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Debate over extending safe‑school aid to charter and nonpublic schools draws emotional testimony
Summary
Representative Lawrence’s bill to extend safe‑school revenue to charter, cooperative and nonpublic schools prompted testimony from parents, students, charter and nonpublic leaders supporting inclusion and from public-school educators warning of funding trade-offs; committee laid the bill over for further analysis.
The committee spent substantial time on House File 3493, a proposal to extend safe‑school revenue or safety aid to charter, cooperative, tribal contract, and nonpublic schools.
Representative Brian Lawrence introduced the bill, saying it would provide safe‑school revenue to schools historically excluded from that funding stream. "These students are left out. These areas are left out. We need to close this gap," Lawrence said.
Public testimony was emotional and detailed. Callie Proctor, a Minneapolis mother whose child was at Annunciation Catholic School during a recent shooting, urged lawmakers to set aside partisan arguments and prioritize children’s safety. “When something terrifying happens, a child is not thinking about whether or not he attends a public school or a religious school,” Proctor told the committee.
Charter and nonpublic school leaders, including Simon Ozma (Kingswood Security), Tim Benz (Independent Schools president), Sabrina Williams (Excel Academy) and Nathan Flanzberg (PAC Charter Schools), urged inclusion on equity grounds and argued that many nonpublic and charter schools lack the local levy capacity to pay for infrastructure or counseling supports. Ozma recommended guardrails for accountability and vulnerability assessments before funds are spent.
Education Minnesota (Caitlin Snyder) opposed sending public funds to private schools without MDE oversight, arguing private schools are not subject to the same federal and state requirements and that taxpayer funds could be fungible. "MDE does not have purview over our private schools... Without auditing, we don't know if these MET funds are going to be used to make private schools safer," Snyder said.
Public‑school teachers and staff (Lisa Olsen, Elk River) warned that extending aid to charters and private schools could necessitate cuts in public‑school staffing and services; Olsen urged continued focus on gun‑violence prevention legislation.
Nonpartisan staff provided quick fiscal estimates: roughly 72,000 nonpublic students (~$2.6 million at $36 per pupil) and about 78,000 charter students (~$2.8 million at $36 per pupil); staff committed to a follow‑up memo with detailed pupil‑count and levy interactions.
The committee laid HF 3493 over for further consideration; members asked for additional fiscal detail and implications for public‑school budgets.
