Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF3490 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; establishing minimum compensation for teachers
3	3	1.3 and certain other school staff; establishing aid programs to support teacher base
4	4	1.4 compensation and unlicensed staff wage requirements; requiring a report; proposing
5	5	1.5 coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 122A.
6	6	1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
7	7	1.7 Section 1. [122A.418] COMPENSATION FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER
8	8	1.8UNLICENSED SCHOOL STAFF.
9	9	1.9 Subdivision 1.Definitions.(a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in this
10	10	1.10subdivision have the meanings given, unless another meaning is clearly indicated.
11	11	1.11 (b) "Base teacher compensation" means annual base salary, exclusive of fringe benefits.
12	12	1.12 (c) "Covered unlicensed staff member" means an employee of a school district, charter
13	13	1.13school, intermediate school district, cooperative unit under section 123A.24, subdivision
14	14	1.142, the Perpich Center for Arts Education, or the Minnesota State Academies who:
15	15	1.15 (1) works at least 14 hours per week for at least 100 days in a school year in one position;
16	16	1.16 (2) is not required to hold a license issued by the Professional Educator Licensing and
17	17	1.17Standards Board or the Board of School Administrators; and
18	18	1.18 (3) regularly interacts with students as part of their job duties.
19	19	1.19 (d) "Full-time equivalent teacher" means a licensed teacher who is contracted to work
20	20	1.20the lesser of either (1) the number of hours classified as full-time employment in the
21	21	1.21collective bargaining agreement that applies to teachers, or (2) 182 days in a school year,
22	22	1.22and is employed by a school district, charter school, intermediate school district, cooperative
23	23	1Section 1.
24	24	25-05292 as introduced03/28/25 REVISOR CR/EN
25	25	SENATE
26	26	STATE OF MINNESOTA
27	27	S.F. No. 3490NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
28	28	(SENATE AUTHORS: PORT and Mohamed)
29	29	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
30	30	Introduction and first reading05/07/2025
31	31	Referred to Education Finance 2.1unit under section 123A.24, subdivision 2, the Perpich Center for Arts Education, or the
32	32	2.2Minnesota State Academies.
33	33	2.3 (e) "Teacher compensation threshold" for the 2026-2027 school year means: (1) $80,000
34	34	2.4for a full-time equivalent teacher who holds a master's degree and has been employed as a
35	35	2.5licensed teacher in Minnesota; (2) $100,000 for a full-time equivalent teacher who holds a
36	36	2.6master's degree and has been employed as a licensed teacher for at least ten years; and (3)
37	37	2.7$60,000 for a full-time equivalent teacher who does not meet the criteria under clause (1).
38	38	2.8For the 2027-2028 school year and later, the thresholds must be periodically adjusted as
39	39	2.9provided under subdivision 2. Base compensation must be prorated based on the portion of
40	40	2.10a full-time equivalent position an employee is contracted to work.
41	41	2.11 (f) "Unlicensed staff wage threshold" for the 2026-2027 school year means $25 per hour.
42	42	2.12For the 2027-2028 school year and later, the threshold must be periodically adjusted as
43	43	2.13provided under subdivision 2.
44	44	2.14 Subd. 2.Inflationary adjustment to compensation and wage thresholds.(a) The
45	45	2.15compensation and wage thresholds must be periodically adjusted for inflation as provided
46	46	2.16under this subdivision. The adjusted thresholds become effective on the July 1 following
47	47	2.17the commissioner's publication of each adjustment.
48	48	2.18 (b) On January 15, 2030, and every four years thereafter, the commissioner of education
49	49	2.19must calculate and publish adjusted compensation and wage thresholds. The thresholds
50	50	2.20must be increased by the greater of zero or the rate of change in inflation equal to the change
51	51	2.21in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers as published by the Bureau of Labor
52	52	2.22Statistics of the Department of Labor for the average of the fourth calendar quarter of fiscal
53	53	2.23year 2025 compared to the average of the fourth calendar quarter of the immediately prior
54	54	2.24fiscal year.
55	55	2.25 Subd. 3.Base compensation.Beginning on July 1, 2026, the base teacher compensation
56	56	2.26for a full-time equivalent teacher must not be less than the teacher compensation threshold
57	57	2.27applicable to the teacher for that school year.
58	58	2.28 Subd. 4.Bargaining.This section does not modify a district's obligation to collectively
59	59	2.29bargain with the exclusive representative for teachers and other educators.
60	60	2.30 Subd. 5.Base teacher compensation aid.(a) For fiscal year 2027 and later, a school
61	61	2.31district, charter school, intermediate school district, or cooperative unit under section
62	62	2.32123A.24, subdivision 2, is eligible for base teacher compensation aid.
