All public school children must have equal access to a high quality education regardless of where they live in Minnesota.
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Legislative Update A Communication for Parents and Education Supporters in SEE Districts | March 18 , 2011 |
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. |
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The main news
Both the House and Senate education finance omnibus bill are scheduled to be heard in committee on Monday. An omnibus bill is a collection of smaller bills, which have previously been heard in committee, bundled into one large bill. The new leadership seems determined to make its mark on education by including bold reforms - reform being the hot word these days. I will post the education finance omnibus bills here when they are available.
Although education funding is held flat in both the House and Senate, expect to see redistribution of dollars, leaving some districts with significant reductions in funding while others gain.
Chair Pat Garofalo said that the education finance omnibus bill will eliminate integration funding and increase funding for charter schools. Read more. Here's a list of participating districts in integration. Integration revenue totals about $66 million in state aid. It's not clear yet how the money will be redistributed, perhaps to fund early childhood education scholarships as outlined in SF331/HF669. Governor Mark Dayton has already indicated that he does not support pitting children against each other in a fight for scarce resources. Read more.
Based on the bills that were heard in the education committees this week, the following bills are likely to be included in some form in the education omnibus bills. Of course, the legislature can put anything they like into the omnibus bills. However, if the governor objects, he'll veto the bills. With the deep ideological differences between the governor and the legislature, a veto is very likely setting up tense negotiations throughout the remainder of the session. |
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Radical changes in store for teachers?
Representative Branden Peterson from Andover is carrying HF945 - a major bill that could radically changes teacher evaluations, professional development and tenure. The bill directs districts and teachers to collaborate in developing a professional development model that is based on student achievement and growth data from statewide assessments. Districts must also establish a teacher evaluation and appraisal structure. Fifty percent of the teacher evaluation is to be based on students' results on state or district tests. The other 50 percent of the teacher's evaluation will be based on performance measures identified by the district and the teachers.
Teachers must receive two annual evaluations performed by a trained school administrator. From these evaluations, the teacher will receive an effectiveness rating from 5 - highly effective to 1 - ineffective. The teacher will also get a status designation - standard, advanced, distinguished and exemplary.
Teachers will no longer earn tenure but will be reviewed for continual employment every five years. An ineffective rating can be cause for termination. Also, when districts are laying off teachers, seniority would be abolished. Teacher with a 1 rating would be first to go, with the 2's following, etc. To reward exceptional teachers, teachers with a distinguished designation will receive a 10% increase in wages and exemplary teachers will see a 20% increase.
The timeline directs districts to develop the appraisal framework and data collection system in the 2011-12 school year; implement it as a pilot program in the 2012-13 school year; and fully implement the framework and system in the 2013-14 school year.
Some great concepts are included in this bill. Yes, we want to identify and reward great teachers. We also want teachers and principals using data-driven information to direct teaching and learning. Yet are Minnesota's data systems sophisticated enough to hold up the heavy framework of this bill?
Districts across the state are already doing some of this to varying degrees. Those in Q-comp have some formal professional development and pay for performance models. However, they received $300 per pupil to pay for the implementation and cost associated with the evaluations, professional development and pay increases. This bill which goes further than Q-comp has no money for implementation for the next two years, directing districts to use existing professional development funds. (Ironically, HF511 - the mandate reduction bill removes the requirement for districts to set aside 2% of its funding for staff development. This is to give districts the flexibility to maintain class sizes and programming for our children as our schools struggle to meet rising costs while receiving flat funding from the state.) HF945 provides only $50 per pupil in 2013 and another $50 per pupil in 2014. In its current form, putting this into law would result in a significant unfunded mandate!
To learn more, you can read the bill summary. |
Calls for vouchers are back!
HF273/SF388 is a voucher bill and will likely be included in the education finance omnibus bill. SEE opposes siphoning funding away from our public schools. It is in the best interest of the state to use public dollars to build a first class K-12 public school system where all our children can prosper and become highly productive contributors to the future workforce.
Proponents of vouchers always claim it's about parental choice. Minnesota is a national leader in choice in our public schools including open enrollment, charter and magnet school options. This voucher bill would allow parents of children living in homes below 175% of poverty that are in failing schools (broadly defined by the author of the bill) to receive cash vouchers that can be used at any school of their choice, including private faith-based schools.
Accountability and constitutionality are the main concerns of this bill. Private schools are not required to teach and ensure that their students meet state academic standards. A child could fall further behind in the new private school yet continue to receive public dollars.
When questioned about the constitutionality of using public dollars to promote religious faith, the author insisted that the state would not be funding these institutions. He claimed the money would go to the parents. They were the ones choosing which schools their children would attend. Hmmm . . . . |
The return of the high stakes math GRAD
Minnesota had developed a rigorous math GRAD test that students must pass in order to receive their high school diploma. During the trial phase of the new math GRAD, it was discovered that over 50% of the students failed the test. The new math GRAD was based on newly adopted, more rigorous, math standards. The first five years of 11th grade students that would have to pass this math GRAD test in order to receive their diploma were not taught all the new standards as they had passed through their K-12 education.
The legislature decided to delay the high stakes portion of the math GRAD for five years (until the 2013-14 school year) and during this time assembled a work group to do a research-based analysis on the best way to ensure that our students have learned what was expected of them and were ready for their future. The work group recommended that the legislature adopt the ACCESS system to determine college and career readiness for students. The report noted, "In high school algebra and biology, the ACCESS system combines student performance on a state assessment with performance on classroom-based tests, assignments, projects and other indicators to determine a student's eligibility to graduate. This use of multiple measures to make high-stakes decisions reflects best practices in the design of accountability systems in education and other fields."
However HF558, which may very well end up in the education omnibus would require students to take a single high stakes test in Algebra and Biology at the end of the course beginning in 2012-13 school year, ignoring most of the recommendations from ACCESS system. |
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What can you do?
The decisions that will most impact our children and their schools are made at the STATE Capitol. Since children can't advocate for themselves, it up to us to be their voice.
Attend Parents United Parent Leadership Summit! The focus of this year's summit is teacher evaluation and effectiveness, a hot topic down at the legislature. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about education policy and what is happening at the capitol. It is also a great way to network with other parents and public schools advocates. Don't miss it! For more information and to register, click here.
Stay informed. Take the time to read SEE Legislative Updates. I will work to keep you informed and will suggest ways that you can help. Be prepared to act at critical times when I send out action alerts. Action can be as simple as sending an email or making a phone call.
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 a education supporters network so we can respond when critical times occur during the legislative session. In this political world, it is the voice of many that can make a difference. |
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If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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