St. Paul, Minnesota — Today, Governor Walz called on the legislature to immediately pass funding and proposals for summer learning.
Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, Education Finance Chair Jim Davnie, and Education Policy Chair Ruth Richardson released the following statements:
“All Minnesota children deserve a world-class education and every opportunity to succeed. House DFLers support making significant investments in education, and that starts with urgently-needed funding for summer learning,” said Speaker Hortman. “COVID-19 and remote learning have brought new challenges for our students and educators, and worsened inequities and disparities in our education system. We need to help our students recover from the pandemic and then thrive once it’s over.”
“Minnesota’s families need to be our top priority as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. “For too long this Legislature has refused to invest in our kids so that they can achieve their full potential. We need high quality childcare, stable housing, affordable health care, and world-class schools. Minnesota has the resources to invest in our kids, but we cannot do so if we put the interests of big, profitable corporations ahead of everyone else.”
“This past year has demonstrated the resiliency of our students and families in Minnesota,” said Rep. Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis), chair of the House Education Finance Division. “Even so, we must prioritize the strategic investments in education that our students need and deserve. House DFLers are committed to delivering ongoing support to Minnesota’s students to improve academic outcomes, in addition to fostering their social and emotional learning skills.”
“The pandemic has exacerbated vast inequities in how our children, especially our Black, Indigenous, and students of color, are receiving their education and school support services,” said Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL-Mendota Heights), chair of the House Education Policy Committee. “We have a responsibility to deliver the learning support our students need now and over the summer, in order to bounce back quickly and prepare for the 2021-2022 school year.”
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