EGIP reporting bill passes as legislative session ends.Â
This bill lays the groundwork for EGIP’s potential passage next year.
The 2026 legislative session ended in May. Despite a divided Legislature and a non-budget year, educators were able to secure important wins—including passage of a reporting bill that plays a crucial role in moving our healthcare proposal forward next session.
Below, we have put together a legislative summary that includes more details on the reporting bill, along with other legislation that impacts educators.
Education Minnesota priorities: Pay, pensions and healthcare
Educator Group Insurance Program (EGIP)
Currently, more than 500 school districts and charter schools negotiate their own insurance coverage with health insurers, resulting in small, volatile insurance pools. Education Minnesota supports creating a single, statewide insurance pool of school employees, which would be large enough to absorb expensive claims and have more bargaining power against the insurance companies.
On the final day of session, legislators voted to fund the first comprehensive study of the spiraling health insurance costs of Minnesota school districts. This will allow the Legislature to understand the full scope of the problem and more accurately project EGIP’s price tag in future sessions.
St. Paul pension funding
St. Paul educators secured a major pension win this session when legislators appropriated $3.4 million to lower contribution rates for current Saint Paul Public Schools teachers, meaning more money in each paycheck.
Education funding
Constitutional amendment
The Legislature decided to send a constitutional amendment to the voters in November that, if passed, will increase revenue for public schools by increasing
the annual draw from the Permanent School Fund—an account funded by timber sales and mining royalties that dates back to the state’s founding.
Education Minnesota encourages all members to vote yes on this amendment in November.
Compensatory aid
State legislators also approved spending an additional $10 million on compensatory aid, which supports schools with students from low-income families. This money will be vital as Minnesota schools brace for hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts from the state and federal governments in the next two years.
Voucher program rejected
The governor refused to join President Donald Trump’s new national school voucher program, which would reduce the amount of money available for public schools that serve every student.
Seasonal recreational tax base replacement aid
The Legislature passed a bipartisan bill that will allow property tax revenue from seasonal and recreational properties to remain in the region rather than go to the statewide general fund, which will help lower the property tax burden for homeowners in cabin-country areas on voter-approved operating levies.
School safety
ICE out of Minnesota schools
The Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would have limited immigration enforcement in schools and other sensitive areas, but it died in the House. The bill was supported by Education Minnesota.
For a more in-depth explanation of these policies, check out our legislative wrap-up webinar at edmn.me/26sessionwebinar or email our lobby team at lobbyteam@edmn.org.
