|
|
|
Legislative Update A Communication for Parents and Education Supporters in SEE Districts |
March 12, 2010 |
|
If this is your first Legislative Update from SEE - Welcome!
For those who have been with us through the years - Thank you!
SEE publishes this Legislative Update weekly during the legislative session.
Brad Lundell, Executive Director for SEE, writes a blog on almost a daily basis. For up-to-date information about what is happening at the capitol visit Brad's Blog. | |
|
|
What's happening at the Capitol \
Activity has really picked up at the Capital as the first committee deadline is today. All bills relating to policy must be "acted favorably" in committee in the body of their origin by today to continue in the process. Thus, a bill must be heard in a House committee if authored by a representative and in a Senate committee for a bill from a senator. All bill must have a matching companion bill in the other body to continue. The companion policy bills must be heard before the second policy committee deadline of March 19. In additional, the first budget committee deadline is March 29.
If the committee chair chooses to have a bill come before the committee, the usual action taken is to lay the bill on the table for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill. The chair is the gatekeeper and selects the bills to be heard. The trend is to hear as many bills as possible. Sometimes bills are chosen because the bill holds real interest to the committee chair. Other times a bill is heard as a courtesy to the bill's author or perhaps to generate discussion on an important topic, yet the magnitude of the bill is too large or too expensive to be seriously considered at this time. Thus, it's not clear which bills will continue on to eventually become law.
A list of bills brought before the education committees this week can be found at the end of this update. |
|
SF2769/HF3063 would give school boards the authority to renew an expiring referendum. This would provide stability for our school districts over the coming years when education funding from the state will be flat or even reduced. The senate committee members did express concern that, as written, the bill would give school boards infinite authority to renew a referendum once it is voter-approved. However, it should be noted that up until the mid-1990s, referendums did not even have expiration dates. A suggested alternative could limit board renewal to referendums that are expiring over the next 3 - 5 years. Cities, counties and townships can all raise revenue through the authority of its elected board members, only school boards are required to get voter-approval when they deem additional revenue is required to maintain their programs.
HF3082 would reduce state aids and credits to cities, counties, school districts, and other local governments. The bill would reduce the per pupil amount schools receive from the current $5,124 to $4,659 in 2011 and 2012 and $4,785 thereafter. The author of the bill is Rep. Anne Lenczewski, chair of the House Tax committee. The intent of the bill is to show how deep the cuts would have to be to balance the projected state deficit without any additional revenue or one-time dollars. (Governor Pawlenty, in his budget balancing proposal, is counting on $387 million of one-time federal stimulus dollars that have not yet been passed in Congress.) Check out this chart to see the lost revenue for individual school districts should HF3082 become law. This bill has not been heard and is not yet scheduled to be heard in committee.
SF2980 would expand the sales tax to clothing and reduce the overall state sales tax from 6.5% to 6.25%. The estimated $257 million in new revenue would be used this year to reduce the deficit. For the following years, $120 million would be used to pay back the $1.2 billion school payment shift over ten years and the other part of the revenue would offset the reduced sales tax rate. Worthy of note, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, typically a very tax adverse organization representing thousands of businesses across the state, is "neutral" on the bill. Still, the governor would surely veto this bill if it made it to his desk. | |
|
Establishing high school assessments to determine students' college and career readiness
The 2009 legislature created a working group to develop recommendations for high school assessments. The goal became to align a high school diploma with college and career readiness. It is estimated that 61% of new job openings in Minnesota between 2006 and 2016 require an education beyond high school. Also, another study concluded that 80% of high school students will need postsecondary education to live and work productively in a rapidly changing, information-based economy. The working group forwarded its recommendations to the education commissioner. See the report from this workgroup for more information and details. HF3421/SF3110 contains the recommendations of the working group and the commissioner to the legislature for establishing high school assessments that indicate students' college and career preparedness. The summary of the bill is also available. Some key points of the bill include:
-
The current high-stakes reading and writing GRAD tests would be combined into a single high-stakes language arts exam that students must pass to graduate.
-
The math and science GRAD tests would be converted into end-of-course requirements. The state would develop an end-of-course exams that will count as 25% of the final grade for algebra and biology. Coursework would make up the other 75%. Students must pass these two currently required courses to earn a diploma.
- All exams would be designed to be taken by computer. The bill allows for multiple retests, remediation and exceptions for Special Education students and English language learners.
- The state will annually calculate an Alignment Index which will compare a student's final grade and exam grade in biology and algebra. This is to minimize grade inflation and assure students are mastering the content of these required courses. A high school would be placed into one of four categories on both the algebra Alignment Index and the biology Alignment Index: Closely Aligned, Moderate Aligned, Somewhat Misaligned and Highly Misaligned. Districts will also be notified of particular teachers whose classroom are highly misaligned.
- Directs the state to develop additional end-of-course exams in geometry, chemistry, and physics that high schools must use beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.
Obviously, implementing this system would have costs associated with it and the legislature must proceed with caution. However, the proposal from the working group and this bill provide a thoughtful look and instigates conversation around how best to prepare our students for the global economy that they will be competing in.
|
| What You Can Do
Pass these updates on and ask your friends to sign up to receive SEE's Legislative Updates so they too can be part of our network. Now is the time to build education support networks so that when critical times occur during the legislative session we can respond. In this political world, it is the voice of many that can make a difference.
Visit the capitol. If you are interested in visiting the capitol to speak with your legislators or to sit in on a committee meeting, feel free to contact me. I will be happy to help you arrange the visit and help you navigate the capitol. |
|
Working together, we can make a difference.
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Deb Griffiths
Director of Communications and Community Outreach
Schools for Equity in Education
612-309-0089
|
Bills heard in committee this week
Senate Committee on Education
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
SF3110 (Wiger) High school assessments for college and career readiness determination.
