Debate Intensifies Over Education Reforms
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Debate Intensifies Over Education Reforms

By April 27, 2025 No Comments

Last Week in Summary

Last week saw the legislature return to business after their Easter/Passover spring break. Work on a number of smaller omnibus budget bills gained momentum as the realization that less than a month stands between a final budget deal and the Constitutional end of session on May 19. 

The House Education Finance bill has been elusive, but we were informed late in the week that a deal had been reached between House DFLers and Republicans on an education budget plan that would keep the basic formula inflator intact while creating a pathway to sunset the unemployment insurance program. This is in stark contrast to the Senate’s Education budget bill which zeros out the formula inflator in the following biennium and repurposes nonpublic transportation aid to pay for unemployment insurance costs. 

The details of the House Education budget plan were finally released yesterday around midday. The House Education Finance committee will walk through the newly minted bill during a 9am informational hearing this morning. Highlight change items in the House plan include:

  • Renaming Local Options Revenue (LOR) to Basic Supplemental Revenue (BSR), and creating a new first tier of $40/pupil, which is  all state aid.
  • $30M one-time infusion into the Unemployment Insurance fund for school hourly workers
  • The UI mandate is sunset on September 9, 2028. 
  • School Library Aid is repealed, and some of the revenue growth in Student Support Personnel Aid is captured, to pay for the new first tier of BSR and the one-time infusion of UI funding.
  • Special Education Transportation reimbursements are reduced from 100% of eligible costs to 95%, but transportation of homeless and highly mobile students remains at 100 percent of eligible costs. 
  • LTFM expanded to allow districts to levy “above the $100,000” line for roof replacement and repair.
  • $40M for the READ Act
  • Modest flexibility in the Nutrition Account 
  • No changes to Compensatory

With the Senate Education Finance bill advancing to the full Senate Finance committee tomorrow we are slowly making our way to an education conference committee to iron out the different approaches between the House, Senate and Governor. 

Senate Education Policy Clears Senate Floor Debate

SF 1740, the Ed Policy omnibus bill, was debated on the Senate floor last Thursday. Nearly 40 amendments were considered during the 7 hour debate. Passionate speeches were delivered on a number of topics ranging from school start dates, student discipling, trans gendered student participation in sports and many more topics. 

MREA successfully lobbied for the short call substitute teacher pilot program to be made permanent, without a specific pay requirement. Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (GOP Fergus Falls) led the charge on this issue with SF 482 advancing way back in January. In a bi-partisan effort, Sen. Rob Kupec (DFL Moorhead) offered the amendment last week and it was adopted. 

An amendment to repeal Algebra II as a graduation requirement failed, but gained 8 more votes than it had last session. An amendment to waive the post Labor Day start requirement narrowly failed. 

An amendment to allow the use of seclusion rooms, if approved by parents as part of the IEP, was adopted. However, an amendment to allow up to a 3 day suspension for K-3 students narrowly failed on a party line vote.

House Education Policy Bill: HF 1306

The House Ed Policy omnibus bill, HF 1306, includes our proposal to make the short call substitute pilot project permanent, while striking the daily rate of pay mandate at $200 that was attached to the original pilot program. Many thanks to Rep. Patti Mueller (GOP Austin) for all of her work getting this bill into the final shape. MREA Executive Director Darrin Strosahl secured a letter of support from PELSB, helping seal this deal. 

Flexibility for school districts to set the start of their calendars before Labor Day is rumbling around the House process. HF 1124 would permanently change the earliest school start date to September 1, while still allowing for the construction exemption and Flexibly Learning Year options for different calendars. This bill awaits House floor debate.

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