Bill to Fund English Language Learner Services Heard in Senate Education Committee

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – On Thursday, Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten (DFL-St. Paul) presented her first bill in the Education Finance Committee to increase funding for English language learner (ELL) services in Minnesota (SF 21). 

“As a daughter of a public school teacher, and a daughter of a Senegalese immigrant who was an English language learner, I have seen the need for these services in our state,” said Senator Oumou Verbeten. “Every student deserves the right to the resources they need to learn. By increasing the ELL revenue formula, we invest in our kids and the future of our state. Districts cannot provide these services without proper funding.”

The bill, authored by Senator Oumou Verbeten, would increase basic ELL revenue by increasing the formula from $704 per pupil to $1,000 and phase in fully funding of districts’ ELL cross-subsidies through supplemental aid over four years. 

The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Omnibus Education Budget Bill.

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Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten represents Senate District 66 which includes Falcon Height, Lauderdale, Roseville, and St. Paul. She is vice chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, and serves on the Education Finance Committee, Higher Education Committee, and the Labor Committee.

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