Minnesota Lawmakers Propose $2M to Boost Teacher Retention

The funding aims to address factors driving early-career burnout and high turnover.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 5:12pm

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A grid of brightly colored, high-contrast silkscreen images of a teacher's desk object, such as a coffee mug or stack of papers, conceptually representing the everyday challenges and importance of the teaching profession.A bold, colorful visual representation of the everyday tools and objects that teachers rely on, highlighting the importance of supporting and retaining these essential educators.Stillwater Today

Minnesota lawmakers are considering a proposal to allocate an additional $2 million in 2027 toward keeping K-12 educators in the classroom. The legislation, authored by DFL lawmakers and sponsored by Representative Josiah Hill of Stillwater, comes as data shows about one in three teachers in Minnesota leave the profession within their first five years.

Why it matters

Teacher retention is a longstanding challenge in Minnesota, with concerns about early-career burnout and lack of support driving many educators out of the profession. This funding proposal aims to address those factors and help keep more teachers in the classroom.

The details

The proposed funding would help address issues like heavy workloads and insufficient support for teachers, especially those in the first five years of their careers. Supporters say the money could provide more resources and better working conditions to improve retention rates.

  • The legislation was proposed in 2026 and would allocate $2 million in funding for 2027.

The players

Representative Josiah Hill

A Stillwater lawmaker who sponsored the teacher retention funding proposal.

Justin Killian

An education issues specialist with Education Minnesota, the state's teachers union, who said some teachers have expressed thoughts of suicide due to lack of support and heavy workloads.

Representative Duane Quam

A Republican lawmaker from Byron who suggested the approach should also highlight school districts with strong teacher retention.

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What they’re saying

“I was told repeatedly by professors that if I could make it through the first five years of a teaching career, then I was likely to stick around for the long haul. And I can remember a professor openly telling our class that 30 to 50% of us would not reach that five-year mark. Again, that was 30 years ago.”

— Representative Josiah Hill, Lawmaker

“I had not one, not two, but six talk to me about the fact that they think about suicide on a weekly basis. Our members told us loud and clear that it was lack of workplace supports, no supports for student mental health, and demanding workloads that were leading to them leaving the profession.”

— Justin Killian, Education issues specialist, Education Minnesota

“There are some school districts that actually teachers are moving to after they've been teaching for a while. And frankly, we should start focusing on, we got districts where we don't have these problems. The teachers are happy. You need to look at the positives.”

— Representative Duane Quam, Lawmaker

What’s next

The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a larger omnibus budget bill, meaning lawmakers will continue to consider the proposal as part of broader state funding discussions.

The takeaway

This funding proposal aims to address longstanding challenges with teacher retention in Minnesota, where about one-third of educators leave the profession within their first five years. By providing more resources and support, lawmakers hope to improve working conditions and keep more teachers in the classroom.