporting IT Costs: $47,000 in FY24 only
• Specific learning disability criteria change: $573,000 ongoing
• Unemployment insurance admin costs: $450,000 in the first biennium, $350,000 in the second biennium
• Costs of universal school meals – already passed – are bracketed out
• Board of School Administrators: an increase of $64000 per year
• Ed-Fi Data Collection System and Data Reporting: approximately $3.2 million in the first biennium, and approximately $4.7 million in the tails
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Center staffing funding: $2 million per year ongoing
• Litigation fees change: $1.5 million canceled in the 22-23 biennium and $7.5 million is appropriated in FY24 “for a net cost of $6 million” 
• Mental Health Services Lead: $150,000 per year
• Office of the Inspector General: $2 million per year ongoing

Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board

• Operating increase: $538,000 in the first biennium, $682,000 in the second biennium

Minnesota State Academies 

• Audiology booth and equipment: $125,000 in FY24 only
• Mental Health Day Treatment Program: $630,000 in the first biennium, $370,000 in the second biennium
• Operating increase: $3.6 million in the first biennium, $4.1 million in the tails
• Safety and Security Technology Initiative: $1.265 million in the first biennium, $825 million in the tails 
• Unemployment insurance eligibility expansion funding: $642,000 in the first biennium and the second biennium

Perpich Center for Arts Education

• Classroom furniture: $300,000 in FY24 
• Dormitory furniture: $850,000 in FY24
• Operating increase: $1.4 million in the first biennium, $1.8 million million in the tails
• Unemployment insurance eligibility expansion: $24,000 per year ongoing

• Increase over-base for FY 22-25 is $2,213,647,000 (billion)
  • FY 26-27: $3,199, 592,000 (billion)
• Discusses various transfers to the special revenue fund referenced throughout the spreadsheet, as well as expenditure authority for the online learning fee and spending authority for the Minnesota Department of Education

Vice Chair Mary Frances Clardy (DFL – District 53A) (chairing committee) asks for member questions on the spreadsheet. 

No member discussion. 

Tim Strom, House Legislative Analyst 

• Refers members to the DE1 amendment that they will be working off of
• Says bill summary will be ready “relatively soon” and “posted as soon as it’s available”
• Notes the bill is organized into 13 articles
• Questions on each article will happen after each article is presented rather than at the end of presentation. 

Article 1

• Sections 1 & 2: requirements for school boards
  • Section 1: requires the distribution of menstrual products
  • Section 2 requires that at least two doses of opiate antagonists to be available at each school site 
• “Section 3 is the publication of the bond election date being moved 48 days before the election at the earliest.” 
• “Section 4 is the provision that gives School Boards control for non-public transportation to negotiate an agreement about how that transportation is provided.”
• Section 5
  • Notes language is slightly different than was heard in committee, re ALC transportation
  • Reimbursement remains in place but the reimbursement is capped at $1 million per year “so should overall cost of that exceed a million dollars district’s ALC transportation amounts would be prorated.”
• “Section 6 increases the statewide CTE consortium from $3 to $5 million.”
• Section 7 expands the EL funding for ECSE “without that costing against the student’s 7 years of combined funding” 
• “Section 8 is the increase in English Learner revenue.”
  • Starting in FY24, “the basic amount goes from $704 per EL learner to $1000 per EL learner, and that continues in subsequent years.”
  • “Starting in FY25, the cross-subsidy aid is increased starting at 33% in 25, going to 66% in 26, and reaching 100% of the cross-subsidy for 27 and later.”
• “Section 9 spends the bulk of the money in the bill.” – the formula allowance increase
  • “4% in the first year, 2% in the second year, and then for following years linked to the increase in inflation.” 
• “Section 10 is extended time for care and treatment extended to both those who are day treatment as well as those that are at residential treatment facilities.”
• Sections 11 and 18 will be where the “levy balancing” will occur once completed in the DE amendment 
• “There are several changes to compensatory revenue. The first three, that are in sections 12-14, are part of the Governor’s recommendation for ensuring that there is no loss in compensatory revenue due to the school meals for all program. The Governor’s revised language for this  began in Fiscal 25. The House bill…starts the Governor’s revised language in 2026 and continues with the language that was passed in Chapter 18, the free meals bill for Fiscal Year 25.” 
• Section 20: “pupil transportation sparsity”
  • Currently set at 18.2% of the unfounded transportation costs
  • “The bill proposes to increase that to 40%.”
• “The next three provisions have to do with compensatory revenue uses, the reporting in the bill allocation.”
  • Says that the bill language is “relatively similar” to what was heard in committee
• Section 24: Rep. Frazier’s “provision to renew operating referendum by school board action.”
• Sections 25, 27, 28, 29 and some appropriations riders:  “a series of unemployment insurance provisions,”
  • “What the delete everything amendment proposes to do is require that summer term employees be eligible for unemployment insurance. So hourly workers during the summer term, if they are laid off, would be eligible for unemployment insurance.”
  • Also applies to higher education workers
• Section 26 & 27: Rep. Newton’s bill on school trust fund offices, qualifications, and duties
• Section 30: Tax credit change proposed by the Governor
• “Finally, a couple of uncodified provisions in Section 32. Rep. Hansen’s fund transfer for the Burnsville school district.” 
• Section 33: Rep. Feist’s bill re a study on changing a reporting requirement for school lunches 
• Sections 34: “Each of the bills this year is carrying a provision of the omnibus bill that is saying an item of appropriation is given affect only once and that is in case…some years there’s more overlap between subject areas and this provision is essentially making sure that if the same provision were in two omnibus bills its effect only happens once.”
  • “For the purposes of this committee’s purpose, if there are provisions in the early childhood bill that would be the same as those in this bill then only one of those appropriations would be effective, essentially.” 

