The United States Senate is considering the nation’s budget reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and will likely be voting on this budget soon. One provision in that bill is the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA,) school choice legislation which Minnesota Family Council supports.

The ECCA would create scholarships for students through private charitable donations, which would receive a 100% non-refundable federal income tax credit. For students, the funds could be used to pay for tuition, tutoring, special needs services, homeschooling curriculum materials, and education technology, among other eligible uses.

This legislation would directly empower parents to choose the school or education service that works best for their child, including homeschool. It is estimated that this legislation could create opportunity for over one million American students.

Passing nationwide school choice is essential to ensuring that students of all backgrounds and learning levels have access to the learning tools and support that they need to get the most out of their education and prepare for their future.

We urge members of Congress to create nationwide school choice with the passage of the ECCA!

Statement from Jeff Evans, Minnesota Family Council’s CEO

I’m thrilled to announce that effective this week, Grace Lawrence will serve our team in her new role as Acting Director of Communications. Grace has been an asset to the team at MFC for over six years in various roles. I’m excited to see her step into this position, spearheading our communications efforts with the high standard of excellence and passion for our mission that she brings. 

By Renee K. Carlson and Doug Wardlow

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of protecting Tennessee’s vulnerable children from the irreversible damage of experimental medicine and harmful medical procedures, often referred to as pediatric medical transition or so-called “gender affirming care.” In this landmark decision, United States of America v. Skrmetti, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s law 6-3, which prohibits healthcare providers from administering hormones and puberty blockers for minors, or performing experimental medical procedures on children for so-called “gender affirming care.” 

The Court reasoned that Tennessee’s law does not violate equal protection under the law, and was not subject to heightened scrutiny (the Court’s most stringent standard of review when analyzing constitutional claims based on certain classifications), such as sex-based discrimination. While the plaintiffs challenging the law argued that Tennessee’s law discriminates based on sex, the Court analyzed the law under the rational basis standard. The Court reasoned that the law is a medical treatment and applies to all minors in the state, and is not sex-based discrimination when it comes enacting legal safeguards regarding the use of puberty blockers, hormones, and pediatric medical transition surgeries for minors struggling with gender dysphoria. 

Thus, it is in the state’s purview to create regulations ensuring the health and safety of its most vulnerable population: children. In rebutting the Plaintiffs’ argument that Tennessee’s law “operates to force conformity with sex,” the Court affirmed the state’s foundational reasoning for the law in the first place, stating: “it was not improper to conclude that kids benefit from additional time to ‘appreciate their sex’ before embarking on body-altering paths…Nor is it improper for the state to protect minors from procedures that ‘encourage them to become disdainful of their sex.’” Put simply, “[a] concern about potentially irreversible medical procedures for a child is not a form of stereotyping.”

Minnesota Family Council engaged in many issues of public policy in the 2025 Legislation Session. The session officially came to a close in the early morning hours of June 10 as legislators passed final budget bills in the one-day special session. Here is a brief summary of issues we were tracking and watching for at the end of legislative session:

No so-called "Equal Rights Amendment" (ERA) in 2025

The ERA failed to pass even out of committee in its single hearing in the 2025 legislative session. The ERA is a proposed state constitutional amendment which would give constitutional protection to abortion and so-called "gender identity," with no protections for religious freedom. Minnesota Family Council has been strongly opposed to this legislation for multiple legislative sessions, especially in 2024 when the legislation had more momentum and even passed the Minnesota House. Read more about our analysis of this issue in this National Review article written by Renee Carlson and Rebecca Delahunt: "In Minnesota, Push for ERA Threatens Freedoms, Equality."

Watch our 2025 testimony in committee by Renee Carlson, General Counsel of True North Legal, and testimony by Rebecca Delahunt, Director of Public Policy.

No mobile sports gambling legalization in 2025

Even with multiple bill introductions to legalize the mobile sports gambling industry, the issue failed to pass out of a committee in the state Senate and never had a hearing in the state House of Representatives.

Read our 2025 written testimony with a detailed summary of our opposition.

Watch our 2025 verbal testimony in committee.

Nonpublic student aid was protected

Approximately $55 million a year is allocated to Minnesota students seeking nonpublic education opportunities for expenses such as transportation, textbooks, testing, school nursing, and counseling. Governor Walz' proposed state budget earlier this year recommended elimination of this funding to students, but legislative leaders preserved this funding. 

This is a school choice issue for Minnesota students. Read MFC written testimony in opposition to these proposed cuts in committee.

Small cuts to grant funding of abortion achieved in the omnibus Health bill

The Sexual and Reproductive Health grant funds abortion providers (among other services) in the state, awarding state taxpayer dollars to organizations such as Planned Parenthood and others which provide abortion. Staff and legislators were able to secure small cuts to this grant funding, an achievement which Minnesota Family Council supports. We look forward to working on more cuts of state taxpayer funding of abortion in the future. 

NOTE: You can access our 2025 bill tracker by clicking here.

Our own Renee Carlson has been announced as a speaker at the Godward Life conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. The conference will be held September 26-27, 2025. 

Renee's Friday morning talk will be titled: Seeking Justice and Speaking Truth Amidst Cultural Chaos. She will equipping and emboldening Christians to engage in the cultural issues relating to law, policy, and our local government based on 1 Peter 3:14–17.

Join us at Godward Life!

Calling all pro-life women!

Seeking several hundred women to attend opening arguments for landmark pro-women case:
Women’s Life Care Center, NIFLA, et al. v. Ellison, Planned Parenthood, et al.

Monday, June 23rd

12:00 sharp – Free bus ride leaves from The North Church
(5151 Program Ave, St Paul, MN 55112)

12:50 PM – Gather at a Minneapolis hotel

1:00 PM – Walk together (approx. 3 blocks) to the federal courthouse

1:15 PM – Proceed through security; enter courtroom

2:00 PM – Oral arguments begin

4:15 PM – Bus back to North Church

RSVP: [email protected]

Women in and beyond Minnesota care about the tragic, painful losses mothers sustain after being subjected to abortions through coercion, pressure, and deception. Be a strong and prayerful presence as a distinguished legal team argues for an injunction against abortion in Minnesota.

Read and follow the case here:
www.stopcoercedabortions.com

WATCH NOW: This video features Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) talking about the work of Minnesota Family Council and True North Legal in securing big wins for protecting girls' sports in Minnesota, and MFC volunteer Curtis discussing how getting involved in MFC's work is rewarding and makes a big difference.

True North Legal is an initiative of Minnesota Family Institute, fighting to protect life, family, and religious freedom in our legal system. Learn more about True North Legal and its crucial work at truenorthlegal.org.