The $7k for Kids campaign enjoyed a big night at precinct caucuses as over 1,000 precincts debated and passed a resolution adding Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) to the state party platforms. The initiative to establish a $7,000 ESA for parents and students seeking educational alternatives is a partnership between Center of the American Experiment and Opportunity for All Kids (OAK). Resolutions were put forward in both the Republican and Democratic-Farmer-Labor parties, with most of the success happening at the Republican caucuses.
The GOP resolution added Education Savings Accounts to a list of school choice options already in the platform and removed outdated language supporting vouchers. ESAs have already been established in 19 states, offering between $6,000 and $9,000 annually for tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and special education services.
“There is strong grassroots momentum building for school choice in Minnesota, and it was on full display at last night’s precinct caucuses,” said Catrin Wigfall, education policy fellow at American Experiment. “Minnesotans are frustrated with the dramatic decline in academic performance and are demanding real education reforms that put families first.”
The February 2025 Thinking Minnesota Poll showed widespread and sustaining support for school choice. Despite persistent attacks from the teachers’ union and the rest of the education cartel, 69 percent of Minnesotans support the right of parents to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send them to the public or private school that best serves their needs. Support is essentially unchanged from the last time the issue was polled in 2023.
The concept of school choice found majority support among Republicans (90 percent), Independents (66 percent), and even Democrats (51 percent). Similar results were found on the more specific $7k for Kids proposal. Education Savings Accounts were supported by 56 percent of Minnesotans, including a majority of Republicans (64 percent) and Independents (54 percent) and a plurality of Democrats (49 percent).
For more information on the $7k for Kids campaign, click here.
