Author: Sarah Cooke

Minnesota teachers testified Thursday at a special meeting of the joint Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirements in favor of a proposal to lower the normal retirement age to receive a state pension without penalties. 

The slowly improving graduation rate in Minnesota is welcome news but more needs to be done to ensure all Minnesota students have access to a world-class education, no matter where they live, what they look like, or their backgrounds, said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. 

Educators from across Minnesota will rally in the Capitol rotunda on Monday to call for legislation this session that will deliver better pensions for educators who are being treated unfairly because of policy decisions made in the past.

Minnesota educators will present their priorities for the Legislature’s upcoming education budgets and call for a higher figure for pension reform at a virtual news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The size of the budgets for education and other priorities released Tuesday could change the lives of Minnesota’s educators and students, but the budget for pension reform is much too small, said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. 

Representatives of six of the largest metro unions of educators in Minnesota will call on the Legislature to fully fund E-12 education during a news conference at 10 a.m. Friday in the Capitol press room. 

The field of possible candidates for this year’s Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor has been narrowed to 33. An independent selection panel of 21 community leaders chose the semifinalists from an initial field of 132 candidates from across the state.

Educators testified Wednesday on the importance of the Education Support Professional (ESP) Bill of Rights, a flagship priority of Education Minnesota’s legislative agenda.