A Failed Education System
By Senator Steve Green

The Minnesota Department of Education recently released some shocking news: Minnesota students are failing at reading, science, and math. Half of Minnesota students are not reading at grade level, nor are they proficient in math at their grade level. Only 39.6% of students are meeting science standards. This is a troubling trend. It has only gotten worse since Covid lockdowns disrupted education and kept kids out of classrooms.

Throughout the last two legislative sessions, Democrats have touted their “historic” education funding. At the end of 2022, we had a historic surplus totaling nearly $20 billion. By the end of the 2024 session, it was all but spent with a significant portion of it being spent on education. Many across the state hoped that the investment would trigger better test scores. That was false hope.

Much of that education funding was eaten up immediately by the many unfunded mandates that were passed in 2023 and 2024. Many schools were already facing budgets that were in the red, and the new mandates just worsened their troubles. So that “historic” funding was basically spent before it even got to schools – it was all used up to comply with the 60+ new mandates. As a result, many districts across the state are looking at areas they can make budget cuts in.

Something has to change. Republicans offered an alternative that would’ve addressed these issues by increasing funding on the formula, which would have given schools flexibility in how they used the funding. “Flexibility” really is the key word here – schools should have the ability to allocate funds where they need it the most, not to specific programs Democrats want to force them to comply with. Every school has different needs, and they should be able to address them. We also suggested using $200 million for science of literacy programs, which our kids need to get back on track.

Students’ needs should be the priority, yet students are the ones being left behind. They’re not getting the tools they need to succeed. This should alarm every single parent in the state. Despite all the funding Democrats have claimed to “invest” in education, it’s not helping our kids. Going forward, every single education bill we consider should prioritize our kids and put students first. The Walz Administration and Democrats have repeatedly bent to the whims of the likes of Education Minnesota, and it has done nothing to help our students prepare for their futures. In fact, our students are worse off because of this. We need to focus on the kids and ensure they are being adequately prepared in the best ways possible.