In the 2023-2024 biennium, DFLers delivered an education budget that updates Minnesota’s general education formula to be indexed to inflation. On Friday, February 28 the Minnesota Department of Education shared with Minnesota school districts, due to indexing, the new increase to the per-pupil formula allowance taking effect for the 2025-2026 school year will be a 2.74% increase.
This change will translate to $200 more per pupil, bringing the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 formula allowance to $7,481 per adjusted pupil unit (APU). In previous years, Minnesota schools have needed to wait until the legislature passes the biennial budget to know whether or not the education funding formula would be increased.
DFLers provided a 4% per-pupil increase in the general education formula in FY2024 and a 2% increase in FY2025 for an investment totaling $710 million over the biennium. The overall Education Finance budget provided increases of $2.2 billion in FYs 2024-2025 and $3.2 billion in FYs 2026-2027.
Representative Cheryl Youakim (DFL- Hopkins), DFL Lead on the House Education Finance Committee, cheered the work Democrats delivered for Minnesota students.
“Indexing the formula to inflation will provide our districts the stability they need when planning their budgets,” said Rep. Youakim. “While the past 20 years of underfunding can’t be undone overnight, every step forward, every increased investment, is a positive development for Minnesota kids, families, and our shared success as a state.”
It was a very full week this week at the Capitol. I had a few late nights with my final Community Conversation in the series on Tuesday night as well as our SD 46 Town Hall on Wednesday night. A big thank you to everyone who turned out for for both events. We had excellent participation and questions ranging from concerns around federal funds disappearing to how we can better protect our environment. I always look forward to these events when we can gather and connect in person to hear about what’s on your mind. Please feel free to reach out directly anytime to share your input and questions.
In these final weeks before the March 11 special election, my colleagues in the Republican controlled House are spending a lot of time in committees on bills that will not have 68 votes to pass the House floor. It has been frustrating as we could be spending time on bills that actually have a chance of moving forward. This week, we voted down a bill to halt the Blue Line extension in the north metro – an area that none of the bill authors represent. We also heard a bill to alter the ability of the Governor to continue a state of emergency beyond 14 days without a supermajority of votes in the legislative body. This is concerning; politics should not be in the mix when Minnesota may be facing a natural disaster (like a flood or Avian flu), a cybersecurity, or another global pandemic.
One thing DFLers and some Republican legislators have found common ground on is concern over cuts to Medicare and Medicaid by the Trump administration. A small handful of Republican state legislators sent a letter to their congressional counterparts urging them to stand up against these cuts, as they’ll hurt people who rely on these services in all corners of the state. I hope this show of support for public health means they’ll join us this session in strengthening healthcare and MinnesotaCare, rather than cutting it as some have proposed.
We did pass two bipartisan bills off of the House floor on Thursday dealing with a bonus for state employees who finds innovation and efficiencies within their agencies. We also passed a bill that will start on the path towards getting dark money out of politics.
Committee Work
On Monday, in the Ways and Means Committee, we discussed HF 5, a bill that adds another layer of reports from the Office of the Legislative Auditor that many of us felt was unnecessary. We also heard from the Minnesota Management and Budget about a bill we passed last session to make sure we are looking at inflation on the revenue and expenditure side of the state budget – comparing apples to apples.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays I serve on the Taxes Committee. This week, we heard a HF 4, a problematic bill proposing to redirect state investments dedicated to our schools, nursing homes, and folks with disabilities. If this bill passes, the state would have no flexibility to meet a downturn in the economy or if the federal government decides to cut funding to Minnesota. This may sound good on a bumper sticker, but it is not fiscally prudent, could lower our state bond rating, or even cause a special session to remove funds appropriated to our schools or other local municipalities. Another bill we discussed would increase the Research and Development fund by providing handouts to large corporations by $1 billion over four years.
HF 5 was up next; a bill that would also decimate transportation and transit funding in the seven county metro area. Among other items like reducing funding for Meals on Wheels funding, HF 9 rolled back improvements we made in the renewable energy realm, and a bill I support authored by Rep. Norris to discharge the indebtedness from victims of domestic violence. We finished the week discussing a bill giving a larger tax break to data centers, and a bill to provide an optional property tax abatement to land banked property for affordable housing construction.
