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Proposal would extend school safety aid to charter public schools
Summary
Representative Green and charter school leaders urged the committee to give charter public schools access to the state safety aid (currently provided via local levies to traditional districts), arguing charter students face the same safety needs but cannot access levy funds.
Charter public school leaders told the House Education Finance Committee on March 25 that charter schools should receive the same state safety aid currently available only to traditional districts through local levies.
Representative Green introduced House File 2016, which would extend safety aid to students attending charter public schools. Joey Chenyan, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools, said Minnesota has about 173 charter public schools serving roughly 70,000 students — many of whom are students of color, low-income students and English learners — and that charter students currently cannot access safety aid because it is provided through local levies.
Testimony from charter leaders reinforced the on-the-ground safety concerns. Tony Simmons, executive director of the High School for Recording Arts, described serving students who have been marginalized and said students cite safety as a primary reason they attend. Leah Jones of Life Prep School in Saint Paul said rising criminal activity near her building and increasing student behavior required tough operational responses, including once closing the school for safety reasons. Carrie Bakken of Avalon School described using prior safety grant funding for mental-health training and building upgrades and said parity would help charter schools sustain that work.
Proponents asked the committee to provide equitable per-pupil state school safety aid to charter students at the same per-student amount that traditional districts receive (testimony cited approximately $36 per pupil). Representative Green said the estimated cost would be about $2.5 million to cover charter students at that level.
Committee members expressed support across party lines to continue working on the issue. Representative Ingen characterized the policy as commonsense and urged bipartisan cooperation. The chair laid House File 2016 over for possible omnibus inclusion so the matter can be refined and considered further.
Witnesses: Representative Green (sponsor) and multiple charter school leaders including Joey Chenyan (Minnesota Association of Charter Schools), Tony Simmons, Leah Jones and Carrie Bakken.
