Legislative Update- Investing in Minnesotans from Cradle to Career

Dear Neighbors,

During the interim, I like to take time for more extensive visits with our community leaders. This week I had the opportunity to sit down with St. Louis Park Police Chief Bryan Kruelle and Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn. It is important to me to keep those open lines of communication all year, spending more extensive time to hear what initiatives our cities and school districts are working on and cultivating our partnerships to enhance our communities’ quality of living. I also had the chance to sit down with Paul Meunier and Gaonu Yang from Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA). YIPA is a collective of non-profits that have united around the goal of getting our young people on a path to success through a variety of different approaches. You can check out the work that YIPA does here.

When our kids return from summer vacation and head back to school in the fall, there will be a handful of new laws in effect to focus more resources on student success, notably when it comes to reading comprehension and literacy. As I continue my “deep dive” overview of our progress at the legislature, it’s appropriate to focus on education with fall just around the corner.

K-12 Education Investments

In 2023, we enacted the Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act, accompanied by $92 million in funding toward this groundbreaking student literacy initiative. On July 1, 2024 many of the provisions of the Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act went into full effect. This year we built on that investment with an additional $37.22 million to ensure that all of Minnesota’s students are reading at grade level beginning in kindergarten. The READ Act includes resources for training teachers, purchasing curriculum, and much more. In addition to improving literacy, here are some of the other significant new laws we passed this biennium including: 

• Increase funding for full-service community schools, special education, and English language learners
• Funding to increase school nurses, counselors, psychologists, and social workers
• Funding to increase teacher recruitment and retention as well as a pilot program to pay a stipend to our student teachers for the 3 months they are honing their skills in our classrooms
• Free breakfast and lunch for students and expanded summer nutrition resources
• Annual reviews and revisions of personal learning plans to ensure students are on track to graduate
• Allowing school districts to grant parental access to their student’s performance data
• A bill I authored enhancing the right to free speech for student journalists and freedom of the press in school-sponsored media
• Adding Native cultural practice, observance, or ceremonies to the list of excused religious absences from school
• Requiring schools to have a language access plan for students and families who speak languages other than English
• Ensuring certain rights and protections for children of Minnesota Army National Guard and Air National Guard members when transferring between public schools

All of this progress is built on the historic investments we delivered in 2023 in Minnesota’s education system, including more than $6 billion over the next four years in our schools. From providing free school meals to all students regardless of income to linking the general education formula to inflation, this legislature has ensured that the needs of students will always come first.

Early Care and Family Supports

Outside of our K-12 schools, we made investments to support children at all stages of development, from ensuring access to food at home to supporting caregivers. Some of these investments delivered: 

• $2 million for the Minnesota food shelf program
• $2.39 million for Minnesota's regional food banks for purposes of the emergency food assistance program
• $1 million for the American Indian food sovereignty funding program
• $9.66 million for information technology improvements to the outdated Social Services Information System used by more than 6,000 workers around the state to track and manage child welfare casework
• $1.13 million for the childcare improvement grant program
• $3.39 million for emergency services grants
• $550,000 for the Supporting Relative Caregiver Grants Program

Higher Education Investments

Our team is recommitting to and making significant investments in higher education. The House and Senate worked together to craft a transformative budget in 2023 to help students as well as the systems including: 

• Fully funding a tuition freeze at Minnesota State for two years, saving students a combined $75 million.
• Providing $50 million in one-time funding to address structural deficits across the entire MinnState system, saving jobs and programs.
• Providing the University of Minnesota with an additional $100 million over the biennium.
• Fully funding the University of Minnesota’s Systemwide Safety and Security request for $10 million in FY 24-25 and providing an additional $2 million ongoing.
• Providing an ongoing $1 million per year to each of the three Tribal colleges.

North Star Promise Full Scholarships

A key initiative we got across the finish line called the North Star Promise will provide full scholarships to eligible students to attend a public postsecondary education or Tribal college in Minnesota. To qualify for the scholarship, students must complete the FAFSA or the state aid application, have an adjusted gross household income below $80,000, be enrolled in at least one credit, and meet satisfactory academic progress. Scholarships are for one semester and can be renewed up to 60 credits for a certificate or associate degree and 120 credits for a bachelor’s degree. The program will start for this 24-25 school year and you can learn more about applying here.

Last Update

Whether seeking reelection or not, legislators cannot send certain unsolicited communication during an election period which starts 60 days after we adjourned this year’s legislative session. Therefore, this will be my last legislative update until after November 5. I still encourage you to contact me if I can ever be of assistance with a state-level issue or if you’d like to share your input with me at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. Please note my new office address is: 5th Floor, Centennial Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.

Have a healthy and happy summer and fall!

Cheryl Youakim
State Representative