The Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee and the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee have released their omnibus bills. Omnibus bills are spending bills that package many of the smaller appropriations bills into one larger bill. This is done to ensure that each small appropriation bill does not have to be passed individually on the floor of the House and Senate.
Both bills contain around $10 million for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Of the $10 million investment directly to Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, in the Senate version, most of the funds would be allotted for Workforce Development Scholarships. The House version would allocate $6 million for campus support, $2 million for mental health resources, $1 million for student basic needs, and another $1 million for Career and Technical Education pilot program expansion.
Another key difference is the total amount of new funds allocated for the fiscal year of 2023 (FY23). The Senate version contains a total FY23 increase of $19.1 million in new funding. The House version contains significantly larger investments in college and university students, with the total new funding for FY23 set at $100 million. How these funds are directed in the House and Senate higher education omnibus bills is also significantly different.
The Senate version includes $3.76 million for grants for students pursuing a degree in law enforcement. It would include $500,000 for a Skills Grant Program for students to have a pathway from high school to careers in the trades, and $1 million for the Owatonna Learn to Earn Coalition to help the Owatonna and Stelle County region grow their workforce. It also includes $10 million for Workforce Development Scholarships and $250,000 for grants to assist student teachers in shortage areas.
The House version would appropriate $6.9 million for a Student-Parent Support Initiative, $3 million to assist Tribal Colleges, $3.24 million for American Indian Scholarships, and a $9.3 million dollar increase in the State Grant Program. It would provide $1.5 million for grants to student teachers in shortage areas and $3 million for the Aspiring Teachers of Color Scholarship Pilot Program. It would also include $750,000 for a Higher Education Technical Assistance Center, $1 million for the MN Reconnect Program, $731,000 for the Emergency Grant Program, $5 million for the Social Work Scholarship Program, $200,000 to expand the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program, and would require campus policies on sexual assault to include affirmative consent standards.
While it is disappointing to see that a tuition freeze was not included in either version of the omnibus bills, there are proposed investments in the Emergency Grant Program, the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program, and the State Grant Program, and the inclusion of affirmative consent language in campus policies on sexual assault. There is also proposed funding for portions of the MinnState supplemental budget request which included funds for campus support, mental health, and basic needs. Students United is in full support of these investments and hopes to see them in the final budget agreement in the coming weeks. With a $9 billion surplus, now is the time to invest in higher education and move us toward a more accessible and equitable higher education system for college and university students across the state.
If you want to advocate for any of the issues listed above, please reach out to your state legislators. You can find their emails here, and you can use the template below to form an email encouraging them to fight for the issues you care about related to higher education in Minnesota.
When writing an email to a legislator, it is important to be formal, respectful, and to the point. Just like when we do advocacy work, we want to start out with an introduction and describe WHAT the takeaway is from the email. Then, you want to move into some data from the bill. After you give some data, you go into your story/experience and why they should support what you’re asking for. Lastly, don’t forget to sign off your email. Below is an email template that you can use if you were to email a legislator. Again, please edit to personalize. The more personable the better.
Template
Dear Representative/Senator (their Name),
My name is [Insert your name], and I am currently a student attending [insert university name]. I am emailing today asking for your support for HF3872, the House Higher education supplemental appropriations and policy bill.
*Insert a few sentences here outlining why you care about these issues
While both the House and Senate omnibus bills have $10 million for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, there are some key differences that are important to me. In the House bill, there are $15 million dollars for “protecting access and affordability for students; providing all students with access to a variety of mental health support options; and providing all students with access to a statewide basic needs resource hub to connect to resources on campus, in the local community, and nationally.” While this money will not solve the problem of higher education affordability, it will help students access some of the basic needs and mental health supports that they need.
Supporting and passing HF3872, while not perfect, will enable my university to provide additional support to our students. While I am disappointed that this bill does not include language for a tuition freeze, the bill does make additional investments in our students and communities and would increase higher education accessibility at my university and across the state.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to see your support for HF3872. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to reach out!
Best,
[Insert your name]
[Email]
[Phone Number]
[Address]