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Legislative Updates
June 5, 2007
All-day kindergarten received $32 million
When Governor Pawlenty signed the E-12 education bill on May 30, all-day kindergarten was on the list for increased funding. The amount—$32.5 million for the biennium—is just a little over 10 percent of the amount needed to fully-fund all-day, every day kindergarten statewide. That is disappointing, but to get this far we had the support of many elected officials, education associations and teacher’s organizations. It is a modest start, but a start we can build on.
Special education funding may help kindergarten programs
The education bill also included additional funding for special education. This additional funding will allow some districts to shift funds that were being used to subsidize special education into their kindergarten programs. We say this with guarded optimism, however, because the small general formula increases of two percent the first year and one percent the second year will cause many districts to continue staff reductions and minimize significant reforms and new programs.
Thank your legislators
Write a thank you note to legislators who voted in support of all-day kindergarten and those who served on the education conference committee. Their advocacy kept all-day kindergarten in the final bill.
Stay in touch with your legislators. Encourage them to keep supporting the funding for statewide all-day, every day kindergarten. Educators have supported all-day kindergarten for years and the legislature is beginning to provide the additional support that our kindergarten children need to spend all day, every day in the classroom.
Thank you for your advocacy!
Public policy work is hard work. Your advocacy for all-day, every day kindergarten funding statewide made a difference in this legislative session. Your voice was heard. Thank you for your faithful support and your diligence!
May 22, 2007
The Legislature passed an E-12 bill on Monday, May 21, the last evening of the Session, that earmarked an additional $34 million to schools for All Day Kindergarten. It is now up to Governor Pawlenty to sign or veto.
If the additional funding is approved, the funding formula weighting for kindergarten students will change from .557 per student to .612. School officials making their first assessment believe the additional funding will allow school districts to add more sections of All Day K. The Legislature also provided more money for special education. The additional funding will allow some districts to shift funds that were going to subsidize special education into their kindergarten programs. However, the small general formula increases of 2% the first year and 1% the second year will cause many districts to continue staff reductions and minimize significant reforms and new programs.
April 26 , 2007
The House and Senate have both adopted K-12 education bills. The House bill has very strong support for all-day kindergarten while the Senate bill focuses on special education and early childhood. The House has included $94.5 million in new funding for all-day kindergarten which will move Minnesota much closer to full funding. The Senate provides $100,000 to study facilities needs for all-day K.
Compromise Education Bill to Be Drafted
The next step is for a conference committee made up of representatives from the House and Senate to look at what each body passed and to formulate the K-12 omnibus bill. This bill will be sent to the Governor for his signature or veto.
Conference Committee Members Have Been Named
Now is a very good time to contact each of the members of the conference committee to express your support for statewide funding of voluntary all-day kindergarten so that it will be included in the K-12 omnibus bill.
Senator Tarryl Clark
(651) 296-6455
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Representative Patty Fritz
(651) 296-8237
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Senator Gen Olson
(651) 296-1282
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Representative Mindy Greiling
(651) 296-5397
send email |
Senator Sandy Rummel
(651) 296-1253
send email |
Representative Bud Heidgerken
(651) 296-4317
send email |
Senator Kathy Saltzman
(651) 296-4166
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Representative Carlos Mariani
(651) 296-9714
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Senator Charles Wiger
(651) 296-6820
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Representative Nora Slawik
(651) 296-7807
send email |
Speak Up Now in Support
We are in a very critical period when final decisions will be made about whether all-day kindergarten will be included in the omnibus bill and how much money will be allocated for it. Your support is essential in this last month of the legislative session.
March 26, 2007
During the 2006 campaign, the DFL leadership for the House and Senate made universal voluntary all-day K a plank in their platforms. The House DFL, in particular, made all-day K a priority issue. Now in the legislative session, debate on educational issues is intense. It will continue to be as education priorities are set and funding is decided.
The following information summarizes what is happening in the legislature and what you can do to help give every child an equal opportunity by supporting all-day K in Minnesota:
House response to reported revenue shortfalls in February
A March 11 Star Tribune article outlines several major tax increase proposals being considered by the House DFL caucus. The story confirms hints from legislators that they recognize revenues from the current tax structure will not allow them to keep all their promises on education, property tax relief, health care and transportation.
A March 17 Star Tribune story said that the House DFL caucus had announced its plan to send nearly $1 billion in new money to K-12 schools, providing 3 percent increases to school districts in 2008 and 2009 and making all-day kindergarten available to all districts by 2009. The DFL House plan included increases in income taxes on the state’s 50,000 wealthiest residents and tightening tax laws for foreign operating corporations. Citizens can watch over the next several weeks to see whether the elements of this proposal are passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor.
Senate bills including All Day K
Early in the session, Senate File 3 was introduced with provisions for full funding
for all-day K and increased preschool and child care funding. In the first hearing for SF3 in February, the bill was amended to provide allowances to families for the purchase of preschool programs. The section of SF3 concerning all-day K was left intact, but all the funding appeared to be aimed at pre-school educational child care.
On March 5, SF1220 providing funding for optional, voluntary full-day kindergarten was referred to the Senate Education Committee.
The Senate DFL caucus may be changing course again from pre-school allowances to full funding of special education at a cost of approximately $500 million. The thinking behind the change is that paying special education costs would free up revenues to be spent on program such as all-day K.