• Section 35: New language not seen before by the committee. “It has to do with the review of grants,” re the Office of Inspector General and its review requirements for grant applications, as well as “general language regarding the ability of the agency to ask for financial and other information for each grantee before awarding grants.”
  • Says this language might be standardized across all omnibus bills as the bills move through Ways & Means
• Discusses the various appropriations articles 
• Discusses the appeals in Section 37

End of Article 1 Introduction

Member Questions

Rep. Kresha (GOP – District 10A) 

• “On Section 25, can you just walk me through how this is different than what is happening today in schools because schools do have some unemployment they’re paying for?”
• Strom: “Under current law, prior to any changes school districts may levy for any of their qualifying unemployment insurance costs so if they lay off an employee that qualifies for unemployment insurance that amount goes into the levy authority for the school districts. School districts are essentially reimbursable employers on that so essentially whatever bill they get for unemployment insurance, for laying off teachers or other staff, goes on to the levy.” 
• Strom: “On the unemployment side, under current law, hourly workers during the summer term are not eligible, generally speaking, for unemployment insurance.” 
• Strom: “The changes proposed in the DE1 take away the exemption for the hourly workers but they are eligible for the period of time over the summer term. So an hourly worker laid off over the summer term would be eligible, essentially, for unemployment insurance. So that change is in the language. Then in the levy, the levy is changed so that the levy only applies to the workers who are currently covered and does include the hourly employees, the cost of the hourly employees’ summer unemployment insurance. So the levy essentially functions as it did before covering the employees as it did before but now the hourly workers are eligible for unemployment insurance during the summer term. That’s the K-12 affects and then the appropriation for the three agencies is the estimate from the fiscal note of what those agencies would face in terms of the reimbursement costs to the unemployment insurance system.”

Rep. Kresha (GOP – District 10A) 

• Follow-up question. “Let’s just take this bill out right now. School districts do have, they cover the liability for unemployment and I think they have a special arrangement that’s different than other businesses. Could you speak to that just so I have the full…?”
• Strom: “Most employers are subject to an employee tax for purposes of unemployment insurance. That’s what pays into the fund for most employers. School districts are in a category of employer that are allowed to pay in a reimbursement basis so whatever amount of unemployment insurance is generated by their employee, that amount is paid by the school district. So they are what’s called a reimbursable employer, not an employer subject to the tax. So school districts would continue in that category and they would be required to pay that unemployment insurance costs into the UI system for the cost that they are being charged for unemployment insurance.”

