Rep. Peggy Bennett

Maddy summaryHF 1052 modifies Minnesota's student discipline laws to protect younger students. It prohibits school dismissals (including suspensions) for preschool/pre-K programs and kindergarten through grade 3 students, limiting K-3 dismissals to no more than three school days. The bill requires schools to first use alternative disciplinary approaches and provide educational services before considering dismissal, and mandates districts to track student progress during any dismissal period. These changes apply to all Minnesota public schools and take effect July 1, 2025. The bill repeals outdated sections related to student discipline (121A.425 subd. 2 and 121A.611).

Maddy summaryThis bill amends multiple education statutes to update K-12 academic standards and credit requirements. It requires the state commissioner to seek input from seven stakeholder groups - including teachers, parents, tribal representatives, and students - when developing statewide academic standards for subjects like math, science, and social studies. The bill creates new credit equivalencies, allowing agricultural education credits to count toward social studies or science requirements, CTE credits to fulfill math or arts requirements, and ethnic studies courses to satisfy multiple subject credits if meeting state standards. It also removes certification barriers for agricultural and health educators to meet these credit flexibility rules. The changes directly affect Minnesota public schools, students, and educators in implementing graduation requirements and curriculum.

Maddy summaryHF 2201 increases local optional aid for Minnesota schools and limits state-paid free school lunches to families with incomes at or below 500 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill establishes a "free enhanced school meals program" requiring participating schools to provide two free meals per day (breakfast and lunch) to students from families earning between 185% and 500% of the federal poverty level. It amends school meal financing rules to adjust state aid payments and appropriates funds to support these changes, effective for fiscal year 2026. This directly affects schools, families with children in the specified income range, and the state's education budget.

Maddy summaryHF 2662 provides financial aid to Minnesota ambulance services with low emergency response density (30 or fewer responses per square mile). Eligible providers receive funding calculated in three parts: 20% equally distributed, 40% based on service area size (capped at 1,200 sq miles), and 40% based on a points system for emergency calls. The bill appropriates $15 million annually for 2026-2027, requiring recipients to spend funds within two years on local ambulance services and submit annual reports on usage. It excludes specialized life support responses from calculations and mandates reporting to the legislature on fund distribution. This directly affects rural ambulance providers with limited service area coverage.

Maddy summaryHF 1306 is a Minnesota education bill affecting K-12 schools and students. It requires the state commissioner to seek input from diverse groups - including parents, teachers, tribal representatives, and students - when developing academic standards for subjects like math, science, and social studies. The bill also expands graduation credit options, allowing courses such as agriculture science, ethnic studies, and career technical education to count toward required credits in subjects like science, math, or social studies. For example, an agriculture class meeting science standards can fulfill a science credit, and ethnic studies courses meeting state standards can count toward multiple subject requirements. These changes aim to increase flexibility in course offerings while ensuring standards remain clear and measurable.

Maddy summaryHF 3214 amends Minnesota law to exempt Purple Heart medal recipients from paying replacement fees for special license plates on their vehicles. This means veterans awarded the Purple Heart medal who hold designated plates displaying "COMBAT WOUNDED VET" and a Purple Heart emblem will not incur costs when replacing lost, stolen, or damaged plates. The bill updates existing statutes to explicitly include Purple Heart recipients in the category of veterans already exempt from such fees (previously applied to Medal of Honor and former POW plate holders). This change directly affects Purple Heart medal recipients who own vehicles registered with these special plates.

Maddy summaryHF 1124 allows Minnesota school districts to begin the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years before Labor Day, which is currently prohibited under state law. This temporary change applies only to those two specific school years and does not alter the standard start date requirement for other years. School districts choosing this option must report their start dates to the education commissioner, who will then compile and submit a list of participating districts to legislators by January 5, 2027. The bill directly affects public school districts in Minnesota for those two school years.

Maddy summaryHF 20 clarified which data maintained by Minnesota's Attorney General's Office must be treated as "private data" under state law. It specifically designated five categories as private: disciplinary records (excluding public hearings), non-final administrative communications, consumer complaint data (excluding confidential data), inactive investigative files, and detailed home protection hotline information (like mortgage details and income). This change directly affects the Attorney General's Office by requiring them to handle these specific data types with privacy protections. The bill was introduced in 2025 but was not passed by the legislature and was laid on the table.

Maddy summaryHF 62 is a technical correction that moves references to existing student attendance laws from Minnesota Statutes Chapter 120A to their appropriate chapters elsewhere in the statutes. This bill does not change any attendance policies, rules, or requirements for students, schools, or families. It only reorganizes where these laws are codified in the state code for clarity and consistency. The bill has no substantive impact on education practices or student attendance.

Maddy summaryHF 2362 appropriates $3 million for fiscal year 2026 and $3 million for fiscal year 2027 from the general fund to the commissioner of children, youth, and families. This funding is designated for existing youth intervention programs under Minnesota Statutes section 142A.43. The bill adds these amounts to the base funding for these programs, providing ongoing support. It directly affects state-administered youth intervention services by increasing their available resources.