63	63	2Section 1.
64	64	25-05292 as introduced03/28/25 REVISOR CR/EN 3.1 (b) The aid for each district equals the sum of the amounts calculated under paragraph
65	65	3.2(c).
66	66	3.3 (c) For each teacher employed by the district on September 1, 2025, the commissioner
67	67	3.4must calculate the difference between: (1) the teacher compensation threshold applicable
68	68	3.5to the teacher for the 2026-2027 school year; and (2) the teacher's base compensation as of
69	69	3.6September 1, 2025. The amount calculated for a teacher under this paragraph must not be
70	70	3.7less than zero.
71	71	3.8 (d) The commissioner must recalculate each district's base teacher compensation aid
72	72	3.9upon each inflationary adjustment of the compensation thresholds.
73	73	3.10 (e) Aid under this subdivision must be reserved to pay teacher compensation.
74	74	3.11 Subd. 6.Unlicensed staff minimum wage.Beginning on July 1, 2026, notwithstanding
75	75	3.12any law to the contrary, a school district or charter school must pay every covered unlicensed
76	76	3.13staff member wages at a rate at least equal to the unlicensed staff wage threshold for that
77	77	3.14school year.
78	78	3.15 Subd. 7.Aid for unlicensed staff wages.(a) For fiscal year 2027 and later, a school
79	79	3.16district, charter school, intermediate school district, or cooperative unit under section
80	80	3.17123A.24, subdivision 2, is eligible for aid for unlicensed staff wages.
81	81	3.18 (b) The aid for each district equals the sum of the amounts calculated under paragraph
82	82	3.19(c).
83	83	3.20 (c) For each covered unlicensed staff member employed by the district on September
84	84	3.211, 2025, the commissioner must calculate the difference between: (1) the unlicensed staff
85	85	3.22wage threshold for the 2026-2027 school year; and (2) the covered staff member's hourly
86	86	3.23wage as of September 1, 2025. The amount calculated for a covered staff member under
87	87	3.24this paragraph must not be less than zero.
88	88	3.25 (d) The commissioner must recalculate each district's aid for unlicensed staff wages
89	89	3.26upon each inflationary adjustment of the wage threshold.
90	90	3.27 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025.
91	91	3.28 Sec. 2. REPORT ON SCHOOL HOURLY WORKERS.
92	92	3.29 Subdivision 1.Report.The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must
93	93	3.30submit a report on hourly worker compensation to the legislative committees with jurisdiction
94	94	3.31over kindergarten through grade 12 education policy and finance by January 15, 2026. The
95	95	3.32report must be submitted in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 3.195.
96	96	3Sec. 2.
97	97	25-05292 as introduced03/28/25 REVISOR CR/EN 4.1 Subd. 2.Definitions.(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
98	98	4.2meanings given.
99	99	4.3 (b) "Hourly worker" means an employee of a school employer who:
100	100	4.4 (1) works at least 14 hours per week for at least 100 days in a school year in one position;
101	101	4.5 (2) is not required to hold a license issued by the Professional Educator Licensing and
102	102	4.6Standards Board or the Board of School Administrators; and
103	103	4.7 (3) regularly interacts with students as part of the employee's job duties.
104	104	4.8 (c) "Major job class" means the following classifications of hourly workers:
105	105	4.9 (1) special education paraprofessionals;
106	106	4.10 (2) other paraprofessionals;
107	107	4.11 (3) food services;
108	108	4.12 (4) transportation;
109	109	4.13 (5) clerical;
110	110	4.14 (6) operating and maintenance; and
111	111	4.15 (7) all other classifications.
112	112	4.16 (d) "School employer" means a school district, charter school, intermediate school
113	113	4.17district, cooperative unit under section 123A.24, subdivision 2, the Perpich Center for Arts
114	114	4.18Education, or the Minnesota State Academies.
115	115	4.19 Subd. 3.Data required.The report must contain the following information for each
116	116	4.20school employer for the 2024-2025 school year:
117	117	4.21 (1) the number of hourly workers employed;
118	118	4.22 (2) average hourly wage by major job class;
119	119	4.23 (3) the number of vacancies the school employer advertised at the beginning of the
120	120	4.24school year and the number of positions filled during the school year, by job class;
121	121	4.25 (4) the school employer contribution for health insurance for hourly workers;
122	122	4.26 (5) the hourly worker contribution for health insurance; and
123	123	4.27 (6) the number of hourly workers on the employer's health insurance.
124	124	4.28 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2025.
125	125	4Sec. 2.
126	126	25-05292 as introduced03/28/25 REVISOR CR/EN