Dear Neighbors,
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved Democrats’ supplemental education budget bill. As is the case with other omnibus bills, this legislative package was loaded with over a billion dollars in new spending and dozens of controversial policy provisions.
I was a “no” vote on the bill.
After more than a year of school closures, House Democrats did nothing in the education bill to make up for lost classroom time or to improve student learning. Instead, it is filled with dozens of mandates that impact public, nonpublic, and home schooling. Each of these mandates concentrates more power with bureaucrats at the expense of parental involvement in the educational experience of their students.
The funding components of the bills are focused almost exclusively on Minneapolis and St. Paul with their school districts receiving a $1,400 per-pupil increase while schools in rural Minnesota would be getting $775 per-pupil.
I am also concerned about mandated classroom instruction in elementary and secondary schools that would require students to analyze power, race, class, and gender and how those factors impact issues like climate, health, food, housing, education, and policy in Minnesota.
Students are struggling academically, and test scores have been stagnant. We should be focusing on reading, math, and science instead of a controversial and politically charged curriculum.
In total, this is a bad bill for Minnesota students, and I was an easy “no” vote. The Senate and House will now hash out the differences in their respective education bills in the weeks ahead and I am hopeful that most of the egregious policies will be stripped from the final agreements and will not become law.
Staying in Touch
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns as it relates to state government. I can be reached at 651-296-4229 or via email at rep.glenn.gruenhagen@house.mn.
Have a great day,
Glenn