Senate Democrats this week passed a partisan Education Policy bill that fails to address key concerns raised by teachers, parents, and school leaders. The bill does little to help school districts manage the dozens of unfunded mandates passed in recent years, fails to take meaningful action on school safety, and offers no real solutions for the growing teacher shortage.

School districts across Minnesota are facing a combined budget shortfall of more than $280 million. This is largely due to expensive, one-size-fits-all mandates passed by the Democrat majority. Rather than offering relief, this bill doubles down by offering new mandates that override local control.

“Earlier in Session, school officials came to the Capitol in droves to tell us they were overwhelmed because of the Democrat mandates that were passed onto them, and this bill does nothing to address any of their concerns,” said Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville).

To address concerns raised by athletes across the state, Republicans offered an amendment that would protect girls sports and would require athletic participation to align with biological sex, ensuring fairness and safety in competition. Despite the measure reflecting principles similar to Title IX, every Democrat in the chamber voted against it. The vote sent a clear message that Democrats are unwilling to stand up for equal opportunities and safety for female athletes.

“If we can’t come together to protect our kids in sports, then what can we come together on? This is a commonsense idea that levels the playing field while protecting young girls who want to participate in sports, and I’m disappointed that Democrats once again failed to support this language, instead relying on incendiary, unscientific language to oppose this commonsense change,” said Howe.

Republicans were able to successfully amend a handful of provisions onto the bill, one of which removes a burden on schools by allowing them to fulfill large data requests on a rolling basis. Another amendment closes a loophole in current law that allowed schools to rescind a teacher’s contract due to misconduct without reporting it to PELSB. This change ensures that dismissals for bad behavior are reported regardless of contract status.

Republicans offered additional amendments that were rejected:

• Language prohibiting new unfunded mandates from being passed onto our schools while they are already financially stressed from the last biennium’s mandates
• Requiring schools to notify families when violent incidents occur, prioritizing student safety and transparency
• Protections for teachers and staff that speak up about violence in schools
• Prohibiting schools from implementing MDE’s rule requiring instruction on non-binary gender pronouns in third grade

“The bottom line is that this bill addresses exactly zero of the concerns we’ve been hearing about from students, teachers, and schools. This is a terrible bill and it does nothing to put students first,” finished Howe.