Accessibility menu
State Representative Rick Hansen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-6828
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
Press/News Releases
HANSEN VOTES TO PRESERVE SCHOOL FUNDING THROUGH BUDGET CRISIS
ST. PAUL, MN - The Minnesota House of Representatives passed three bills that will keep Minnesota schools whole through the state’s worst ever budget crisis. “From pre-school to college, we prioritized education funding to protect Minnesota students from damaging budget cuts over the next two years," said Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL - South St. Paul).
“Minnesota’s educated, competitive workforce is the product of our nation-leading public schools. Now in a time of economic recession, more than ever, we need to maintain our commitment to keeping our schools strong. Our economic recovery and the future of our students depends on the decisions we make today to keep our schools whole through these difficult times.”
Education bills passed by the Minnesota House this week included the following major provisions:
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION - HF2088
• Invests $455 million in Minnesota’s early childhood education system to narrow the achievement gap
• Preserves early childhood care and education programs, and protects restored funding levels
• Begins implementing a voluntary statewide quality rating system
K-12 EDUCATION - HF2
• Provides dependable, stable funding for education in difficult economic times
• Reduces mandates to help school districts save money and operate with more efficiency and flexibility
• Creates a temporary alternative path to a high school diploma for students who fail 11th grade math GRAD tests without sacrificing rigor
HIGHER EDUCATION - HF869
• Utilizes federal recovery dollars at the University of Minnesota and the MnSCU system for the next two years and directs that those resource must be used to hold down tuition
o Tuition cannot exceed 5% per year at MnSCU campuses
o Tuition cannot increase more than $300 per year for the next two years at the U of M
• Directs the University of Minnesota to use federal recovery dollars to create a new scholarship to help offset the impact of rising tuition for middle income students
Rep. Hansen is particularly pleased that a provision known as the New Minnesota Miracle was included in HF2 and passed by DFL members of the House. The measure would phase-in new school funding in a more equitable way for schools across Minnesota. It would implement significant reform over the next several years. By 2014, the New Minnesota Miracle would once again re-stake Minnesota’s claim as the nation’s leading education state - providing adequate, equal funding for every Minnesota student no matter where they live.
“We’ve made progress on reforming the state’s education funding formula to meet the new demands of a 21st Century Minnesota,” said Hansen. “But we cannot meet the needs of every Minnesota student without a comprehensive modernization of what has become an outdated, inefficient funding formula. Including the New Minnesota Miracle reform in this important legislation makes certain every student has equal access to the same nation-leading education opportunities.”
More information on the education bills passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives this week can be found online at www.house.mn.
News Items
- Rep. Rick Hansen chosen as leader of Great Lakes Legislative Caucus - (Posted: Dec 27 2012 8:34AM)
- Need Holiday Gifts? Consider DNR Gift Cards - (Posted: 2012-11-27 00:00:00)
- Looking Forward to Serving, Getting the Job Done - (Posted: 2012-11-14 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.