In the Education Finance Committee this week we heard a bill to create a statewide Office of Inspector General, a bill to allow advance payments for the education credit, and a bill to correct a grant to a Little Falls school district. Thursday had an amazing group of 15+ student testifiers that asked us to reject HF 29, a bill to repeal Ethnic Studies in Minnesota classrooms and stall the revised social studies standards until 2030. The students were poised and inspirational.
Constituent Visits
This week was full of visits by organizations and constituents. Rep. Larry Kraft and I met with constituents up at the Capitol with the Minnesota Nurses Association to talk about workplace safety and fair wages.
I also had the opportunity to meet with constituent Payton Jones from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. We discussed how a bonding bill would create more jobs. We also talked about the need to strengthen workplace protections for IBEW workers.
I had the chance to talk to two board members of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). President Lauren Stoel (Lake Wilson, MN) and Reporter Natalie Clemenson (Zumbrota, Minnesota). They filled me in on the opportunities FFA provides for leadership and the incredible agricultural education they have received around ag business, animal science, crop and soils science. Our future is bright with these engaged students.
During Certified Public Accountant day at the Capitol, I had a chance to catch up with CPA and business owner Anthony DeGiulio from Hopkins. I always learn something new when we talk and thank you for sharing the CPA’s legislative agenda.
It was great to catch up with Jerald Stiele from Hopkins Auto Body who came to advocate for the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers. We used to be in the Minnesota Rotary together, small world.
Rabbi Jill Avrin and Kent Rissman from the Joint Religious Legislative Council met with me to discuss the issue areas they are highlighting this year: helping widowed spouses of veterans that currently lose education benefits, expanding the child tax credit, and providing funds to mitigate harm if gambling is expanded. Thank you for your advocacy!
Keep in Touch
As I mentioned above, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime with what’s on your mind, or if I can provide assistance. You can reach me at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889. You’re also welcome to follow me for additional updates on my Facebook page.
Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, Edina, and St. Louis Park neighbors at the State Capitol.
A big thank you to the folks who turned out for the Community Conversation last Saturday. The snow and cold didn’t stop neighbors from coming out to have their voices heard. We had conversations around education funding, discussed chronic absenteeism, heard strong support for our LGBTQ+ communities, and much more. I appreciate all of the input! A special shoutout to our amazing public libraries for providing the space to gather!
We have heard a slew of bills in our committees that only have Republican authors, have strong opposition in the Senate, and will not be able to garner the 68 votes on the House. It is my hope that we start to spend more time in committees on bills that we can work on together as we await the March 6 forecast to start our work on the two year state budget.
State of the City Video Recording Now Available
Did you miss Hopkins’ State of the City this year? A video recording of the event is now available. Check it out to learn about local government issues and city initiatives from the past year, and a look ahead at 2025.
Cold Weather & Energy Assistance Resources
With the cold weather still upon us, I want to share a quick reminder that Minnesota’s “cold weather rule” is now in effect, which protects residents from having their electric or natural gas service shut off until April 30.
To ensure your service is safe from disconnection, you must make and keep a payment plan that you and your utility provider agree on. More information is available on the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s website.
Also, an initiative the state legislature strengthened in 2021 may help lower costs. While older homes have their charm, many homeowners needing basic home improvements like repairing windows, removing asbestos, repairing cracked foundations or siding often face challenges paying upfront for these pre-weatherization measures. Minnesotans using CenterPoint or Xcel Energy can schedule an appointment with the Home Energy Squad to visit their homes to identify low cost energy-saving solutions. Each visit is approximately two hours, and during that time, the Home Energy Squad will perform various energy-saving tests, inspect your insulation, heating and cooling systems, and water heater. Learn more here.
House Floor Activity
On Thursday, we discussed House File 20 on the House Floor. It is a bill that would give currently private data to powerful special interests. The bill stems from a case the fossil fuel industry and would make it nearly impossible for the Minnesota Attorney General to join other state’s AGs to join in collective actions to protect their citizens. Without 68 votes, Democrats were successful in stopping this bill from advancing. HF 20 was “tabled” which means it could be taken up again at any time.
