Hearings Update.  As reported yesterday, the two education policy-related committees--the House Education Innovation Policy Committee and the Senate Education Policy Committee--held their first hearings today.  Both committees' time was dedicated to having the members of the committee introduce themselves, introducing staff members, going over the procedures that will be followed by the committee and testimony from a variety of education stakeholders (including SEE).  The House E-12 Funding Committee also held its first hearing and the proceedings were similar with the sole difference being the committee did not hear from stakeholders, but instead got a tutorial on Minnesota's education funding system from longtime House Research analyst Tim Strom and new House fiscal analyst Emily Adriaens.

Tomorrow's hearings will feature more of the same, with the only education-related committees on tap are the two finance divisions.  The House will continue its tutorial with staff while the Senate will hear from Mark Haveman, Executive Director of the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence, on cost trends in public education.