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Release: Rep. Bernardy’s preservation of 4,000 pre-K slots included in E-12 Education budget

Saturday, June 26, 2021

St. Paul, MN - Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved the E-12 Education Budget. The legislation makes the strongest level of investment in public schools in 15 years, and includes a provision of Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton) that preserves 4,000 pre-K slots for preschoolers across the state. This successful voluntary pre-Kindergarten program was set to expire without legislative action.

“All of our youngest learners deserve the best possible start,” Rep. Bernardy said. “Voluntary pre-K opportunities promote healthy development for a thriving future.”

The compromise education budget includes investments to provide stability to public schools during this period of uncertainty, one-time funding for the Special Education and English Learner cross subsidies, and significantly, a 2.45% increase to the general formula in 2022, and another 2% in 2023.

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