Issue Position: 2013 Education Priorities

Issue Position

Minnesota's highly educated workforce is the backbone of our economic success and our high quality of life. It's why our state is home to so many companies that compete well nationally and globally and why Minnesota's employment rate outperforms the national average. My highest priorities for the 2013 Legislative Session are strengthening and modernizing our schools and improving student performance in the critical areas that will define Minnesota's economy in the next generation:

Begin closing the achievement gap by making preschool and all-day every-day kindergarten available to every child in Minnesota by 2020.

Bring down tuition at our community colleges and the University of Minnesota by providing greater state support to higher education and ask our higher education institutions to become more efficient at delivering instruction across the state. Pursue more strategic partnerships with greater focus on training students for careers in high demand in today's economy.

Dramatically improve Minnesota students' performance in math, science, engineering and technology coursework, from elementary school through higher education.

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