Senator Julia Coleman supports education finance budget, sending local schools largest increase in 15 years, increasing mental health training

The Minnesota Senate today approved a bipartisan bill that provides E-12 schools with the largest formula increase in 15 years, emphasizes student literacy and mental health, and supports teachers of color without burdensome mandates.

“The beautiful thing about the education budget is that it truly puts the needs of the students first,” Senator Julia Coleman (R-Chanhassen) said. “We are working hard to help our youngest Minnesotans recover from the most difficult year in their lives. We are empowering local school districts, supporting our teachers, and prioritizing the needs of our kids. This is something for Minnesota to be proud of.”

Included in this budget is Senator Julia Coleman’s legislation providing grants to train teachers on suicide prevention tactics. This program will train educators with evidence-based interventive measures for suicide prevention and engagement of students experiencing mental distress. Suicide is an epidemic amongst our youth, and this bill ensures students have access to help as soon as they need it. 

The education budget addresses the top request of public schools – money not mandates. This legislation will provide historic levels of funding as well as almost no new mandates on schools. This is the largest student formula increase in 15 years – an increase of $1.1 billion over the next four years. More than 80% of the new funding is placed on the state education formula. The funding will be sent directly to local school districts, allowing them the flexibility to spend on their specific needs.

Key provisions included in the final bill:

  • Grants are provided to increase teachers of color and American Indian teachers. Research shows that hiring more teachers of color improves the performance of students of color. The benefits include stronger reading and math scores, higher graduation rates, more interest in higher education, and fewer disciplinary issues. Students have reported feeling motivated by having teachers of color as role models, as well as a stronger sense of belonging.
  • The bill continues the bipartisan focus on early literacy by expanding the successful LETRS teacher training program. LETRS has become the consensus approach to training educators on how to properly teach reading to young students, particularly students with dyslexia.
  • Several provisions to support student mental health, including a grant to the organization LiveMore, ScreenLess to address the effects of social media and screen time overuse and misuse, and funding for youth counseling at the elementary school level. 
  • A two-year delay in the implementation of all new academic standards. By delaying implementation, administrators and teachers can put their focus on helping students with learning loss instead of bringing on new curriculum.