Committee Work
In the Ways and Means on Monday, we heard from the Legislative Budget Office on the process of putting together fiscal notes. Fiscal notes reflect the cost of implementing what a bill is proposing.
During Thursday’s Taxes hearing, we had an overview from the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR) and the work that they do, as well as the Governor’s tax proposal. On Thursday, we heard from the League of Minnesota Cities, Association of Minnesota Counties, and the Minnesota Inter-County Association on their legislative priorities for this session.
In the Education Finance Committee on Tuesday, we heard a large education bill proposal from the House GOP that makes changes to the Read Act including removing the requirement for the reading curriculum to be culturally responsive. It would also remove oversight from the Minnesota Department of Education on grant allocation to school districts around education innovation. The bill also allows districts to ignore any requirements we placed to secure school funding in the 2023-2024 legislative session until the 2029-2030 school year. While the bill should have made at least three more committee stops, it went directly to the House Floor with only GOP support.
On Thursday, we had a robust discussion on a bill proposed to redirect funds from the Student Support Personnel Aid (SSPA), that we funded in 2023-2024, to a School Safety Account. SSPA allowed our school districts to hire more school psychologists, nurses, social workers, and counselors in our schools, while the School Safety Account can also be used for cybersecurity and funding building safety updates. There would be no guarantee, if the SSPA funds are moved to the School Safety Account, that the funds would be used in accordance with the legislative intent to put more trained professionals in our schools to help our students. There was an incredible group of students and school staff that testified in opposition to the bill. Including, students from Edina High School that are pictured below. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an education bill.
Kidney Disease Awareness
Kidney disease is one of the top 10 causes of death in the US, but only 10% of adults with the disease know they have it. Early detection is vital for slowing or stopping further kidney damage, which is a key focus of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). The NKF is dedicated to eliminating preventable kidney disease, supporting new innovations, and dismantling structural inequities in patient care. A simple step to assess your risk for this disease is to take this 60-second quiz Kidney Health Quiz.
Constituent and Organizations Meetings
This week was very busy with constituents and organizations that visited the Capitol this week to advocate for bills and share their thoughts. I started the week meeting with a group of teachers who are on the Education Minnesota Governing Board to talk about school funding and pensions.
Emily Beck is a constituent who was advocating for the awareness of kidney disease and was kind enough to share the 60 second quiz to see how to keep your kidneys healthy.
I also had the chance to meet with Dawn Uribe, and her husband Gary, who runs Mis Amigos Preschool to discuss the challenges that industry is facing.
I met with a group of constituents who were at the Capitol for a rally with Faith in Minnesota, ISAIAH, and We Make Minnesota to support Paid Family Medical Leave, maintain transit investment, support affordable housing, and more.
Dr. Deborah Thorpe was at the Capitol to advocate for increasing the reimbursement for treating Medical Assistance recipients. She is an Ob-Gyn who has spent years practicing gender care and is very concerned about the Federal government’s recent positions regarding our LBGTQ+ community.
I had an inspiring visit with the organizations that make up the Education Partnership Collaborative who focus on making sure our students and their families have the supports they need to be successful.
On Thursday, it was mental health awareness day and I met with folks from Fraser, Vail Place, and UABLE to discuss the barriers folks face to receive care and support.
Talked with a group of amazing aspiring teachers who advocated last year for paid student teaching and other ways to make sure we support students who want to become teachers in our classrooms.
Town Hall Reminder
I’m sharing a friendly reminder about our upcoming SD 46 Town Hall Meeting on February 27th in St. Louis Park! I hope you can attend; I’d love to hear from you.
Community Conversations
I also have a few more community conversations I’m hosting. Check out the remaining dates below to find a date, time, and location that works best for you.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions, ideas, or input. I appreciate hearing from you! I’m always happy to see how I can help.
Thank you for the honor of representing our Hopkins, St. Louis Park, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s great to be back at the State Capitol. It’s been quite a busy week between committee meetings, constituent meetings and meetings with organizations on their legislative platforms. Let’s dive in.
