ST. PAUL - A bipartisan group of legislators Thursday announced the filing of bills in the Minnesota House and Senate that would increase funding for early learning scholarships.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Richard Cohen, DFL-St. Paul, and Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, introduced legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, which would add additional funding for early learning scholarships, allowing more children access to high-quality early learning opportunities, MinneMinds Coalition reported in a news release.
Cohen and Kresha were joined by a bipartisan group of legislators from both chambers, including: Senate Education Finance Chair Chuck Wiger, DFL- Maplewood, House Education Finance Chair Jenifer Loon, R- Eden Prairie, Sen. Eric Pratt, R-Prior Lake, Sen. Melisa Franzen, DFL-Edina, Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, and Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, at a press conference today to promote these important measures.
"Supporting early learning for Minnesota's most at-risk children is not a partisan issue," said Cohen in a news release. "The achievement gap is a statewide problem that hurts children from all backgrounds. This legislation will help close that gap and give every child in Minnesota a bright future."
"The legislation that we are introducing today will continue Minnesota's commitment to closing the achievement gap and preparing Minnesota's most at-risk children for success in kindergarten and in life," said Kresha in a news release, adding "investing in early learning scholarships will ensure that all of our youngest learners are given every opportunity to develop into the next generation of high quality workers for Minnesota."
ADVERTISEMENT
The MinneMinds Coalition, a statewide coalition of nearly 100 organizations, supports the legislation because it will foster a critical expansion of a program that is helping close the academic achievement gap. The scholarship model is tied to quality, follows the child and is parent directed. This model makes the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars and targets the most at-risk children.
