Robbinsdale Area Schools

Legislative Action Coalition Newsletter

April 4, 2014

Dear (Contact First Name),

Today marks the third deadline for the Minnesota Legislature. The third deadline is for committees to act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.

Thursday brought over six hours of debate, amendments and finally the Senate passage of the Safe and Supportive Schools Act (HF 826) aka the Anti-Bullying bill. Included here is a link to the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) summary and development of the bill. It will now head to the House where the author is expected to concur with all the Senate amendments. That means it doesn't have to go through conference committee and will be on the House floor for a vote. Thank you for all your calls, emails and letters. Your voice really does make a difference.

The House of Representatives had a long day as well. Over nine hours spent on the debate and amendments of the Omnibus Supplemental Budget bill (HF 3172). In the end, $75 million, or a 1 percent increase, will be on the general education funding formula. English language learners will receive funding of $5.4 million, and $5 million will go towards improving school telecommunication access. The much publicized school lunch funding will see $3.5 million. Those students who received the reduced price lunch as a part of the Free & Reduced program will now receive free lunch beginning in 2015. The Session Daily article has a great recap.

The Senate had a long day as well. In fact, it was around 11 pm when they decided to hang it up for the night and come back Friday morning to work on the Senate Omnibus Supplemental Budget bill (SF 2785). The E-12 education article will be heard Friday late morning.

Some updates:

Teacher Evaluations - SF (2459) seeks to implement teacher evaluations in FY15. Part of the controversy, when heard on March 23rd, was the implementation of the program was slotted to be delayed until the 2015-16 school year, as well as a large price tag. Concerns of peer evaluation and privacy policies surrounding the evaluation were also debated. Compromises were found and the bill was amended, recommended to pass and re-referred to the Committee on Finance Friday morning.

Health Insurance Transparency Act (HITA) -

HF2180 is scheduled to be heard Monday morning, April 7.

Early Learning -

Most of the early childhood/early learning bills are included in both Education Finance Omnibus bills. Once passed in both bodies, any differences will need to be ironed out in conference committee.

A great way to follow what is happening at the Capitol is to check the calendar. If there is a bill you are interested in following, I am happy to join you at the Capitol or you can watch many of the hearings/sessions on your computer or tablet. The Minnesota Multimedia page provides links to live and archived videos.

The LAC invites you to participate with us in whatever way works for you! Please let us know if you are interested in:

Joining one of our discussions with our representatives.
Working with us to share your personal story on how public education impacts your family or community.
Attending periodic workshops offered with our partners.
Like us on Facebook.
Share our information with friends.

Please call 763-504-4087 or email for more information.

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Current Events

Parent Summit - From the Capitol to the Classroom

presented by Parents United for Public Schools

Monday, April 28th 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

TIES Event Center

1640 Larpenteur Ave. W., St. Paul, 55108

651-999-7391

This is always a very fun, informative event. Mary Cecconi will talk about and lead a discussion in what has occurred in education during the last ten years. You have heard about funding, teacher evaluations, World's Best Workforce, anti-bullying - lots of things to talk about.

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Quick Links:

LAC 2014 Legislative Platform:

Definitions of Education Terms:

Map of our School District:

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