Legislative Update from SEE

All public school children must have equal access to a high quality education regardless of where they live in Minnesota.

Legislative Update
A Communication for Parents and Education Supporters in SEE Districts

March 25 , 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.

In This Issue

The omnibus bills are here

The shell game

The shell game, continued . . .

What's next?

Other resources

What can you do?

Quick Links

Schools For Equity in Education

Brad's Blog

Who represents you?

2011 Education Bills

Upcoming Education Committee Meetings

If this communication was forwarded to you, sign up to receive it directly.

The omnibus bills are here
The education community was extremely grateful that both the House and Senate's education funding targets were equal to base funding which included a 4.6% growth factor for special education. Average expenditures for mandated special education services increase at 8% a year but vary in each district. The 4.6% growth factor helped offset some of the effects of this rapidly growing financial stress in school districts.

The target is the amount of money each committee can spend. Yet, the committees are free to reallocate how they spend these dollars. The omnibus bills reveal how the committees take advantage of this opportunity to promote their priorities.

This week, both the House and the Senate released their separate education finance omnibus bills.

House

House education omnibus summary

House Summary - Shorter version from SEE

House Data Run for 2011-12 - Gives funding gain/loss

House Data Run for 2012-13 - Gives funding gain/loss over base for each district

Senate
Senate education omnibus summary

Senate Summary - Shorter version from SEE

Senate Data Runs - Gives funding gain/loss over base for each district

Also, I have posted more info regarding these bills on SEE's website.

The shell game

This update will focus on some of the financial implications for our schools from provisions in the omnibus bills. Information on the reforms contained in the bills had been discussed in previous updates over the past few weeks.

Two key concepts to bring up to your legislators:

Special education dollars are being used to fund formula increases and pay for new programs.

1. The committee chairs were proud to announce that they were able to increase the per pupil formula.

a. The House increases the formula by $31 per pupil next year and another $55 the following year.

b. The Senate increases are $50 per pupil the first year and another $50 the following year.

2. However, both the House and the Senate eliminated the 4.6% special education growth factor which averages out to about $100 per pupil per year, this varies by district.

3. Special education services are mandated. Claiming our schools are getting increases to the formula is a fallacy since these dollars must still cover increases to special education services. Districts with high special education costs will lose from this shift while districts with lower special education cost will come out ahead.

4. Special education dollars are also being used to fund new initiatives. Ultimately, it might result in the literacy incentive program and the small schools categorical paid for partially with dollars taken out of the classroom.

It is more accurate to say these bills contain mandate replacements rather than mandate reductions.

1. Mandate relief seen in HF511 is included in both bills. However, both bills see significant increases in additional mandates that have considerable costs including:

a. Teacher professional develop and evaluations. (HF945)

b. Requiring all districts to implement Q-comp (without the $300 per pupil funding the current Q-comp districts received.) (HF947) - Seen in the House bill only.

Summary: There are real winners and losers in both these bills. The devil is always in the details.

The shell game, continued . . . .

The House Omnibus Bill -

Children in charter schools and small districts will experience huge growth in educational opportunities at expense of all other children in the state.

1. Chair Pat Garofalo said the House would significantly increase funding to charter schools. Most charter schools have less than 1000 students. A new "small schools" funding categorical funnels more money to districts and charters with less than 1000 students utilizing a sliding scale where the smaller the school the more new funding it receives.

2. For the 2011-12 school year, the House uses some of the 4.6% special education growth factor revenue to fund the new small schools categorical. Most schools districts over 1000 students would actually see a reduction in their base funding next year.

3. In the 2012-13, integration revenue is eliminated in St. Paul and Minneapolis and this revenue along with special education dollars are used to fund the new small schools categorical. Most districts would see a small decreases around $30 per pupil to a small increase around $30 while charters and districts under 1000 students see increases from $200 - $500 per pupil! This is unbelievably unfair to provide so much opportunity to some children while stripping or minimizing opportunity for other children. See this data run to see how your district would be affected. Note: charter schools district numbers begin at 4000 are found on the last pages.

The Senate Omnibus Bill -
A promising new literacy incentive program is funded by shifting dollars away from special education and integration aid.

1. The Senate is incentivizing efforts to increase literacy because statistics show if a student is not reading by the 3^rd grade, their chances of graduating dramatically decline. Literacy incentive aid is established and is calculated in two parts as follows:

a. Proficiency portion = $150 times the percent of 3^rd grade students who meet or exceed MCAII reading proficiency

b. Growth portion = $150 times the percent of 4^th graders that make medium or high growth x

2. Literacy incentive aid is paid for with integration aid and the special education dollars. Districts that did not previously receive integration aid will see increases of around $100 per pupil. For districts that received integration aid, some will see small increases with this shift in funding but many will see small to quite large decreases in overall funding.

Integration aid is being repurposed to fund other programs in both the House and the Senate.

1. The integration revenue for Minneapolis and St. Paul is slashed in the 2012-13 school year which resulted in cuts over $350 per pupil in these districts.

2. The Senate eliminated all integration aid while the House allowed districts besides Minneapolis and St. Paul to keep their current levels of integration aid.

Summary: Again, there are real winners and losers in both these bills. The devil is always in the details.

What's next?

After the two omnibus bills make it through the various finance committees and get passed off the floor, a conference committee will be convened to negotiate a single education finance omnibus bill.

The governor will surely veto it.

Each side will fight for their key priorities The negotiations are going to be difficult as the governor and the legislature are so far apart.

If I was a betting person, I would bet that not only will we see a special session but perhaps even a government shut down if the two sides can't agree by July 1st. Stay tuned . . .

Other Resources

2011 Education Bills spreadsheet - Information on the education omnibus bills and a comprehensive spreadsheet of relevant education bills.

Schedule of education committee meetings - a updated listing of education committee meetings and other committee meetings that are hearing education bills.

To read more details about the activity at the Capitol this week, check out Brad's Blog.

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.

Email your legislators with any concerns you might have regarding the elimination of the 4.6% special education growth factor and the addition of unfunded mandates in the omnibus bills. It is as simple as a quick email that could ask several questions:

Do you support the education finance omnibus bill?

Do you support the elimination of the 4.6% special education growth factor to fund other programs and initiatives?

What is your position regarding the reforms in the bills? How can we be sure that reform won't result in unfunded mandates?

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.

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Deb Griffiths