Take Action Thursday
Please join us on Thursday, March 17 for our virtual Day at the Capitol event. We have a great line-up of speakers - Sen. Zach Duckworth will join us first. Sen. Duckworth is a former school board member from Lakeville. Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman is excited to join us and Minnesota Department of Education School Finance Director Terri Yetter will discuss enrollment and the impact on funding. All three speakers hope to answer questions from our members. Please send your questions to
klewis@mnmsba.org and we will ensure they are shared with our speakers.
Advocacy
Federal Advocacy - Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Released
This week, Congress unveiled the $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2022. The House passed the bill on Wednesday, the Senate passed it Thursday evening, and the President is expected to sign it. The omnibus bill includes:
• $76.4 billion in discretionary appropriations for the U.S. Department of Education, an increase of $2.9 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level. Of the total, $42 billion is for K-12 education.
• $17.5 billion for ESSA Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, an increase of $1 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $2.2 billion for ESSA Title II-A, an increase of $27 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $13.3 billion for IDEA Part B, an increase of $406 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $1.3 billion for Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants, an increase of $60 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• $1.38 billion for CTE State Grants, an increase of $45 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
In an effort to draw attention to Rep. Wolgamott's bill (
HF 2657) to fully fund special education, we will be sharing each district's special education cross-subsidy in a tweet each day. Please "Like" and "Retweet.
Please don't forget to pass the
Congressional IDEA Full Funding Act resolution at your board table. The Government Relations team had been meeting with members of Congress and they have mentioned the resolutions their offices have been receiving. Once you have passed it, please send a copy to each of your members of Congress and to klewis@mnmsba.org.
