Is the DFL the anti-education party?

There's a misconception that the DFL is the pro-education party. That misconception needs to be demolished ASAP. Rep. Mary Franson's latest legislative update provides a great picture of what's happening in the legislature.

Rep. Franson wrote "Negotiations on several major bills are still in progress, but the process took a disappointing turn this week with the K-12 education finance and policy package. After weeks of work, GOP and DFL committee leaders came to a bipartisan agreement on the bill. The bill moved forward with bipartisan support, passing through the Education Finance committee and then through the Ways and Means committee. Every step of the way, it met the requirement for support from both parties."

So far, so good, right? Enter the DFL members of the Rules Committee:

Then, when it reached the Rules committee, everything stalled. Despite the deal being negotiated in good faith and approved by leadership from both sides, the DFL members on the Rules committee reversed course and voted to block the bill. This is not just a procedural delay. It’s a broken agreement, and it undermines the entire process. This education bill would provide real mandate relief for schools and teachers, and it includes meaningful reforms aimed at improving student outcomes across the state.

This wasn't the typical bipartisan bill. This bill would've provided legitimate "mandate relief." If I had to bet, I'm betting that the GOP pushed the mandate relief. I don't think the DFL would push these mandate reforms. The DFL is owned by Education Minnesota, aka Minnesota's teachers union. EdMinn dn't sanction that. They prefer control.

This report explains what caused the negotiations to stall:

At this point, the pressure is building on the DFL. The DFL controls the House Rules Committee. If this bipartisan bill doesn't make it to the House floor for a vote, the blame falls on the DFL. According t, thato this report, negptiations will continue throughout the weekend.

When midnight hits Monday night, just 2 weeks will remain in Minnesota's regular session. Imagine the pressure that'd be on the DFL after they held out the first 23 days of this session. Add their sabotaging of the K-12 Education budget and you've got a campaign that'd flip the House from a tie to a solid GOP majority.