Lummis, WY Delegation Introduce Legislation to Modernize Wyoming School Trust Fund Investments

Washington, D.C. - Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), alongside Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY), today introduced the Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act, legislation to amend Wyoming's State Act of Admission to provide the state's permanent school land fund with enhanced investment flexibility, potentially increasing annual returns for K-12 education.

"Wyoming's school trust fund represents one of our state's most valuable assets for supporting public education and the next generation of Cowboy students," said Senator Lummis. "My legislation would allow Wyoming to modernize our investment policies while maintaining the strong protections that have served this fund for more than a century. I believe we can do better for our kids by investing that money more strategically and increasing Wyoming's returns. That result would mean millions of dollars more every year for Wyoming classrooms, without raising taxes or touching Wyoming's principal."

"Wyoming has done an incredible job investing in the future of our students," said Senator Barrasso. "The Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act will help build on this success by giving our state more flexibility when it comes to investing our permanent school land fund. Diversifying investments of this vital fund will increase resources for students and teachers across Wyoming."

"Wyoming's students deserve every opportunity we can provide, and that starts with strengthening the long-term stability of our education funding," said Representative Hageman. "The Wyoming Education Trust Modernization Act is a commonsense, forward-looking solution that honors our constitutional protections while unlocking the full potential of our permanent school land fund. By allowing for modern investment strategies, we can responsibly increase returns and better support K-12 education. This is about keeping our promises to future generations and ensuring that Wyoming's children benefit from the resources entrusted to the state over a century ago."

"This long-overdue proposal is a natural extension of some of the reforms I undertook while serving as State Treasurer," said Governor Gordon. "I support this effort to generate additional returns for Wyoming schools while preserving the permanent trust fund structure."

"This is a game-changer for Wyoming's public schools," said Superintendent Degenfelder. "By modernizing our investment policies, we are unlocking the full potential of our school trust lands. It is a common-sense solution that is anticipated to provide a sustainable increase in funding for our classrooms, without raising taxes."

"Since Wyoming became a state, financial markets and investment strategies have evolved dramatically," said Representative Bear, Wyoming House District 31. "Today, responsible and prudent management of public funds requires far more flexibility than was imaginable in 1890. Congress has both the authority and the duty to ensure that Wyoming's state government can effectively safeguard taxpayer assets and uphold citizens' freedoms-now and for generations to come."

Background:

• Wyoming's State Act of Admission, established by Congress upon statehood in 1890, governs how the state manages federally granted school lands. Proceeds from school trust land sales, exchanges, or disposals must be deposited into a permanent land fund under strict federal regulation. Current law prohibits investing principal funds, and only accrued interest can be used for K-12 education funding.
• Wyoming's permanent school trust fund currently holds $5.4 billion. The fund generates approximately 5% annual interest under current investment restrictions. Enhanced investment flexibility could significantly boost annual education funding without touching the principal. Proposed legislation would modernize investment policies to potentially increase returns from 5% to 8.3%.
• The bill preserves all constitutional protections for education funding while maintaining principal protection. Only investment returns can be spent, which keeps all existing controls on land disposal and exchanges unchanged, fully maintaining the longtime permanent trust fund structure.

Read the full bill here.

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