Enrollment data
To provide helpful information as legislators are making decisions about funding
all-day K, The Minneapolis Foundation sent a letter to each member of the legislature matching kindergarten enrollment data to the legislator’s district. It was compared to the state enrollment data that shows:
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Statewide |
Total number of kindergarteners enrolled |
54,134 |
Percent NOT in all-day K, attending half-day program or equivalent |
52% |
Percent of kindergarteners in all-day K, funded by district or Title I |
37% |
Percent of kindergarteners in all-day K, funded by parent fees |
11% |
Data source: MN Dept of Education Kindergarten Schedule Report 2006-2007
Currently, opportunities across the state vary for our kindergarteners, and access to all-day K in Minnesota is like a patchwork quilt. Yet all these students enter first grade together – prepared at different levels.
You can look up the Minnesota Department of Education kindergarten enrollment figures for your legislative district by going to enrollment data under All-Day K at http://www.MinneapolisFoundation.org/AllDayKindergarten/Data.htm.
Voice support for All-Day K
While the House and Senate sort out the possibilities for additional revenue and which programs to implement, it is important to voice support for full funding for All-Day K. The legislature and Governor Pawlenty will weigh the merits of all competing programs and proposals.
The level of citizen support will play an important role in the final decision about which programs get funded. It is crucial that supporters of all-day K know the kindergarten situation in their own legislative districts, stay in contact with the Governor and their members of the legislature and explain how critical it is that the whole continuum of education, from pre-school to post-secondary, be anchored by a solid first school experience in all-day kindergarten.
February 12, 2007
The pace of activity at the Minnesota Legislature has accelerated in response to the Governor submitting his budget.
On January 30, Sen. Tarryl Clark and Rep. Nora Slawik held a press conference on Early Childhood Education that generated a feature story in the Pioneer Press on the ability to fund All Day K for every student, while meeting other education needs. Both legislators said it may be necessary to phase in All Day K by first offering it to "at risk" children.
When it was introduced, S.F. 3 (authored by Sen. Tarryl Clark) included provisions for pre-school initiatives and full funding reimbursement for All Day K. Sen. Clark amended the bill in committee into a pre-school initiative only and announced that a bill addressing All Day K will be introduced soon. Several committee members expressed their wish to keep both initiatives moving forward.
In the article, Rep. Sertich, the House Majority Leader, indicated that Democrats are committed to pushing for full day K for all students and awaiting for the February budget forecast. He said, "it is premature to estimate what money is available or not available."
Karen Kelley-Ariwoola, interim president of The Minneapolis Foundation, said the Foundation's strong advocacy for universal All Day K will continue. "If we're looking to lift all kids up so they're ready to learn, one of the strategies is providing consistent opportunities for all students," she explained. "And universal all-day kindergarten does that. We need to join the rest of the country and make it a standard, not just an option for some."
Hearing held on All Day K
The most positive news of the week was the House K-12 Education Committee hearing of February 7. The theme for the hearing was All Day K.
Four bills calling for All Day K were heard by the Committee:
Each of these bills calls for full funding of All Day K. They do vary slightly on details of implementation and the amount of funding provided. Each of these bills was held for consideration by the Committee and a final committee position on All Day K will be included in an omnibus education bill. The Speaker of the House, Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, sat in on the hearing to show her support for All Day K, even though she is not a member of the committee.
Karen Kelley-Ariwoola was invited by the committee chair, Rep. Mindy Greiling, to be one of the testifiers on behalf of All Day K, along with the Superintendents of Austin and St. Peter schools, the Director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and other prominent education leaders.
An encouraging debate
During the past two weeks, lobbyists for The Minneapolis Foundation have been meeting individually with members of the House and Senate. We have met with Rep. Benson, Rep. Dominguez, Rep. Marquart, Rep. Greiling, Rep. Faust, Rep. Swails and Sen. Wiger. Each of these legislators has confirmed their continued support of full funding of All Day K this session. Rep. Slawik is in favor of All Day K, but has publicly acknowledged the possibility of a phase-in.
This strong support is tempered by an internal debate in the legislature on whether to seek more revenue than the Governor has proposed in his budget. It is encouraging that most of the debate is centered on which of the concerns regarding pre-school and kindergarten-age children to address first, and what resources are available. The needs are being acknowledged and the debate is intense.
January 22, 2007
Momentum is building for full funding of All Day Kindergarten: Legislative proposals for full funding of All Day K have been put forward in both the House and Senate, while public support continues to grow. It is critical that advocates and constituents across the state continue to push for fully-funded All Day K in every Minnesota district.
House File 2, authored by Representative Marsha Swails (DFL-Woodbury), calls for full funding of All Day Kindergarten throughout Minnesota.
Senate File 3, co-authored by Senator Tarryl Clark, (DFL-St. Cloud), and Senator Leroy Stumpf, (DFL-Plumber), also provides for full funding for All Day Kindergarten.
The newly assumed majority status of the DFL in the Legislature provides these proposals a greater chance of passage.
At least two educational groups, the Minnesota School Board Association and the Minnesota Association of Elementary Principals, are considering sponsorship of All Day Kindergarten bills. Their support of this common goal is welcome.
Growing Public Support
The January 12 Star Tribune editorial endorsing the enactment of All Day Kindergarten should be read by everyone in the state, especially policy makers. It describes the benefits of the program for our children and most of the obstacles that could prevent its passage.
Your Voice Is Needed
Early public support for All Day Kindergarten is very helpful, but the inclusion of full funding in the final school aids bill is not assured. Pressure to address a myriad of social problems ranging from education to health care to public safety will compete for limited resources available to the legislature.
It is crucial that supporters of All Day Kindergarten stay in contact with the Governor and their members of the legislature, thank the leadership and authors for their support, then explain how critical it is that the whole continuum of education, from pre-school to post-secondary, be anchored by a solid first school experience in All Day Kindergarten.
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