Education Legislation
The House and Senate Trading Offers for Final Education Bill
Senate Offer #1
- Before the education target of $300 million.
House Offer #1 – 5/16/22
Senate Offer #2 – 5/17/22
House Offer #2 – 5/17/22
Senate Offer #3 – 5/19/22
- Letter
- Revenue per district – 40% reduction in the special education funding gap
House Offer #3 – 5/20/22
Senate Offer #4 – 5/21/22
SEE Leads on School Levy Property Tax Bill
Update (3/28/22) HF4064 – The House Property Tax Committee included about $40 million a year in equalization for location optional revenue (LOR) in the property tax omnibus. The equalization is for the first $300 per pupil of the $724 per pupil levy and is based on 170% of the state average referendum market value, making the property tax relief permanent and ongoing. In recent years, this increase would have been significant. But given the state’s budget surplus, the amount is only modest. The legislature can do better.
- Property tax relief for each school district
- Bill language and adopted amendment
- Bill summary without amendment
February 2022 – The SEE school levies tax relief and reform bill is here! Following is what the HF3224 legislation does.
- Significantly lowers property taxes and makes future school levies more affordable in lower-property wealth school districts by increasing equalization. The impacted school levies are the voter-approved referendum, the board-approved location optional revenue (LOR), and debt-service (for building bonds).
- Prevents the erosion of the property tax relief by indexing the formulas to inflation.
- Increases the cap on LOR by $101, raising it from $724 to $825 per pupil for the next school year, and then increases the LOR revenue by the same percentage as increases to the basic formula.
- Increases long-term facility maintenance (LTFM) by $120 to $500 per student next year and then links the funding to inflation after that. LTFM equalization is already highly equalized and linked to inflation.
- Allows joint powers to be eligible for LTFM.
- Allows consolidated school districts to qualify for enhanced debt service (formerly known as natural disaster debt service.)
- Allows cooperatives and joint powers to qualify for leased levies.
- HF3224 Talking Points and History
- MN House Research revenue and property tax relief for all districts – assumes all school boards take the new location optional revenue (LOR) and the long-term facilities maintenance levy authority
- Unofficial property tax relief for SEE school districts– does not include the impact of the new LOR and LTFM levy authority
- MN House Research bill summary
- Bill language
- Bill status
Legislative Committee Meetings
Keep up on the education issues that legislative committees address.
SEE Side-by-Side Comparison
Education Finance and Policy Proposals
The Governor's Education Bills
Governor’s Education Finance Omnibus
- SEE Side-by-Side Comparison of the House, Senate, and Governor’s New Education funding
- Legislative Side-by-Side Summary of Complete Bills
- Education Budget Items Summary Revised, March 22
- Education Budget items with Description, January 2022
- Bill Text
- Bill Status
More Information: 1/28/22 SEE legislative update
Governor’s Education Policy Omnibus
Senate Education Bills
Senate Education Finance and Policy Omnibus – $32.4 million for 2022-23 and $1.4 million for the following two-year biennium
Two new spending proposals:
- $30 million – grants for K-5 teachers to take the LETRS literacy training. (one-time)
- $700,000 – to hire literacy support directors at each of the MDE Regional Centers of Support.
Additional Information:
- SEE Side-by-Side Comparison of the House, Senate, and Governor’s New Education funding
- Data run not available – only direct funding to school districts is about $2 per pupil to provide access to menstrual products for students in grades 4-12.
- Bill Summary
- Bill Language
- Budget Provisions – Senate Research
House Education Bills
HF4300 – House Education Finance and Policy Omnibus – $1.2 billion for 2022-23 and $2.1 billion combined for the following two-year biennium
Highlights include:
- SEE Side-by-Side Comparison of the House, Senate, and Governor’s New Education funding
- Legislative Side-by-Side Summary of Complete Bills
- $422 million – pays 55% of each districts special education cross subsidy.
- $96 million – provides $100 per pupil for districts to hire student support staff
- $77 million for voluntary pre-kindergarten for at risk 4 year old children.
- $76 million – pays 40% of a district’s English language (EL) learners cross subsidy, scales to 100% by FY26.
- See more in SEE’s side-by-side summary
Additional Information: