Testimony: American Indian parent advisory committees urge removal of concurrence requirement for carryforward of aid (Senate file 22-85)

Senator Lucero presented Senate File 22-85, which would remove the statutory requirement that an American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (APAC) "has concurred" with a district's American Indian education offerings as a condition for carrying forward up to half of unspent American Indian education aid into the next fiscal year.

Multiple American Indian elders, APAC coordinators and program staff from across the state testified in support. Marsha Vandenberg, an elder who serves on the Saint Francis Area Schools APAC, said annual nonconcurrence votes have produced improvements and that tying carryforward to concurrence would be detrimental: "This year, 1 of our simple requests as an APAC to our school district was that we be given district APAC email as part of our non concurrences... We should not have to forfeit that request to carry forward our funding." Robert May, an Ojibwe cultureist and Red Lake district representative on a tribal council, told the committee that APACs provide needed local oversight: "...the only way that we're able to ensure that those monies are being spent correctly is through the American Indian Parent Advisory Councils."

Annie Huberty (American Indian Education coordinator, Hopkins Public Schools) and others said the concurrence/nonconcurrence vote serves as local accountability and that a requirement to concur as a condition to carry forward creates pressure on APACs to approve funding carryforward rather than honestly report areas for improvement. Haley Daigle, American Indian education coordinator for Saint Francis Area Schools, described how tying carryforward to concurrence forces APACs to "choose between advocating for their Native students by holding the district accountable ... and voting concurrent to protect potentially unspent funds."

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) representative, Adosh Ooni, Director of Government Relations, said MDE has concerns about removing concurrence at this early stage: the carryforward provision and APAC concurrence were added in 2023 and MDE asked for time to observe implementation cycles. MDE noted a budget amendment process exists to reallocate unspent funds within the same year and said APACs need access to data (attendance, testing, graduation and student counts) to make informed concurrence decisions.

Senator Lucero and proponent witnesses said situations beyond local control (ordering deadlines, supplier delays, staffing shortfalls) can leave funds unspent through no fault of the APAC or district and that the committee should preserve APACs' ability to voice concerns without risking loss of funding. The committee laid Senate File 22-85 over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.