As written in our State Constitution, "it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools."

What this means is that, as senators, we are obligated to ensure all of our public schools in Minnesota are fully-funded and meet the high educational standards we have set for our state. I believe in the importance of early childhood education, and I recognize that in order to close the opportunity and achievement gaps in the 21st century, post-secondary education must be free for all Minnesotans.

NO MORE BUDGET CUTS

  • A uniform system of public schools is constitutionally mandated in the state of MN. At the same time, MN is home to staggering racial disparities in academic success.
  • In 2022, we are working with a budget surplus. Now is the time to fully fund public schools.
  • We must fully fund our special education programs and English language learner programs.
  • We need to create a more diverse teaching workforce that reflects our communities.
  • We can help close the opportunity gap by investing in wrap-around services, youth training, and universal broadband.
  • We must ensure that schools are fitted with modern technological tools and teach the skills needed for success in the 21st century.
  • We need to encourage civic engagement by students to build up the organizers and activists of tomorrow.
Minneapolis South High School students march after grand jury does not indict Ferguson officer who murdered Michael Brown ─ from Fibonacci Blue on Flickr 11/25/2014

EARLY CHILDHOOD ED

  • Studies have shown that disparities in achievement throughout K-12 and beyond can be predicted from early childhood, with stark differences between children of low and high income families.
  • It has also been shown that early childhood education and preschool can help mitigate these gaps, which is why we need free, universal Pre-K.
  • It must also be understood that conditions at home play a huge role in early childhood development; for example, housing insecurity at an early age will have lifelong traumatic impacts on a person. We cannot simply educate our way out of the problem, we have to alleviate hardships on families.
  • In addition to early childhood education, we need free universal childcare and afterschool programs to help socialize kids and allow parents to take opportunities to make ends meet.
Preschoolers listen to their teacher with guitar ─ from Whittier Wildflowers Preschool

HIGHER ED FOR ALL

  • In order to make educational opportunities truly accessible to everybody, we must make 2 and 4 year public college tuition free.
  • Minnesota ranks fourth in student loan debt per capita. This is unacceptable. We must forgive student loan debt, starting with loans issued by the state.
  • Not everybody wants to go to a traditional four-year institution. We must also provide free trade/vocational school and create paid apprenticeship programs for high paying careers.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design ─ from MCAD on Flickr 9/27/2011

SUPPORT STUDENT WORKERS

  • During the 2021 legislative session, Senator Fateh was proud to work alongside the Higher Education Workers' Center at the U of M. Together, we successfully organized the DFL caucus in both chambers to elect pro-labor, pro-student regents. This is the beginning of what promises to be a long term partnership between faculty, staff, students, labor, and elected officials.
  • Many students require gainful employment to make ends meet while studying in college. As a result, some are unable to take unpaid internships.
  • Internships help students and young professionals gain the experience they need to find employment in their field.
  • By banning unpaid internships, we will allow all students to compete on a level playing field and thrive early in their career.
  • Student workers' deserve to make a livable wage. We need to fight for a $15 minimum wage on campus.
  • The Omar Fateh Campaign has a history of supporting student workers through our hiring of staff and encouraging student workers to unionize.
Fateh staffers unionize during 2018 house race. ─ from our archives, June 2018 (Learn More)

Prepared and paid for by the Omar Fateh Senate Committee 2022