Committee work is underway with the GOP leading the House agenda for the next four weeks. Republicans have already introduced several pieces of harmful legislation that would hurt our students, neighbors, healthcare systems, eliminate reproductive freedoms, transit, and more. They’ve even introduced their own version of a “Parents Bill of Rights”, essentially dictating what their children learn in schools, blocking American History curriculum and more content they don’t agree with.
Committee Meetings
In the Education Finance Committee, we had an overview of the Governor’s budget proposal and the Minnesota Department of Education’s budget proposal. Next week we will be rolling into bill hearings.
In the Ways and Means Committee we would traditionally hear an overview of the State Budget and November forecast from non-partisan staff and the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget. Instead, Chair Torkelson had a conservative, partisan presentation from the Center of the American Experiment, an organization that later disparaged our committee members’ comments on their podcast.
In Taxes, we heard a variety of bills from sales tax exemptions for baby materials to sales tax exemptions on construction materials. We also heard a proposed controversial constitutional amendment that would raid our emergency and rainy-day funds, as well as funds used to stabilize our school district budgets. Additionally, we heard a bill to increase an exemption on the estate tax from $3 million dollars to $14 million.
Your Input Needed: Keep it Digitally Safe!
In the United States, we have guardrails on all kinds of products like seatbelts in cars or warning labels on tobacco products. We do things to protect ourselves from products that are legal, but deadly without safety measures. I’m interested in learning how that could be applied to social media.
The Keep it Digitally Safe, or KiDS, Campaign is a global contest inviting parents and kids to submit social media warning label ideas to raise awareness about the risks associated with social media and promote safer online practices. Individuals and teams can submit their entries at keepitdigitallysafe.org. All entries must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. CST on Friday, April 18.
KiDS aims to amplify the impact of significant risk and real physical harm occurring on social media every minute of every day.
Through public messaging created through the KiDS Campaign, SAVE and other organizations want to implement real change for accountability and transparency from social media companies through legislative action.
Guidance to School Districts regarding ICE
Minnesota Attorney General Elison joined the Minnesota Department of Education to provide guidance around U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entering our schools. You can see the guidance here.
Minnesota schools continue to be bound by law to provide public education to students regardless of immigration status, must protect student data, and cannot be compelled to enforce a federal program or changes in federal policies.
Constituent Meetings
On Monday, I had the opportunity to chat with the owner and folks from Mac’s Liquor in Hopkins. We went over the legislative agenda and talked about concerns around liquor in grocery stores and the ability to continue to sell THC products. Thank you for the conversation!
Affordable Housing Day had different groups visiting on Tuesday to discuss the need for affordable and market rate housing, as well as the barriers to building up that housing stock. I met with a mother and daughter who volunteer with Beacon Housing. Thank you for your advocacy to make sure folks have a place to call home. A group from Reach for Resources in Hopkins here for Minnesota Social Services Day. We discussed the need for better reimbursement models to meet their caseloads. I also met with folks from People for Pride in Living to discuss their alternative education programs and the investment they need to continue their good work.
Wednesday brought a variety of folks visiting the Capitol to advocate. Duluth schools to discuss career technical education (CTE) pathways, a visit from ServeMN and Americorp to discuss their Math Corp program, an amazing group of CTE teachers to talk about the programs they expanded because of the investments we made last session, and folks from iCivics to discuss civic education programming. I also had a chance to meet with one of our new reporters from the Sun Sailor, Nina Thompson.
I had a well-attended Community Conversation last Saturday! Thank you to the 25+ people who attended. We had a thoughtful discussion around topics from affordable housing and education funding to protecting our climate and property taxes.
A big thank you to Hennepin County Sergeant Howse for letting me ride along on Saturday night! Hennepin County has an incredibly large territory to cover and provide response support to so many of our communities. I appreciate their dedication to public safety and service!
Upcoming Town Hall Meeting
Please join Rep. Larry Kraft, Senator Latz, and me at our upcoming Town Hall meeting in the St. Louis Park City Council Chambers. Hope to see you there!
