The new school year is here! And thanks to Democratic legislators, lunch shaming is banned in North Dakota schools, and 10,000 more students won’t have to pay for school meals this year. As Democrats, we believe all families deserve this economic breathing room with no-cost school meals. But Republicans blocked legislation that would have expanded this cost-saving benefit to every student in every school—like Minnesota and at least nine other states have already done.
Just like other states, we need to join that list; we also need to pass paid family leave. If a parent must stay home from work to care for a sick child, North Dakota law does not guarantee paid time off from their job. That’s wrong, and that’s why at least a dozen states support working families with paid leave policies. But again, Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation even to study that issue in North Dakota. Working parents deserve better.
So do our teachers. They deserve better pay, benefits, mentorship, and working conditions. But the Republicans who control all levels of state government have let workforce shortages in education become a crisis. Their only new “solution” for this school year is to allow unlicensed student teachers to fill vacancies—a bad and risky idea for students and teachers still in their training.
Not only do Republican lawmakers lack new ideas to solve our teacher shortage, but they are also actively making the crisis worse by turning classrooms into the latest front in their ongoing culture war. From laws prohibiting instruction on certain topics to laws banning books to laws mandating pronoun and bathroom usage, the Republican Party that claims to believe in small government sure has no problem inserting itself into every classroom in the state. Coupled with the GOP’s attempt to divert public tax dollars to subsidize private schools last session, it’s no wonder teachers are asking who has their backs.
We are proud to say that the North Dakota Democratic-NPL does. We will always fight for strong public schools, defend our teachers and school staff, and prioritize policies that help working families and children. That’s precisely why we need more Democrats representing you in Bismarck.
Minority Caucus Leader Sen. Ryan Braunberger (D-Fargo)
(verified by Laura Dronen, Communications and Digital Director, North Dakota Democratic-NPL)