Cristina Parra Herrera, House Legislative Analyst

Presenting Articles 2-6 pausing for member questions after each article 

Article 2: Education Excellence 

• Most language is from House Education Policy committee/bill
• Section 4 refers to academic standards including listing ethnic studies as a social studies standard
• Section 7 refers to graduation requirements and math changes, civics changes, arts changes, physical education changes, “and it also requires a half-credit in personal finance.” 
• “Section 8 is the credit equivalency that has the agriculture program name changes from the policy bill, as well as the ethnic studies credit equivalencies.”
• “Section 13 has the definition of ethnic studies and then other references to ethnic studies in the bill key off that definition and this definition reflects what was adopted in committee in an amendment.”
• “Section 14 is the Holocaust and Genocide education language.”
• Section 16-22 relate to standardized testing, largely from the policy bill
• Section 23: MTSS and Compass language as recommended by the Governor’s budget
• Sections 24-39: student discipline and exclusionary discipline alternatives provisions
• Section 40: Paraprofessional training requirements – 8 hours rather than the 16 heard in committee
• Sections 41-48: from the policy bill, related to open enrollment, PSEO, online instruction, and extended year programming
• Section 49: full-service community schools statute change from the Governor’s budget recommendation
• Sections 50-54: from the policy bill, modify Achievement & Integration Plan, Adult Basic Education minimum age, and Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education definition
• Section 55: Gives ESPs due process time for IEP review within a time limit of working with that student
• Section 56: refers to Public Employment Labor Relations Act modifying the definition of public employee
• Sections 57-60: uncoded related to Ethnic Studies working group, Genocide and Holocast Education working group computer science education advancement program, and the pilot program involving Pillsbury  

Member questions

Rep. Peggy Bennett (GOP – District 23A) 

• No question, offers a suggestion to analyst asking her to refer to a line and not just a section

Rep. Sencer-Mura (DFL – District 63)

• Asks question re the ethnic studies bill, re two positions at MDE that were a part of that bill she doesn’t see in the omnibus bill
• Chair Youakim: “I think we funded it differently through the department’s ask in their equity, diversity, and inclusion so we bumped up their positions there but we can double-check.” 
• Parra: “Yes that is correct and the EDI – the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – piece for the department will be in Article 12.” 
• Rep. Sencer-Mura: “Have we confirmed with MDE that that is where they want those positions?”
• Chair Youakim: “I will do that.”

No further questions

Article 3: Read Act

• All language in Article 3 is from the READ Act, some changes from when it was heard in committee
  • Advisory council is no longer included in language

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 4: American Indian Education

• Most of the article came from the policy bill, as well as the Governor’s budget recommendations
• “There was significant overlap with House File 1875, Rep. Keeler’s bill.”
• Section 1: Data sharing provision
• Section 2: Indigenous People’s Day school observation
• Section 3: Representatives from tribal nations and communities represented in the development of standards
• Section 4: Requires embedding Indigenous education for all students, as well as embedding ethnic studies in the social studies standard
• Section 5: Indigenous Education for All Students Act
• Section 6: American Indian mascots prohibition
• Section 7: Minnesota Indian Teacher Training Program account
• Section 8: Defines American Indian student
• Section 13 refers to the American Indian Education Program coordinators
• Section 14: American Indian parents and community language from the Governor’s budget recommendations
• Section 16: Duties of the American Indian Education director
• Section 17: Graduation ceremonies language related to tribal regalia
• Section 18: American Indian education aid, from the Governor’s budget recommendations 
• Section 20 allows American Indian students to carry a medicine pouch with loose tobacco 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 5: Teachers

• Says the article is largely from the policy bill
• Section 1: requires that meeting and negotiation with teachers happen re the e-learning plan
• Section 2 is in regards to increasing the number of teachers of color and American Indian teachers
• Section 3: slightly different than what curriculum heard, carried in the policy bill
  • “Rather than requiring that a district adopt a policy it prohibits a district or charter school from discriminating against or disciplining a teacher for incorporating into curriculum contributions a person of protected class as long as the contribution is aligned with state standards and benchmarks.”
• Section 4 – 31: from the policy bill, related to definitions in the teacher licensing chapter including changes to Tier 1 & 2 licensure 
• Section 13: PELSB “must approve teacher preparation providers seeking to prepare applicants for teacher licensure in Minnesota.” 
• Section 17 is in regards to a report re teacher preparation performance data 
• Section 32 is in regards to legacy language. “Given the changes to Tier 2 [licensing], this allows folks who got the license, who met the requirements, to keep renewing the license even though they would not meet the requirements for a new license.”
• Section 34: Tier 3 licensure changes, amending the requirements for Tier 3, “allows a person who graduated from a minority-serving institution such as a Historically Black College and University, to obtain a license as long as they completed the student teaching expectations without taking the licensure exam.’
• Section 35 – 36 more on teacher licensure
• Section 37: “legacy language allowing someone to move from Tier 2 to Tier 3 until Dec. 31, 2026”
• Section 38: Tier 4 changes
• Section 39 focuses on changes to the skills exam, pedagogy & content exams, and strikes the requirement for the reading instruction exam. Requires accommodations for required exams
• Section 40: “Because the Minnesota program, those students are no longer required to take the exam, language is struck related to that.”
• “Section 42 requires teachers renewing any license to include in their renewal requirements cultural heritage and contemporary contributions of American Indians.” 
• Section 45 & 50 – from House File 320 “requiring districts to report hires and terminations to PELSB by race and ethnicity”
• Section 46 modifies the probationary period for teachers
• Sections 47 & 49 modifies the teacher evaluation process
• Section 48 makes a change to probationary periods
• Section 51 is the short-call substitute teacher pilot program
• Section 53, 55, and 57 – House File 320 modify the “Come Teach in Minnesota’ hiring bonuses, the Collaborative Urban and Greater Minnesota Teachers of Color program, and the teacher mentorship statute.
• Section 54: the heritage language and culture teachers statute licensure pathway
• “Section 56 is the student teachers…so it no longer requires them to complete two years in an approved preparation program to do their student teaching.”
• Section 58-60 “modify the Grow Your Own programs” from the Governor’s budget recommendations
• Section 61 is the “special education teacher pipeline program modified to give priority for training to allow participants holding a Tier 1 or Tier 2 special education license to obtain a Tier 3 license.”
• Section 62 modifies principal evaluation
• Section 63 “establishes student support personnel aid”
• Section 64 “modifies the definition of teacher to include people creating and delivering instruction to children in a pre-K or early learning program.”
• Section 65 “modifies the subjects of bargaining to include class sizes, student testing, and student-to-personnel ratios.”

