MN SF1270

Appropriates $250,000 from the general fund to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2024 and $250,000 for fiscal year 2025 for a grant to Reach Out and Read Minnesota.

Grant recipient must develop and implement a statewide plan that integrates children's books and parent education into well-child visits at health care clinics.

Plan must establish literacy-rich environments at clinics by providing books for waiting rooms, visits outside standard parameters, and volunteer read-aloud modeling for parents.

Grant recipient must work with public health clinics, federally qualified health centers, Tribal sites, community health centers, healthcare system clinics, and independent clinics in underserved areas.

Grant recipient must train medical professionals on discussing early literacy importance with parents of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, with full statewide implementation required by 2030.