Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota House Bill HF2895 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to education finance; creating an education empowerment account program;
3	3	1.3 requiring a report; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
4	4	1.4 Statutes, chapter 124D.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. [124D.0905] EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT ACCOUNTS FOR
7	7	1.7STUDENTS.
8	8	1.8 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
9	9	1.9the meanings given.
10	10	1.10 (b) "Available federal funds" means federal elementary and secondary aid paid to the
11	11	1.11state through a block grant or otherwise not required by federal law to be used for a specific
12	12	1.12purpose.
13	13	1.13 (c) "Eligible education expenses" include:
14	14	1.14 (1) tuition and fees;
15	15	1.15 (2) textbooks, curricular materials, and other instructional materials and supplies;
16	16	1.16 (3) registration fees for nationally standardized achievement tests, advanced placement
17	17	1.17and international baccalaureate tests, and any other examination related to postsecondary
18	18	1.18admission;
19	19	1.19 (4) educational therapies, including individualized observation and instruction to students
20	20	1.20who may be struggling in a specific academic subject area;
21	21	1Section 1.
22	22	REVISOR CR/LJ 25-0408003/03/25
23	23	State of Minnesota
24	24	This Document can be made available
25	25	in alternative formats upon request
26	26	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
27	27	H. F. No. 2895
28	28	NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
29	29	Authored by Dippel03/27/2025
30	30	The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Education Finance 2.1 (5) pupil transportation services to and from school, unless transportation is provided
31	31	2.2under sections 123B.84 to 123B.87; and
32	32	2.3 (6) computer hardware, software, and connectivity devices and expenses necessary for
33	33	2.4a student to participate in an educational program.
34	34	2.5 (d) "Eligible student" means any student who resides in Minnesota and is eligible to
35	35	2.6enroll in a public school for prekindergarten through grade 12 programming.
36	36	2.7 (e) "Individual education empowerment account" means an education empowerment
37	37	2.8account established on behalf of an eligible student according to subdivision 4.
38	38	2.9 (f) "Participating student" means an eligible student who has enrolled in the education
39	39	2.10empowerment account program.
40	40	2.11 (g) "Postsecondary institution" means an eligible institution under section 124D.09,
41	41	2.12subdivision 3, paragraph (a).
42	42	2.13 (h) "Student education empowerment amount" means the statewide average general
43	43	2.14education revenue per pupil unit under section 126C.10.
44	44	2.15 Subd. 2. Education empowerment account program created.(a) An education
45	45	2.16empowerment account program is created.
46	46	2.17 (b) A student qualifies to participate in the program if the student is an eligible student
47	47	2.18under subdivision 1, paragraph (d).
48	48	2.19 (c) A parent must only use the money deposited in a participating student's education
49	49	2.20empowerment account for tuition and fees.
50	50	2.21 (d) Upon a participating student's graduation from high school, any money remaining
51	51	2.22in a participating student's individual education empowerment account may be applied to
52	52	2.23tuition and fees charged for courses taken from a postsecondary institution in the school
53	53	2.24year immediately following the year of graduation.
54	54	2.25 (e) If, at any time after the creation of a student's individual education empowerment
55	55	2.26account, the participating student re-enrolls in a Minnesota school district or charter school,
56	56	2.27the student's individual education empowerment account must be closed, and any remaining
57	57	2.28money in the student's individual education empowerment account must be returned to the
58	58	2.29state general fund.
59	59	2.30 Subd. 3.Individual education empowerment account funding.(a) The commissioner
60	60	2.31must create an individual education empowerment account for each participating student
61	61	2.32upon request of the student's parent.
62	62	2Section 1.
63	63	REVISOR CR/LJ 25-0408003/03/25 3.1 (b) Each student's education empowerment amount equals the student education
64	64	3.2empowerment amount for that school year times grade-level weighting under section 126C.05
65	65	3.3for the eligible student's grade.
66	66	3.4 (c) On July 30 of each year, the amount determined under paragraph (b) is appropriated
67	67	3.5from the general fund to the commissioner for placement into each participating student's
68	68	3.6education empowerment account. The amount transferred to each account equals the product
69	69	3.7of the pupil's grade-level weighting for that year and the basic formula allowance for that
70	70	3.8year.
71	71	3.9 Subd. 4.Application information.(a) The commissioner must create an application
72	72	3.10form, ensure that the application is readily available to interested students and families, and
73	73	3.11post the form to the Department of Education's website. The commissioner must provide
74	74	3.12information to participating students and families explaining (1) the obligation of the parent
75	75	3.13to document the appropriate expenditure of account funds, and (2) the duties of the
76	76	3.14commissioner to oversee the spending of the funds. The information must also be made
77	77	3.15available on the department's website.
78	78	3.16 (b) By October 1 of each year, the commissioner shall annually notify all students who
79	79	3.17are eligible to participate in the education empowerment account program of the existence
80	80	3.18of the program.
81	81	3.19 Subd. 5.Special revenue fund; education empowerment account.(a) An account is
82	82	3.20established in the special revenue fund known as the "education empowerment account."
83	83	3.21 (b) Available federal funds must be deposited into the education empowerment account.
84	84	3.22If the commissioner estimates that the available federal funds are in excess of the amount
85	85	3.23necessary to fund the educational empowerment accounts, the remaining available funds
86	86	3.24may be used as otherwise provided by law.
87	87	3.25 (c) State funds appropriated for the education empowerment account must be transferred
88	88	3.26to the education empowerment account in the special revenue fund.
89	89	3.27 (d) Money in the account is annually appropriated to the commissioner for transfer into
90	90	3.28participating students' individual education empowerment accounts.
91	91	3.29 Subd. 6.Effect on nonpublic schools.Nothing in this section authorizes the Department
92	92	3.30of Education or any school district in this state to exercise any additional control or
93	93	3.31supervision, other than that set forth in this section, or to impose any additional requirements
94	94	3.32or restrictions, other than those set forth in this section, over any nonpublic school, nonpublic
95	95	3.33school student, or parent of any nonpublic school student.
96	96	3Section 1.
97	97	REVISOR CR/LJ 25-0408003/03/25 4.1 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment and
98	98	4.2applies to eligible students enrolling in an eligible school for the 2026-2027 school year
99	99	4.3and later.
100	100	4.4 Sec. 2. APPROPRIATIONS; EDUCATION EMPOWERMENT ACCOUNTS.
101	101	4.5 Subdivision 1.Department of Education.The sums indicated in this section are
102	102	4.6appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years
103	103	4.7designated.
104	104	4.8 Subd. 2.Development of education empowerment accounts.For development of
105	105	4.9education empowerment accounts under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.0905:
106	106	2026............4.10 $
107	107	4.11 Subd. 3.Education empowerment accounts.(a) For transfer to the education
108	108	4.12empowerment account in the special revenue fund under Minnesota Statutes, section
109	109	4.13124D.0905, subdivision 5:
110	110	2027............4.14 $
111	111	4.15 (b) By March 15 of each year, the commissioner must annually estimate and report to
112	112	4.16the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction
113	113	4.17over education the state aid, when added to the available federal funds, necessary to fully
114	114	4.18fund the education empowerment account for the following school year.
115	115	4Sec. 2.
116	116	REVISOR CR/LJ 25-0408003/03/25