On the Senate Floor Thursday, Senator Julia Coleman (R-Chanhassen) voted in favor of bills funding critical needs in the transportation and education sectors of Minnesota’s budget, which included several provisions Senator Coleman chief authored.
The Education budget bill highlights the importance of adapting to the needs of students’ mental health and teachers’ ability to support those they oversee. Included in this budget is a provision brought forward by Senator Coleman to extend a state grant for suicide prevention training for school staff, which will be accessible statewide to all teachers. Also included are Senator Coleman’s updates to the World’s Best Workforce performance measures, examining the results of the program through the Legislature. There are also provisions authored by Senator Coleman to modify teacher licensing, hiring, and dismissal processes to ensure the best teachers are being placed where they are most needed, including provisions that block the harmful practice of “last in first out” where teachers are fired based on seniority, not on merit.
“Students have been hit the hardest over the course of this pandemic,” Coleman said, “and we need to be doing all we can to ensure this generation of kids aren’t completely lost or left behind because of it. We don’t know to what degree their mental health has been impacted in the last year and it is absolutely essential to ensure their teachers and school staff are properly equipped to support them. We need to strive for the best teachers, curriculum, and support for our students and with these commonsense measures, I believe we are getting back on the right track.”
Local infrastructure improvements make up a large portion of the Senate Transportation budget, along with reducing wasteful government spending. Two bills introduced by Senator Coleman were included in the budget. The first brings ease to Minnesotans looking to replace a Social Security Card by allowing a driver’s license to certify a person’s identity when applying for an online replacement. The other provision expands US Highway 212 to four lanes between Norwood Young America and Cologne.
“I came to the legislature to fight for my constituents, and I heard from my constituents loud and clear that we must secure funding for Highway 212 expansion. I am thrilled this critical funding passed through the Senate and will continue to work tirelessly in an effort to get it to the Governor’s desk.” Said Senator Coleman.
The Senate passed both the Education and Transportation budget bills off the floor with mostly bipartisan support. They will each go to their respective Conference Committees to find conformity with the House as the final budget process continues.