Education Update
Hello.
Thank you so much for investing in our students and our educators. I am writing to you to give an update on where things are at on the bipartisan Education Finance bill in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
On April 23, 2025, the Education Finance chairs from both parties signed a compromise agreement resulting in HF 2433. This bill came after multiple negotiations over several weeks where both sides sacrificed. Coming into session, I have tried to listen to you and your needs. Consistently I heard you ask for mandate relief, funding flexibility, and local control. While HF2433 is not perfect, I believe it stays true to these goals.
Here are a couple of highlights. This bill:
- Prioritizes funding that is fair and flexible for schools and students.
- Unlocks and redirects more than $150 million over the next four years for schools through basic supplemental aid.
- Continues our commitment to the Science of Reading and academic achievement.
- $40 million for the READ Act implementation and new policy that puts the Science of Reading into our statutes.
- Allocates no new dollars for MN Department of Education, Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, or Perpich Center.
- This means focusing funding on students, not bureaucrats.
- Eliminates funding for Legislatively Named Nonprofits and requires MDE to terminate nonprofit payments to programs failing to maintain timely reports and registration.
- Sunsets the UI benefit mandate in September 2028.
- Money is redirected toward schools to find solutions that keep employees working and serving students.
- Instead of providing unemployment benefits, we want to incentivize employment opportunities.
- Rejects the Governor’s Plan to slash education funding by more $680 million and deny parental rights in education.
Unfortunately, on April 30, 2025, during the rules committee, my Democrat colleagues walked away from this bipartisan agreement.
With a looming 6 billion dollar deficit, we felt it was important to reprioritize as much money as possible back to our schools to have the biggest impact. Districts are currently working through their individual budgets and making choices – reallocating or reprioritizing – we at the state government should be doing the same. HF2433 is an excellent compromise that, I believe, keeps the students at the center.
Please write or call the House leadership and Education Committee members. Tell them to keep the agreement that took over three weeks to negotiate.
Thank you, again, for the work you do. Please know your work is valued and noticed.
Have a great rest of the school year.
Representative Bryan Lawrence
House District 27B