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Neighbors,
It is already the middle of July and I hope your summer is going well. This is an excellent time to explore our local communities and venture to other parts of the state. Check out the Explore Minnesota website to plan your next getaway. Enjoy your adventures!
Several new laws took effect on July 1, among those are laws related to supplemental funding, education policy, restrictive employment covenants, school boards and more. You can read about the new laws here.
Summaries of all laws passed by the 2024 Legislature are available online from nonpartisan House Public Information Services here.
Among new laws taking effect, are a handful impacting our kids heading back to school this fall. Several of the new laws will focus more energy and resources on student success, notably when it comes to reading comprehension and literacy. On July 1, the Minnesota Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act went into effect, investing $37.22 million in ensuring all of Minnesota’s students are reading at grade level beginning in kindergarten. In addition to improving literacy, other new laws include:
- Annual reviews and revisions of personal learning plans to ensure students are on track to graduate
- Allowing school districts to grant parental access to their student’s performance data
- Enhancing the right to free speech for student journalists and freedom of the press in school-sponsored media
- Adding Native cultural practice, observance, or ceremonies to the list of excused religious absences from school
- Requiring schools to have a language access plan for students and families who speak languages other than English
- Ensuring certain rights and protections for children of Minnesota Army National Guard and Air National Guard members when transferring between public schools
Serving as Education Policy Committee chair has been a great privilege and it is satisfying to see all the key measures we passed become law. Improving our children’s educational experience was a top priority for lawmakers and our partnership with you made it all possible.
Outside of our K-12 schools, we made investments to support children at all stages of development, from ensuring access to food at home to supporting caregivers. Some of these investments delivered:
- $2 million for the Minnesota food shelf program
- $2.39 million for Minnesota's regional food banks for purposes of the emergency food assistance program
- $1 million for the American Indian food sovereignty funding program
- $9.66 million for information technology improvements to the outdated Social Services Information System used by more than 6,000 workers around the state to track and manage child welfare casework
- $1.13 million for the child care improvement grant program
- $3.39 million for emergency services grants
- $550,000 for the supporting relative caregiver grants program
DFLers are interested in hearing from Minnesotans about how prescription drug prices impact their health care, what affordability concerns exist, and which drugs might benefit from pricing transparency. If you are interested in providing your insights, you can complete the Public Input on Prescription Drug Price Transparency in Minnesota form to share your experiences and help guide the Minnesota Department of Health’s ongoing drug price transparency work.
It is an honor to represent you at the Capitol and I am always grateful you read my e-updates during and after the legislative session. During an election period, however, legislators cannot use state resources for unsolicited communications because it might create an unfair advantage for incumbents. Subsequently, this is my last update until after the election.
As most of you know, I am retiring from the legislature at the end of the year. Until then, please continue to reach out with any input, ideas, or feedback about the issues important to you. I value hearing from you, so call or email me any time. You can also connect with me on Facebook here. It is an honor to represent you at the State Capitol.
Sincerely,
Laurie Pryor
State Representative
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