Frequently Asked Questions

The Page Amendment is a constitutional amendment that would make clear all children of Minnesota have a civil right to a quality public education. It would make education a paramount duty of the state and would give families an avenue for holding the state accountable for providing such education. Today our children are only granted a right to an adequate education and the result is a decades long education gap where 68% of Minnesota’s low-income students can’t read at grade level.

“All children have a fundamental right to a quality public education that fully prepares them with the skills necessary for participation in the economy, our democracy, and society, as measured against uniform achievement standards set forth by the state. It is a paramount duty of the state to ensure quality public schools that fulfill this fundamental right. The duty of the state established in this section does not infringe on the right of a parent to choose for their child a private, religious, or home school as an alternative to public education.”

“The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state.” This has been interpreted as an adequate education.

Minnesota used to be a pioneer in public education, but in recent decades educational disparities among students from low-income households and students of color have continued to increase and separate them from the rest of the student population in the state. The gaps are present in all 87 Minnesota counties and persist over decades.

We have a systemic problem with education in Minnesota. There have been many education bills in the legislature and Minnesota spends more than $13 billion a year on the public school system with an average of $14,000 per student each year, yet education gaps have persisted.

Without a fundamental change in the way the state provides public education, elevating our standard from adequate to quality, our students will continue to have limited educational and economic opportunity. Minnesota’s future depends on its ability to develop its youth into a productive, informed citizenry.

• Minnesota still ranks 47th in the nation for American Indian students who graduate on time and 50th in the nation for Black and Hispanic students who graduate on time
  Math test scores for BIPOC and lower-income students are 20-30 points below state average.
  Only 36 percent of students from a household with an income of less than $36,000 are college-ready as compared to 87 percent of students from a household with an income of at least $100,000.

The minimum constitutional requirement of an “adequate” education has not moved the needle in terms of educational attainment for students of color, Indigenous students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds across the state of Minnesota. In fact, over the past two decades, we have seen the achievement gaps grow to the highest in the nation, and the disparities have remained large and persistent. As Justice Page said in his Skeen dissent, the state’s duty is not satisfied “when some children receive an ‘adequate’ education while others receive a more-than-adequate education.” The proposed amendment will finally raise the bar of expectations to a “quality” education for all public-school students, so they are prepared to fully participate in our democracy, society, and economy.

A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate. From there the amendment language is placed on the November general election ballot and it must receive greater than 50% of the votes for passage. A ballot submitted with blank choice on the ballot measure is counted as against. While the Governor is an important voice in this conversation, he is not part of the process to pass a constitutional amendment.

Once the Page Amendment passes, the legislature will be tasked with defining quality by involving parents and the community in their work.
If the legislature cannot come together to pass legislation to define quality and elevate our education system, ultimately parents will be able to turn to the courts to ensure they are receiving a quality education.

The current constitutional language has prevented the countless education reform bills passed by the legislature from having an impact on improving disparities. The Page Amendment replaces an outdated and cracked foundation with a new solid foundation that will enable future legislation to have a measurable impact on closing education gaps.

The Page Amendment elevates our standard for education in Minnesota to quality but doesn’t prescribe specific policies. The amendment pushes the legislature to prescribe what policies will elevate our education system to quality. Because our education problems are systemic, we’ll need a community driven, holistic approach to making the necessary changes. The amendment paves the way for these conversations in a way that we haven’t seen to date. As we’ve seen in places like Florida. Their amendment as well as executive and legislative policy changes helped improve their education system and outcomes.