SF2610 (Anderson) Graduation required assessment for diploma (GRAD) language arts and reading paper-and-pencil format for retaking test authorization.
(Wiger) Prekindergarten through grade 12 education policy provisions modifications; general education, education excellence, special programs and early childhood education.
SF2949 (Olseen) Online learning assessment provisions modifications.
SF2797 (Rosen) Independent school district #75, St. Clair; baseball field advertising authorization.
SF2708 (Lynch) Attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD, ADHD) mental health professionals diagnosing authority expansion.
SF2601 (Bonoff) Probationary teacher continuing contract offer authorization.
SF2739 (Fobbe) Children with a disability definition modification; general obligations to children with disabilities specification; special instruction for children with a disability repeal.SF3028 (Stumpf) Pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education appropriations and appropriation reductions.
SF2980(Bakk) State and local government financing provisions modification; school districts current year aid payment percentage reductions; sales tax rate reduction and rate of adjustment proportion calculation requirement; commissioner of revenue rate adjustment.
SF3045 (Wiger) Prekindergarten through grade 12 education policy provisions modifications; general education, education excellence, special programs and early childhood education.
K-12 Education Policy and Oversight
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
HF2986 (Hornstein) Responsible family life and sexuality education program created.
HF3446 (Doepke) Board of Teaching authorized to amend its licensure rules to permit a tiered teacher licensure structure, revised institutional and program approval requirements, and revised special education licensure requirements.
HF2995 (Tillberry) Diagnosis qualifications of attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder expanded.
HF3267 (Newton) Advisory task force established on school desegregation and integration.
HF3487 (Newton) Conciliation conference requirements clarified, and Minnesota Department of Education directed to amend two special education rules.
HF2962 (Fritz) Minnesota Academy for the Deaf and Minnesota Academy for the Blind provided trial placement.
HF3478 (Benson) School district mandates reduced, additional flexibility allowed, and certain fund transfers authorized. (Note: The committee will only consider the sections of the bill within its jurisdiction. Those are sections 1-3, 5-10, 14-16).
HF3421 (Mariani) High school assessments established to determine college and career readiness.
MDE presentation: The ACCESS System: Achieving College and Career Readiness for Every Student's Success
HF3163 (Mariani) Prekindergarten through grade 12 funding provided, including general education, education excellence, special programs, and early childhood education.
HF3163 (Mariani) Prekindergarten through grade 12 funding provided, including general education, education excellence, special programs, and early childhood education.
HF3541 (Mariani) Legislative authority required for developing shared common assessments.
HF3421 (Mariani) High school assessments established to determine college and career readiness.
K-12 Education Finance Division
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
HF3176 (Slocum) Charter school provisions modified, commission created, and charter schools permitted to borrow money.
HF3219 (Demmer) Independent School District No. 203, Hayfield, fund transfer permitted.
HF3303 (Garofalo) General education aid reduction restored for certain taconite distributions.
TRA Pension Proposal |
Bills scheduled to be heard from March 15 - 19
Senate Education Finance and Policy Committee Meeting Schedule
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Committee on Education
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
8:30 a.m.
Room 112 Capitol
SF2757 (Bonoff) Teaching board teacher preparation and licensure programs authorization.
SF3104 (Saltzman) School and parent conciliation conference requirements clarification
SF2698 (Koch) Graduation required assessment for diploma (GRAD) retake requirement modification.
SF3002 (Bonoff) School desegregation and integration advisory task force establishment.
House K-12 Education Finance Division Committee Meeting Schedule
TUESDAY, March 16, 2010
2:45 PM
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF3475 (Dittrich) Independent agency created to oversee management of Minnesota's permanent school fund lands. - information only
Presentation by Margaret Bird, the director of Utah's Children's Land Alliance Supporting Schools (CLASS) and Kevin Carter, director of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration on Utah school trust land governance and land management practices
WEDNESDAY, March 17, 2010
2:45 PM
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda:
HF3478 (Benson) School district mandates reduced, additional flexibility allowed, and certain fund transfers authorized.
HF3308 (Newton) Capital expenditure health and safety revenue program simplified.
HF3532 (Peterson) School district not required to provide educational services to students without disabilities from other states.
HF2962 (Fritz) Minnesota Academy for the Deaf and Minnesota Academy for the Blind provided trial placement.
HF3115 (Norton) Statewide physical education standards and report required, and a healthy kids awards program established.
HF3120 (Bly) Efficiency plus access task forces created, and money appropriated.
HF3123 (Morgan) K-12 special education third-party billing process made more cost effective.
THURSDAY, March 18, 2010
2:45 PM
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Mindy Greiling
Agenda: HF3163 (Mariani) Prekindergarten through grade 12 funding provided, including general education, education excellence, special programs, and early childhood education.
HF3043 (Kalin) Computer-adaptive assessments provided for general education students.
HF3267 (Newton) Advisory task force established on school desegregation and integration.
House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight Committee Meeting Schedule
TUESDAY, March 16, 2010
8:30 AM
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda: Presentation by Margaret Bird, the director of Utah's Children's Land Alliance Supporting Schools (CLASS) and Kevin Carter, director of the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration on Utah school trust land governance and land management practices
HF2867 (Newton) Child with a disability definition clarified and obligations to children with disabilities specified.
WEDNESDAY, March 17, 2010
8:30 AM
Room: Basement State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Carlos Mariani
Agenda:
HF3421 (Mariani) High school assessments established to determine college and career readiness. |
| Education Committees
The senate has combined the education policy and education budget committees. That seems wise particularly in these tough economic times since rarely does an education policy or mandate come without any cost to our schools.
| |
|
|
|
