Committee advances bill to refine and fund student-led service-learning grants

The Minnesota Education Policy Committee on March 24 voted to send Senate File 2019, a bill to modify and reauthorize student‑led service‑learning grants, to the education finance committee.

Senator Andrew Westland, sponsor of Senate File 2019, told the committee the 2023 Legislature authorized $900,000 for student‑led and student‑designed service‑learning opportunities and that grantees have reported improved academic engagement and attendance. Westland said the bill would add a requirement that at least one goal of funded projects be “comprehensive achievement and civic readiness” and would authorize the commissioner of education to award larger grants, including awards up to $75,000 for eligible partnerships and to designate startup or leader grant categories with differentiated maximums.

Testimony supporting the bill came from student and community witnesses, including Kalik Rogers, executive director of Catalyst for Systems Change, who described service learning as an approach that “combines impactful community service with instruction and reflection, enhancing the learning experience while teaching civic responsibility.” Student speaker Shamika Hicks, a participant in her school’s program, told the committee the experience opened opportunities and urged wider statewide access.

Westland and other members noted the state’s tight budget circumstances and said the bill was being sent to education finance because it carries an appropriation. The chair called the voice vote; members answered “Aye,” and the chair declared the motion carried.

Committee members said they value student testimony and the reported outcomes from prior grant rounds, but they did not adopt specific funding levels on the floor of the policy committee. The bill will return to the legislature with more detailed fiscal recommendations from the education finance committee.