Member questions

No member questions. 

Article 6: Charter Schools

• Entirely from policy bills
• “It has definitions, it clarifies the statutes that charter schools are subject to, has definition of market need and demand, and includes those various stages and modifies the charter school admissions section among others.” 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Tim Strom, House Legislative Analyst 

Article 7, Special Education

• “In this article are a series of provisions from the finance and policy bills, as well as a number of individual bills heard in this committee.” 
• Sections 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8 “are all related to the change of age for the length of service for children with a disability. The Governor proposed standardizing that age,” – provides specific details on age details
• Section 3 is Rep. Becker-Finn’s bill for students regarding ASL/English interpretation services 
• Section 4 provides due process time to special education teachers in completing IEPs
  • Amounts of due process time have been adjusted since heard in committee
• Section 5: “The Governor proposed using the homeless and highly-mobile transportation category for foster students, as well. That provision was included in the bill.”
• Section 9: “This is the language from the policy bill regarding restrictive procedures, “ changed from how it was heard in committee. 
• Section 11 relates to special education parent school choice
  • 3 provisions in section, “These provisions make clear that if the family of the child that was placed chooses an online option that the education could be provided through an online option.” 
• Section 14 is Rep. Jordan’s bill regarding “homeless transportation”
  • “As we discussed that day, the transportation formula, whether homeless and highly-mobile transportation is 100% funded depends on which of the three transportation calculations the district is subject to. This provision would make sure that that transportation is 100% funded regardless of which of the categories the district is in.” 
• “Section 15 changes the cross-subsidy percentage to 47.8%, currently cross-subsidy aid is paying 6.43% on the cross-subsidy.”
• “Section 16 is the complementary piece to the change…for homeless transportation.” 
• Section 17 “is a new codified program from the Governor’s bill that would provide ongoing grant amounts for the sites that provide level 4 special education funding to students if that’s provided at an intermediate school district, education district, or other cooperative facility.” 
• Section 18 amends the provision for 3rd party billing, “essentially what this provision would do would allow school districts to count the time that the school social workers for the purposes of medical assistance for the 3rd party billing procedures”
• Section 19 is in regards to rulemaking related to changing the special education disability category “which is currently defined as specific learning disability…what’s happening here is the Department’s going to go through a process and then go to rulemaking after that process for a new rule”

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 8: Facilities

• Sections 1-10 “all have to do with the long-term facilities maintenance program”
  • Two “substantive” changes – Section 2 & 3 “this would allow cooperative units including joint powers to be included in a school district’s LTFM plan so that their facilities for these joint powers could be covered in the same manner as other cooperatives.”
  • Remaining changes related to gender-neutral restroom provisions – “These modifications are an allowable use of LTFM revenue and these modifications also need to be mentioned in the plan but only to be mentioned, they are not required as part of the plan. The Long Term Facilities Maintenance plan just requires that the school district consider its current position and facilities setup with regard to gender-neutral, single-user restrooms.”
• Section 11: “All school districts are required for most building projects to go through a review and comment with the Department of Education for any construction over $2 million a year. The new language requires that those plans describe whether the projects are making accommodations for gender-neutral, single-user restrooms, locker room, privacy stalls, or other privacy features as a part of the review and comment process.” 
• Section 12: “The operating capital was explicitly amended to ensure that these gender-neutral, single-user restrooms and other locker room privacy stalls and other privacy features are an allowable use of the existing operating capital.” 
• Section 13 is in regards to lease levy authority
• Section 14 is in regards to lease purchasing, would require that these projects be subject to review and comment with the Department of Education
• Section 15 is Safe Schools revenue. Includes an addition of “any cybersecurity measures including insurance costs to the amounts that are allowable uses for the safe schools levy.”
  • Separate provision for one-time grants later in the omnibus bill 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 9: Nutrition and Libraries 

