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State Representative Jeanne Poppe
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4193
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
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HIGHER ED OMNIBUS BILL MOVES TO GOVERNOR
St. Paul, MN – The Omnibus Higher Education Policy Bill, legislation establishing a variety of new policies for state colleges and universities, was passed in both the House and the Senate last week and sent to the Governor. State Rep. Jeanne Poppe (DFL-Austin) co-authored the bill and also served on the Higher Education Conference Committee.
"This legislation covers a wide range of policy issues for higher education in Minnesota, including resources for veterans, students' privacy, and enrollment and data sharing among academic institutions," said Poppe.
Under this bill, a new oral health practitioner profession would be created. According to Poppe, this option would be similar to a nurse practitioner and would help meet the routine preventative care dental needs of some Minnesotans.
"Oral health practitioners would serve low-income, uninsured and underserved patients that are currently unable to get the dental care they need," said Poppe. "This could be especially helpful in rural parts of the state where dentists are in short supply. Although I did not support this provision as first brought forward by the Senate, the House members were able to convince the dentists and other interested parties to come together and come up with an approved compromise."
Another provision will allow colleges and universities to notify parents when their children have been involved in disciplinary proceedings involving drug and alcohol violations, contingent on having a signed release from the student.
"This is something that has been sought by parents for quite some time," said Poppe. "I consider it to be good policy to have better communication among students, parents and colleges."
Additional highlights of the higher education legislation include:
· Changes data practices law to allow data sharing between the Office of Higher Education and the Department of Education for the purpose of conducting studies on such issues as academic performance and enrollment.
· Allows the spouse or dependent of a veteran who is a Minnesota resident to be considered a resident for financial aid purposes.
· Specifies documentation a student will be required to provide to participate in the ACHIEVE scholarship program.
· Allows MnSCU to use revenue bonds to finance improvements on all its campuses not just the university campuses. This does not count against the state's three percent indebtedness limit.
· Directs the Office of Higher Education to study and evaluate the enrollment patterns of students from low-income families in higher education.
For more information on the Omnibus Higher Education Bill, contact State Rep. Jeanne Poppe at 1-888 - my number 651-296-4193 or by email at rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn.
News Items
- POPPE SELECTED AS AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE CHAIR - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Rep. Jeanne Poppe Encourages High School Juniors to Apply for Minnesota House of Representatives Page Program - Application Deadline is November 19th - (Posted: 2012-11-12 00:00:00)
- HORMEL INSTITUTE EXPANSION SIGNED INTO LAW - 2012 legislative session adjourns sine die - (Posted: 2012-05-11 00:00:00)
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