Minnesota House Votes to Keep HF 1 Intact within the Education and Jobs Omnibus Bills

by: Linda Bell

April 24, 2019

Yesterday, the Minnesota House voted to keep alive the portions of the Great Start for All Minnesota Children Act, HF 1 that are educational or job related in the Education and Jobs Omnibus bills.  As you know, Articles 1 and 2 are Health and Human Services related and that Omnibus has yet to be heard. In years to come, House File 1 may very well be named the takeover of prenatal and early childhood.

What is HF 1?

As we’ve written all legislative session, HF 1 books prenatal care with —>home visits for health equity, along with a —> Great Start Fund for Early Learning Scholarships for —>Birth to 3 year olds for —>schools, head starts with —>additional preschool funding expansion.  Much of this funding is purported by the House’s original HF 1 to send funding into the upper-middle class thereby making childcare FREE for the very large majority of this sector.

Early in the session, the 2019 House Early Education Committee invited guest speakers to present their ideologies and rationale for early childhood.  Organizations such as the First Thousand Days, Zero to 3, Think Small, Think Babies!, Close Gaps by 5 and other similar organizations want babies and toddlers in schools and head starts by birth.  As to mothers?  All mothers must join the workforce.  Essentially, these groups believe that all babies and toddlers must be raised by the State, as do many in the Early Education Committee and authors of House File 1.

Communicate with Senators now!

Call/email your senators!  This time, please first call/email your constituent senator.  Next, Call/Email the Senate leadership.  THE SENATE MUST STAND STRONG! We’ve got to have a large, strong group calling and emailing right away.    This is our right and privilege of citizenship and that is, communicating what we wish our Senators to do.  The Senate Ed, House & Human Services and Jobs Omnibus bills will up be shortly for a vote.  (Find Senate leadership and a link to all senators below and email example.)

We are privileged to have a voice in America.  Please use your voice and take the 5 minutes to call and/or email your senator.  We do this as citizens because we still have a voice!  We are so far down this road.  If you haven’t read all of the articles or watched our videos, take that time… quickly! Especially if you are new to MACC. And yes, MACC’s 5,000 are standing up for the rest of the state who may not even know these issues are coming for their familes.

Procedurally, the Senate will be voting on their Omnibus bills shortly.  Then the House and Senate will conference the two bills together.  Lastly, the Chambers will vote on the conferenced Omnibus bills.

A short email example is found below senate contact information.

What was passed yesterday?

House Education Omnibus:

*Home visiting embedded in several sections including full-service community schools as well as funding

*Birth to 3 initiative remains via expansion of Early Learning Scholarships

*Parents may not opt out of school developmental screening at age 3 when on early learning scholarships. (Remember, doctors screen at regular childhood visits. School screening sets up a SSID # on your child and sends all information into the State Longitudinal Database.)

*Early Learning Scholarship Fund is established in special revenue fund (aka: Great Start Fund)

*Pre-K funding and policy expansion.

*Establishment of “Legislative Report on Early Care & Education Coordination.” [This language comes directly from the Preschool Development Block grant which requires states to: “Enhance coordination of scholarships, assistance, home visiting along with working with non-profits and Children’s Cabinet (a rather secret governor appointed group) for the purpose of a CHILDHOOD SYSTEMS REFORM EFFORT. “  The report is tasked with recommendations for a CONSOLIDATED UNIVERSAL PROCESS.]  Universal means ALL.

Jobs Omnibus

*Funding for Greater Minnesota Facilities grant program.  This program grants monies for land acquisition, purchase of building, pre-design and design of new or existing buildings, etc. Additionally, this program will set up childcare programs which are Parent Aware programs only. (Not all providers have to join Parent Aware yet.)  If you saw my video, Parent Aware is not a measure of quality and has rigged the early learning market to set up a government-imposed monopoly.

*Funding for the Initiative Foundations.  The is a regional organization that will implement the Greater Minnesota Facilities grant program.

*Funding for First Children’s Finance.

 

Paul Gazelka  651-296-4875  *Use email form

Karin Housley 651-296-4351 sen.karin.housley@senate.mn

Warren Limmer 651-296-2159 sen.warren.limmer@senate.mn

Gary H. Dahms 651-296-8138 sen.gary.dahms@senate.mn

Mary Kiffmeyer 651-296-5655 *Use email form

John R. Jasinski 651-296-0284 *Use email form

Michelle Benson 651-296-3219 *Use email form

Jeremy Miller 651-296-5649 sen.jeremy.miller@senate.mn

Eric Pratt 651-296-4153 sen.eric.pratt@senate.mn

*Check this link for those senators with email form.  https://www.senate.mn/members/index.php?tab=leader

 

Find your constituent senator at this link.

https://www.senate.mn/members/index.php

 

Not sure WHO is your senator?

https://www.gis.leg.mn/iMaps/districts/

 

MACC Email Example:  Please feel free to edit or you may use as is.

Senator ________,

I was very disappointed that the House Education Omnibus passed last night with few changes.  Our family is most concerned about changes encompassing the early childhood landscape.

I am aware of the ideologies behind the bill via First Thousand Days, Zero to 3, Think Small, Think Babies!, Close Gaps by 5 and other similar organizations. These groups believe that all babies and toddlers must be raised by the State and some were even invited presenters to the House Early Education Committee on behalf of HF 1.  These strong beliefs are held undeterred.  Yet, this is not the will of the People.

I ask for your support to vote no to any similar measures in the Senate.

We are counting on you! Please stand strong!!!

Thank you.

Your Name

Vote No to the following policies or funding.

*No further expansion of policy or funding for Home Visits.

*No expansion of policy (Birth to 3 initiative) with the expansion of funding for Early Learning Scholarships.  The Early Learning Scholarships are a DHS slush fund and financially corrupt. The billing of scholarships has already been exposed and should be cut in half not expanded.

*Retain freedom of parents to choose either a school’s developmental screening test or their own doctor’s screening when on Early Learning Scholarships.  No mandates against parental rights, please.

*No funding for the Greater Minnesota Facilities Grant program and Initiative Foundations which continue to perpetuate a government monopoly over childcare providers.