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Knudsen




Legislative Update

Attacks on religious freedom continue to be an important issue this week at the Capitol. In the dark of night Monday evening the Senate Judiciary Committee moved their bill forward without language to reinstate the religious exemption in the Minnesota Human Rights Act. This rejection is a clear attack on religious freedom, a founding principle of our country and constitution, protected by both the Minnesota and U.S. Constitutions.??

The views and actions of religious organizations should be determined by the organizations themselves, not by the state legislature. We will continue to fight for religious freedom and protections under the 1st Amendment. However, we need your assistance. We urge you to make your voices heard to the Majority Leadership in the legislature. It is crucial that they understand that religious institutions should have the autonomy to make decisions based on their own values.?

Another attack on medical freedom was heard in the House this week as well. Legislation was heard in committee to allow childcare centers to deny care for children based on vaccine status. Currently, families have the ability to delay or refuse any/all childhood vaccines by completing an exemption form. Denying families this exemption will have many consequences, as we witnessed with?COVID vaccines mandates. Families deserve autonomy when making vaccine decisions for their children.?

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Back in the House, our committee schedules have been packed with both 1st and 2nd deadlines happening today! The 1st deadline means that any policy legislation that is going to be considered for passage into law must have been heard in at least one committee in one branch of the legislature (Senate or House). The 2nd deadline means that any policy bill that is to be considered for passage into law must be heard in at least one committee in both branches of the legislature (Senate & House). Because these deadlines occurred simultaneously, we have been extra busy in committee this week hearing all of the legislation that the majority party (a few Republican bills were allowed hearings too) will consider for inclusion in their omnibus bills or single bill passage off the Floor.?

In the two Education Committees I serve on; this means a rush of bills that do everything but fund our students. We have heard a lot of policy changes this session that take away local control from our school boards, prioritizing state mandates & department oversight over our public schools. We need to be focused on providing a quality learning environment for our students and supporting the teachers who are in the classroom every day. Instead, democrats in St. Paul are more concerned with creating more bureaucracy and funding divisive programs that encourage?students to judge and categorize each other based on innate characteristics.??

Last year, the majority party proudly boasted ?Historic Funding? for our schools. While this is true, it is the most money we have ever spent on education in Minnesota, it fell very short. The funding was eaten up by unfunded mandates, new programs and a 21% increase in department (MDE) funding. It is time to reprioritize how we spend tax-payer dollars for education. Enough with ?Fully Funding Education?, (which equates to funding the bureaucracy), we need to redirect this funding and start FULLY FUNDING OUR CLASSROOMS! This is how we prioritize our students, our teachers and our schools.?

Our students are facing massive learning loss and our test scores are showing it. More than half of students are behind grade level in reading comprehension (Math scores are worse). The Science of Reading has been a top goal of our caucus to provide students & educators with the tools they need to improve literacy. Unfortunately, the READ Act, which was passed in 2023, continues to need amending in order to accomplish this goal. I hope that as we head toward the finish line this session, we will see legislation that actually prioritizes this goal while allowing schools the flexibility in time and funding to be successful. Local control is best.?

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Women's Bill of Rights

This week I joined my friend and colleague Representative Zeleznikar in introducing the Women?s Bill of Rights. This is legislation that would recognize the innate differences between men and women. It would provide protection for women-specific institutions?such as sports, domestic abuse shelters, locker rooms and prisons. It is time we stop prioritizing the feelings of misguided men over the protection of women & girls. It?has become a matter of basic safety and this legislation would prioritize that safety.??







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Please Reach Out

You can reach my office at [email protected] <[email protected]> or by phone at 651-296-9918. Follow me on Facebook [ [link removed] ] for more frequent updates.











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225 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
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