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Education Minnesota teacher apprenticeship program creates new pathway to classroom teaching

Education Minnesota teacher apprenticeship program creates new pathway to classroom teaching. Earlier this summer, Education Minnesota officially began a new apprenticeship program for elementary educators Currently, the landscape for teacher apprenticeships is very segmented: if a district even has an apprenticeship program, it’s managed at the district level. This results in wildly different apprenticeship experiences…

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Unemployment insurance funded for two more years

Since 2023, hourly school workers have been able to receive unemployment insurance over the summer. This program is vital for reducing turnover in ESP roles and increasing flexibility and stability for education support professionals, who remain some of the most underpaid employees in public education. Earlier this session, Republicans proposed legislation that would defund this…

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Legal Briefs: Court of Appeals sides with Education Minnesota member in continuing contract dispute

By Paula Johnston, Education Minnesota Attorney This Legal Briefs column, written by Education Minnesota attorneys, is one of an occasional series on legal developments that affect educators. On April 28, 2025, Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a great decision in Bellamy v. ISD No. 700, Hermantown Public Schools. The case concerned a 2023 amendment to…

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An update on student loans from our Degrees, Not Debt team

For the past four years, we’ve kept a spreadsheet updated with critical data as part of our work. Inside Education Minnesota, there is nothing special about a spreadsheet; we have hundreds of them tracking school finance information, legislative projections, student and staff data and more. But this one is special.

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Legislative session in full swing after unprecedented start

 The 2025-26 legislative session is fully underway after a rocky start due to unexpected vacancies in both chambers, a tie in the House and a one-seat DFL majority in the Senate. We have broken down everything that’s happened in the Legislature this session, along with how it has impacted our proposed bills. The Minnesota…

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Hundreds gather in St. Paul for Rally to Fund our Future

 On Feb. 18, almost 500 educators, state workers, nurses, home health and child care workers, service employees and other labor union members gathered in the Capitol Rotunda for a rally around raising revenue. The rally was organized by We Make Minnesota, a labor-grassroots coalition advocating for a strong and equitable state budget, of which…

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Action Leader program empowers members to advocate for pensions and health care improvements

 Last fall, Education Minnesota again conducted its Worksite Action Leader program, which used relational organizing at targeted worksites to increase voter turnout in the November 2024 elections. The program was incredibly effective, increasing voter turnout by double digits. To build on the success of the WAL program, we are starting something similar for this…

Support our colleagues in the Becker Education Association

Our union colleagues in the Becker Education Association are facing a challenge to their status as the exclusive representative in the Becker school district. Show them your support by submitting a photo, video or message. Send as many as you’d like! The local will be using these in daily messages to the BEA members to…