Omnibus K-12, higher education bill headed to House Floor

Despite disappointment voiced by DFL lawmakers over the zero budget targets set for K-12 and higher education, the combined omnibus education bill is headed to the House Floor.

The House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday approved HF2749, sponsored by Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud), which combines the omnibus K-12 education policy and finance bill, HF3858, sponsored by Rep. Jenifer Loon (R-Eden Prairie), and the omnibus higher education policy and finance bill, HF3237, sponsored by Rep. Bud Nornes (R-Fergus Falls).

“This is a very bipartisan bill,” Loon said of her K-12 omnibus bill, citing multiple DFL proposals in the bill, including $1.5 million for Girls in Action mentoring grants, sponsored by Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), and $5 million for school-linked mental health grants, sponsored by Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Mpls). The bill would provides a total of about $55 million in funding for various programs and still meet the zero target, thanks to a few canceled appropriations and a provision allowing school districts to repay high-interest state loans early.

Rep. Jim Knoblach

Lawmakers have considered multiple bills to provide additional oversight of research practices at the University of Minnesota this session, and discussion continued as the committee approved an amendment by Knoblach related to fetal tissue research.

Under the amendment, the university would no longer be required to establish a fetal tissue research center, as previously proposed by Rep. Abigail Whelan (R-Anoka), but would instead require university researchers to obtain institutional review board approval before conducting research using fetal tissue. The amendment would also ask the medical school dean to identify and encourage the use of sources of fetal tissue due to natural death of a fetus.

Erin Dady, special assistant to University President Eric Kaler, called the amendment a “step forward” from previous proposals, but said the lack of resources remain a concern. The university has requested more than $30 million in supplemental funding, none of which appears in the bill.

As the committee approved an omnibus bill with no additional funding for higher education, Rep. Lyndon Carlson Sr. (DFL-Crystal) said he would be “remiss” if he didn’t express his disappointment.

“Almost daily in the media you’re hearing about student debt and the difficulties that students are having meeting those obligations,” he said. “With the financial health of the state currently, we could be doing much better for the students, whether they are in E-12 or higher education.”

Knoblach said last year’s budget included substantial education funding increases over the previous biennium and Loon’s proposal represents a “substantial input” into E-12 education programs for a supplemental budget year.

Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester) criticized House Republicans for not spending any of the state’s forecast $900 million surplus on education.

“These targets didn’t fall from heaven,” she said. “We’ve got tremendous needs throughout the state … and the House Republican caucus is deciding to do nothing.”