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or to let me know how I can provide assistance. It’s an honor to represent our St. Louis Park, Hopkins, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
Wednesday evening, House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman announced a bipartisan power-sharing agreement in the Minnesota House of Representatives. The agreement stipulates that Republicans will govern as a majority until we return to a 67-67 tie, which we expect following the March 11th special election in Roseville. At that point, all committees will have equal representation from both parties with co-chairs leading – precisely what we’ve insisted on for weeks. I’m looking forward to continuing committee work as the DFL Lead for the Education Finance Committee with GOP Chair Ron Kresha and look forward to the work as co-chair when or if we return to a 67-67 tie.
While the agreement allows GOP Leader Lisa Demuth to serve as Speaker of the House for the full biennium with some DFL checks and balances, Democrats secured our biggest goal – a power-sharing agreement that ensures Rep. Brad Tabke can serve the term to which he was elected. The agreement also prevents Republicans from throwing out an election in the future; a victory for democracy and the people of Minnesota.
I’m pleased to report that the 2025 session properly and lawfully got underway on Thursday, February 6. I’ve been working hard in our district over the past few weeks, and I’m excited to bring that work back to the State Capitol.
Additionally, I had the opportunity this week to interview with KSTP regarding President Trump’s anticipated Executive Order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Minnesota receives $1.9 billion dollars a month from the U.S. Department of Education in the areas of special education, Title I, student grants in higher education, as well as grants directly to schools and other educational organizations. We also receive roughly 60% of the funds for Universal Meals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This impending Executive Order joins a long list of harmful orders coming from President Trump.
Here’s a look at what I’ve been working on for our communities:
On Monday, I spent the day working on legislation, meeting with Executive Director Josiah Litant from the P-20 Education Partnership going over their annual report, and talking with Zeke Jackson with People from PSEO on some of their priorities for their upcoming session. You can find the P-20 report here.
I had a full day of meetings on Tuesday, but a highlight was with Carolyn Berger, a constituent who is licensed in mental health and is a professor at the University of Minnesota teaching our future school and community counselors. We discussed the investment we made to increase our school support professionals staffing (school counselors, nurses, & psychologists). It has helped with the pipeline of folks working in our schools, but we need to do more! It was great to have our college intern, Abbey, sit in and participate.
Thank you, OutFront Minnesota, for hosting Wednesday’s conversation on how we can support creating a learning environment where students can be the best versions of themselves. We need to make sure our students feel safe and supported in our schools and our communities.
I also had meetings on Wednesday with the Minnesota Multi-Unit Housing Association on tenant notification, Coalition for Children with Disabilities on their legislative agenda, and the Minnesota Association of Independent Schools regarding non-public pupil aid. My meeting with RESOLVE to discuss the need for insurance to cover infertility was very meaningful and personal to my family and many friends in our communities. A big thank you to Lindsey for sharing your personal story!
Thursday, before session started, Rep. Larry Kraft, Rep. Alex Falconer, and I had a chance to visit with Children’s First in St. Louis Park. This amazing organization is part of Education Partnership Coalition, a broader group of communities across the state, providing a variety of services to help our students and their families be successful. Children’s First’s was accepted as a member in the StriveTogether Cradle to Career National Network to focus on data-informed ways to close the race and poverty gaps for our students’ academic success.
Friday started out with an annual regional breakfast with the Municipal Legislative Commission and leaders across the metro area. It was fun to catch up with Mayor Hovland who moderated the discussion and Edina City staff. It was also full of meetings with our education finance team including non-partisan staff, co-chairs, and with members working on education bills. I also had the chance to meet with an amazing Hopkins High School student, Dallas Downy, who is participating in Three Sixty Capitol Reporting Workshop who wanted to interview me regarding special education funding.
I hope to see you at my Community Conversation at the Hopkins Library tomorrow, Saturday, February 8 from noon – 1:30 pm. This will be my third Community Conversation this year with three more to come.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to reach out anytime at rep.cheryl.youakim@house.mn.gov or 651-296-9889 with questions or to let me know how I can provide assistance. It’s an honor to represent our St. Louis Park, Hopkins, and Edina neighbors at the State Capitol.
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