House Education Policy Bill Released.  The House has released its initial version of the 2015 omnibus education policy bill on Monday.  The bill is currently in the form of a "strike-everything" amendment to HF 1591.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, a "strike-everything" amendment is a streamlined way of constructing a large bill.  Instead of offering amendments one at a time to the "vehicle bill" (the bill that is serving as the "shell" for the entire span of policy initiatives), a "strike-everything" amendment incorporates initiatives that have, traditionally for the most part, been heard by the full committee and for which there is general agreement among committee members (especially from those in the majority caucus) to be included in the omnibus bill.  Obviously, the bill is constructed by the majority and while there are some initiatives that were sponsored by members of the minority caucus, some of the proposed changes are clearly the will of the majority caucus.

The contents of HF 2, the comprehensive teacher tenure and licensure bill sponsored by Representative Jenifer Loon, are contained in the bill.  You may recall that HF 2 passed the House floor a couple of weeks back on a straight party-line vote.  That bill, along with Senator Terri Bonoff's SF 97, were heard by the Senate Education Policy Committee last week, but there is little indication that those bills will be moved forward in the Senate this session (At least as bills.  I am certain they will be offered a number of times in both committee and on the Senate floor as amendments to other bills), leaving the House majority with limited options for this measure to have a chance of passage in 2015.  Given the Governor's assumed opposition to the changes in teacher tenure, it will likely be an uphill battle for these House's tenure changes, but a lot of things happen during the negotiations that lead to the final education funding and policy package constructed at the end of each session, so the teacher tenure and licensure changes that are contained in HF 1591 certainly are not dead.

Here is a link to the strike-everything amendment to HF 1591:  HF 1591 Strike-Everything Amendment Text

Monday Bill Introductions.

Senate

SF 1728--Nienow--Authorizes Commissioner of Education to help coordinate school crisis response teams--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1728&session=ls89&version=latest&session_number=0&session_year=2015

SF 1750--Hayden--Appropriates money for a planning grant for the W. Matthew Little Cultural and Educational Excellence Center--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1750&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1769--Kent--Expands the list of offenses that authorizes the Board of Teaching or Board of School Administrators to deny or revoke a license--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1769&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1773--Hawj--Appropriates money for a GED services initiative--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1773&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1780--Hoffman--Clarifies location of automatic external defibrillators in school buildings--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1780&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1781--Pappas--Provides a program to engage Hmong and Southeast Asian children and families in accessing early childhood care and education--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1781&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1782--Clausen--Establishes a work group on career and technical education educator licensing--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1782&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1795--Torres Ray--Creates program and appropriates money to recruit, educate and license underrepresented student populations to teach--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1795&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

SF 1808--Johnson--Lowers the age of compulsory education from seven to six--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1808&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

House

HF 1893--Newton--Provides for the condemnation of certain school trust lands--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1893&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1894--Loon--Appropriates money for a pilot program to Girls in Action--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1894&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1895--Davnie--Protects online data and establishes student digital privacy rights--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1895&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1896--Mariani--Appropriates money for a planning grant for the W. Matthew Little Cultural and Educational Excellence Center--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1896&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1897--Isaacson--Establishes grant programs for career and technical education needs--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1897&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1913--Heintzeman--Provides for temporary teaching license--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1913&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0

HF 1925--Urdahl--Establishes a work group on career and technical education educator licensing--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1925&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0