• Sections 1, 2, and 4 were all a part of the policy bill that came to the Finance committee
• Section 3 “includes the early childhood special education children in the state’s access to the school breakfast program.”
• Section 5 – 7: series of changes to libraries,
  • Section defines school libraries and media centers in statute 
• Section 10-12: “The next several changes accompany a funding change for a regional libraries basic grant program. That program provides money to the regional library system, and the regional library system brought to this committee a proposal to change how that’s allocated amongst the 12 region system. Those changes are included.”
• Sections 13-14 amends the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs that passed this year. “The bill passed and was enacted and then the subsequent forecast changed and the underlying base came out so the adjustments you see here include the amounts in Rep. Jordan’s bill that was enacted and then adjusted to reflect the February forecast data.” 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 10: Early Childhood Education

• Most early childhood education provisions are riding on the bill out of Rep. Pinto’s committee
• Section 1
• “The big change in this committee…there are currently two statutory categories of students eligible for VPK. 3160 students are in the first category and their seats in those programs are ongoing. Another 4000 students…starting in Fiscal year 2019 have been renewed every two years.”
• “This provision makes those 4000 seats ongoing starting in 2024, and then in 2025 adds another 5200 seats to the total, so that starting in Fiscal year 25 there would be a total of 12366 participants eligible for the voluntary pre-kindergarten program.” 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 11: Community Education and Lifelong Learning

• Sections 1-2 “reflect an increase in basic community education revenue from $5.42 to $5.75.”
• Section 3 “is the after school learning language. This is a combination of language that Rep. Lee brought to the committee, and the Governor’s language,” and is accompanied by specific grants 
• Sections 4-5 refer to Adult Basic Education – two changes
  • Keeps the statewide revenue amount from declining should contact hours drop
  • Increases the amount/contact hours ($30/contact hour before reaching the cap on contact hour funding portion of ABE formula)

• Section 6 “is the Governor’s recommendation for the high school equivalency test and funded in the same way the Governor proposes.”
• Section 7: Rep. Hill’s bill regarding the Adults with Disabilities Program. “Currently that is a frozen grant of aid and a frozen levy amount for the qualifying districts. This provision qualifies all districts for Adults with Disabilities revenue and sets that revenue at $.35 per capita of all the residents of that school district, not just the students, with a corresponding levy adjustment, as well.” 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Article 12: State Agencies 

Ms. Parra speaking

• Sections 1-3 are all from the Governor’s budget recommendations
• Sections 1-2 “would require reporting on participation in athletics by race and ethnicity.”
• Section 3 “requires reporting on use of reasonable force.”
• Sections 4-9, 13 “relate to PELSB
  • Section 4 increases the number of PELSB Board members
  • Section 5 modifies the composition of the PELSB Board
  • Section 6 modifies Board member compensation
  • Section 8 requires “PELSB to reimburse local school districts for the cost of substitute teachers for PELSB members when they are required to be away.”
  • Section 9 “requires the public employer of a PELSB member to grant the member time off for Board activities.”
  • Section 13: PELSB Board member transition language

• Section 10 is recommended by the Governor, “related to the State Academies rental income.” 
• Section 11 “establishes the Office of the Inspector General.”

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Mr. Strom speaking 

Article 13: General Education

• “Article 13 is the forecast adjustments that Chair Youakim brought to the committee last week. Those adjustments essentially re-establish the base for all of the programs that are driven by pupil units or otherwise changed for forecast data.” 

Member questions. 

No member questions. 

Chair Youakim gives her last comments

• Notes Wednesday will be focused on testimony
• Thursday will be focused on mark-up 
• Shares some personal words on the bill

Rep. Kresha notes the bill has had a tremendous amount of work done on it “and so everything from here on out will be policy discussions,” thanks staff for their work on the bill

“This is a reflection of time, interest, passions, and visions. And now we get to talk about what it looks like going forward.”

Chair Youakim adjourns the committee