EQUITY

Equity as the Foundation of Freedom

Equity means recognizing that race, gender, income, sexual orientation, and environmental conditions shape opportunity in unequal ways—and that government has a responsibility to close those gaps, not ignore them. In too many neighborhoods, race, gender, income, and zip code still predict the job you can get, the wealth you can build, the air you breathe, and how safe you feel being yourself.

The proposals in this section are grounded in the belief that freedom is only real when women control their own bodies, LGBTQ neighbors live without fear, working families can get ahead, and communities harmed by pollution and disinvestment finally receive repair and investment. Throughout my legislative career, I have worked to turn that understanding into concrete policy that lifts those who have been left out for too long. Equity is not a favor or a slogan—it is the path to a stronger Senate District 65 where every family can live with dignity and possibility.

Invest Reserve Funds in Businesses Harmed
by Federal Overreach

This proposal would use a portion of Minnesota’s budget reserves to respond to the economic emergency created by the current federal occupation and retaliation against our communities. Federal raids, threats to funding, and the targeting of immigrant and civil-rights institutions have already emptied storefronts, cut workers’ hours, and destabilized entire commercial corridors in places like Saint Paul’s East Side, West Side, and West Saint Paul.

The state must act as an economic first responder by providing grants, low-interest loans, and payroll stabilization to small businesses and nonprofits caught in a crisis they did not create. These dollars would help keep neighborhood clinics open, protect childcare centers, preserve culturally rooted businesses, and prevent layoffs that ripple through working-class families. When federal power is used to punish communities, Minnesota has a duty to stand in the gap so fear does not turn into permanent economic collapse and displacement.

End The
15-Day Drop
Truancy Rule

Minnesota’s 15-day drop rule requires schools to remove a student from enrollment after 15 consecutive days of absence, whether excused or unexcused, even when those absences are driven by homelessness, family crisis, transportation barriers, illness, or untreated mental health needs. This proposal would end that policy, which disproportionately drops Black students and other students of color from school rolls and destabilizes district budgets midyear.

When students are removed, schools lose per-pupil funding and are forced to cut counselors, social workers, and culturally responsive programs that help young people return to class. Replacing the drop rule with restorative attendance practices and intensive outreach would keep students enrolled, protect school budgets, and address the real causes of truancy rather than punishing families for circumstances beyond their control. Equity means keeping every child connected to school, not erasing them from the ledger.

Approach Environmental
Policy as Racial
Justice Policy

This approach recognizes that pollution and climate risk follow lines of race, income, and power, and that Minnesota must govern with that reality at the center of every decision. Too many neighborhoods like Rondo, Frogtown, and West Side Flats live with higher diesel exhaust, more industrial contamination, hotter summers, and fewer environmental protections than wealthier areas. An equity focused approach means environmental permitting, enforcement, and public investment are guided by cumulative impacts, community health data, and the voices of residents who have carried the heaviest burdens.

It means prioritizing clean transit, green infrastructure, lead remediation, and resilient housing in the places where harm has been concentrated for generations. Environmental justice is not a single program, it is a lens that must shape how Minnesota plans, builds, and protects the communities that have been asked to sacrifice the most.

Reproductive Health
as a Public
Health Approach

This approach treats reproductive health care as an essential part of Minnesota’s public health system rather than a political issue. State policy should ensure access to the full range of reproductive and maternal health services through insurance coverage, clinic infrastructure, and patient privacy protections.

Decisions about pregnancy and family planning should be guided by medical standards and patient needs, with attention to reducing disparities in maternal mortality, rural access, and cost barriers. A public health approach centers evidence, safety, and the wellbeing of families instead of criminalization or stigma.

LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
as a Civil Rights
Approach

This approach recognizes LGBTQ inclusion as a core civil rights responsibility of state government. Laws, schools, workplaces, and health systems should be designed so sexual orientation and gender identity never limit access to housing, employment, education, or medical care.

Policy should focus on nondiscrimination enforcement, affirming services for youth and adults, and data-driven strategies to reduce homelessness, bullying, and health disparities that disproportionately affect LGBTQ Minnesotans. Inclusion as an approach means building systems where people can participate fully in community life without fear or exclusion.

Fully Funding Public
Schools as an
Equity Approach

This approach recognizes that how Minnesota funds its public schools is one of the most powerful drivers of racial and economic equity. When districts are forced to rely on local property taxes to fill gaps in state funding, students in lower-wealth communities receive fewer counselors, larger class sizes, and less access to enrichment than students in wealthier areas. Treating full school funding as an equity strategy means the state assumes responsibility for the true cost of educating every child, including special education, multilingual learners, mental health supports, and culturally responsive instruction.

Equal opportunity cannot depend on a family’s income or a neighborhood’s tax base, and a just system invests first in the students who have been asked to overcome the most barriers. Fully funding public schools is how Minnesota ensures that talent, not zip code, determines a child’s future.

Approach Disability Inclusion as a Civil Rights Commitment

This approach recognizes that disability is not a limitation on citizenship and that Minnesotans with disabilities have the same right to live independently, participate in community life, and exercise their abilities as anyone else. State policy must ensure community based services such as employment supports, day activity programs, transportation, and personal assistance are fully funded and accessible so people are not forced into isolation or institutional settings.

Using this approach would lead to the restoration of funding reduced in the wake of fraud crackdowns so eligible individuals are not denied opportunities through no fault of their own. People who qualify for services must receive them in a timely way and be able to choose supports that match their goals and independence. Treating disability as a civil right means guaranteeing the services that make full participation, autonomy, and community living real.