For Immediate Release
March 9, 2021
Contact: Samantha Hanson
samantha@k2andcompany.com
ICYMI: Page Amendment Partners Celebrate Hearing at House Ed Policy Committee
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Yesterday, the House Education Policy Committee held a hearing on the Page Amendment. Several community voices offered testimony in front of the Committee and over 50 Minnesotans signed up to testify.
The hearing was met with enthusiasm from a number of Page Partners, the individuals and organizations supporting the Page Amendment. See video and written testimony from Page Partners:
Video testimony from Sondra Samuels, CEO & President of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ)
“We know that education has always been the great equalizer. Right now, everybody is making commitments to ending the egregious racial inequities in Minnesota. Why wouldn’t we start with what’s most important? The future of our children.”
“If there is one thing you take from my testimony today, it’s that we must reject the arguments that we must first solve for poverty, or first solve for families in trouble before we can address educational outcomes.”
Video testimony from Mariam Adam, teacher in the Minneapolis Public School System
“Business as usual will not work… I see [disparities] in my classroom every day. We need our kids to have an educational system that meets their needs.”
Written testimony from Idil Abdul, Somali mother and homeschooler
“If we cannot stand up for our kids, then what kind of human beings does that make us?”
Written testimony from Jane Lonnquist, educator and early childhood education academic
“This is a complex issue impacting all areas of society and it demands honest conversation. That includes the acknowledgment that student outcomes and school jobs are sometimes at odds, and the union’s duty is to prioritize the latter over the former.”
The Page Amendment is a proposed constitutional amendment that has bipartisan support in the House. The bill was introduced by the Chief Author of the amendment, Representative Hodan Hassan, who serves as the Vice Chair on the Education Policy Committee.
Our Children MN is an organization working to inform Minnesotans of the state’s education gaps and to build support to pass the Page Amendment. Learn more about the Page Amendment at https://ourchildrenmn.com/.
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