Author: Sarah Cooke

The cumulative number of COVID-19 infections associated with Minnesota schools has surged to over 16,000 and a fifth school staff member has died of an infection linked to their work in a school, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health released Thursday. 

A student debt crisis of epic proportions is causing stress and strain for Minnesotans who are struggling to repay their loans and putting off other bills, according to a Morning Consult survey commissioned by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Education Minnesota.

After the shooting deaths of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, in the Atlanta area this week, Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement.

Education Minnesota supports new language governing teacher layoffs introduced Friday in the Minnesota House because it will accelerate racial diversity in the teaching corps while preserving due process rights.

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said the union of educators welcomed the spotlight Gov. Tim Walz and leaders in the Minnesota Legislature are putting on the urgent need to design and fund expanded learning opportunities, including summer school. 

Educators are wishing Mary Cathryn Ricker, a nationally board certified teacher, success in her next endeavor after she announced Tuesday that she will resign as the state’s education commissioner effective April 1. 

The state budget forecast released Friday predicts a $1.6 billion surplus in the next budget cycle, even as unemployment soars for low-wage workers and amid news reports that demand at food shelves in Minnesota has reached record levels. 

The public schools of Minnesota will not be able to offer the same quality of education to its students next fall if the state Legislature fails to approve additional funding to compensate for students that parents held back or transferred out during the pandemic, said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. 

Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan on Wednesday encouraged the remaining Minnesota school districts that don’t currently offer in-person learning, or don’t have plans to do so soon, to create a safe learning plan and open their doors to E-12 students by March 8. 

A federal judge on Friday rejected claims by three teachers that Education Minnesota must pay refunds and damages for collecting “fair-share” fees for the 40 years before June 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the practice was unconstitutional.