Minnesota

"About 100,000 low- and middle-income Minnesota college students will see a one-time, $295-per-student boost in the living-expenses allowance the State Grant Program awards next year, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education announced last week. So why the worried looks among some of that program's strongest advocates as the Legislature adjourned for the year?"

"Minnesota's education community has never been more focused on closing our achievement gap, one of the highest in the nation. However, our efforts are hampered when the basic needs of our students are unmet, needs as basic as safe and stable housing. How can we close the achievement gap when thousands of students don't know where they're going to sleep at night?"

"While the number of children living in the U.S. has grown, the ratio of children to adults has decreased and the number of children living in poverty has increased significantly. The racial and ethnic composition of the nation's children continues to change. In Sauk Rapids-Rice, as many as 42 percent of our students qualify for free and/or reduced lunch and/or are living in poverty. As a result of successful partnerships with parents and community members and our wise utilization of resources for our children, we have been able to demonstrate our commitment to the success of all students and families despite increasing needs."

"The Legislature has another important task this session: making a much-needed adjustment to the State Grant Program. This program provides funds directly to low-income students to help them pay for their education unmet financial need is one of the main reasons students are unable to attend or complete college."

"Advantaged students disproportionately use open enrollment, generally because they have the resources to overcome out-of-district transportation. Low-income families often don't have the means to accommodate transferring their children, resulting in a class divide and an increase in the achievement gap between schools."

"In fact, federal data released last week shows that Minnesota ranked dead last in four-year graduation rates for Latino and American Indian students, second to last for African American students, and near the bottom for low-income students overall. That's the case even though an estimated 500 related educational initiatives spend about $90 million annually in the metro area, mostly on top of school district budgets."