[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz today signed six bills into law, including measures to increase reimbursement rates for child care providers, prohibit schools from suspending prekindergarten students, increase vaping prevention instruction, and require all teachers to have annual mental health training.

“I’m proud to sign this bipartisan legislation to make our schools a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for all Minnesota students and bring child care relief to working families across the state,” said Governor Walz. “Together, these bills will use federal funding to support the child care industry and help ensure our little ones get the high-quality education and support they deserve.”

“The bills signed today will make a huge difference for our littlest Minnesotans. I’m grateful to the child advocates who made this possible,” said Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. “By eliminating prekindergarten suspensions and increasing child care assistance for child care providers across the state, we are putting Minnesota families first and ensuring support for low-income families, families of color, and Black and Indigenous families.”

The bill signing today included:

1. Chapter 5, SF 5 – Technical Change to Amusement Ride Operations

This is a technical correction bill to change the effective date of the recently passed legislation on Amusement Parks.

2. Chapter 6, SF 45 – Gambling Control Laws Modification

This bill provides regulatory relief to the licensed lawful gambling organizations that risk being out of compliance due to the impacts of COVID-19.

3. Chapter 7, HF 105 – Health and Human Services Waiver Extension

This bill provides an extension of waivers and modifications to human services programs approved under Executive Order 20-12. This bill allows for some waivers to continue for 60 days after the state peacetime emergency ends, aligns certain waivers to the federal peacetime emergency and allows for some waivers to continue until June 30, 2021.

4. Chapter 8, HF 33 – Education Policy

This bill prohibits districts and charters from suspending a prekindergarten student. Additionally, it requires all middle school students to receive vaping prevention instruction at least once, encourages it for high school students, and adds questions about vaping and smoking prevention to the Minnesota Student Survey; it requires all tiers of teachers to have annual training on mental health; it modifies district reporting on serving students with dyslexia to include screening; and other provisions.

5. Chapter 9, HF 41 – Child Care Assistance Program Rates

Increases rates for Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program to the 25% percentile of the 2018 market survey on-going. This legislation ensures that Minnesota meets federal compliance for the next two years.

6. Chapter 10, HF 63 – Shared Work Plan Eligibility

This bill provides additional flexibility to employers to use shared work plans as part of the Unemployment Insurance program.