Bill > HF3941

This bill appropriates $250,000 from Minnesota's general fund to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families for the fiscal year 2026, specifically for a grant to Minnesota's Rally to Read program. This funding is intended to support community reading coalitions across the state with the goal of improving reading proficiency scores and reducing inequities among children, with a particular emphasis on brain development from prenatal stages to age three. The grant money can be used for various activities, including coordination, facilitation, meetings, data tracking, and evaluation, and Rally to Read must implement a strategy to prioritize children most in need of literacy resources, building on existing successful programs to ensure children are prepared to read by age three and proficiently at all grade levels. A key requirement is that every dollar of grant money received must be matched by private funds, and this appropriation is a one-time allocation available until June 30, 2028.