Same Goal, Different Paths.  Friday saw two sessions--one in the House and one in the Senate--at which two different approaches were posited to Minnesota's stubborn achievement and opportunity gaps.  All parties (in both political parties) believe addressing these gaps are among the highest--probably the highest--priorities that needs to be addressed in Minnesota's E-12 education system.  The Senate spent Friday morning listening to a presentation by former Justice Alan Page and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neil Kashkari discuss the constitutional amendment (introduced as SF 3977/HF 3658) they have promoted for thhe past several months.  Witnesses on both sides of the issue provided testimony during the two-hour hearing.  It is difficult to discern how much tangible support for the amendment has at this juncture with skepticism (polite, but skepticism nonetheless) coming from both sides of the political aisle.  The Senate took no action at Friday's hearing and the House (which I will write about in greater detail in a minute) has not had a formal hearing on the proposal.

I'm not a constitutional expert, but I've always viewed constitutions--both Federal and State--as fence posts that determine the available space for policy.  Passing the amendment would surely move the posts, but it's difficult to see whether the policy space would be altered.  The big difference between the current constitutional clause and the proposed clause is it moves beyond "system" to formalizing the fundamental right (currently affirmed in case law) to an education by placing it in the constitution and replacing general/uniform/thorough/efficient with a guarantee of a "quality" education.  The notion of quality is where things become slippery and it would likely take a generation to determine what that may mean.  Stay tuned because I think it's safe to say that discussion of this effort will continue throughout the session.

The House spent the entire day in a symposium dedicated to description of and possible remedies to the achievement and opportunity gaps.  The morning featured an outline of some of the major issues that contribute to the achievement and opportunity gaps, with presentations from State Demographer Susan Brower, Kathleen Annette from the Blandin Foundation, Dr. Michael Rodriguez from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Bernadeia Johnson from Minnesota State-Mankato University, and Daniel Thatcher from the National Conference on State Legislatures.  Talk shifted in the afternoon, with Justice Page and President Kashkari crossing the street from the Minnesota Senate Building to the State Office Building to once again present their case for a constitutional change and a number of panels--including one featuring a set of Minnesota superintendents outlining their efforts to close the achievement gap. 

To the right we see Justice Page and President Kashkari providing their perspectives on the proposed constitutional amendment.  Their presentation last half an hour and there was little in the way of substantive discussion of the proposal.

On the left we see Fridley superintendent Dr. Kim Heil, along with four other Minnesota superintendents from both the metropolitan area and Rochester, speaking of steps they have taken--including participation in the Reimagisne Minnesota Project that is working to create increased educational opportunities for students, especially those in highly diverse metropolitan and outstate districts.

The week ahead will certainly be a busy one.  The first committee deadline is Friday, March 13, so if policy bills don't clear a policy committee in either the House or Senate by that date, Jason will have put them out of their misery.  Finance committees have until Friday, April 3, to hear finance-related bills.  So buckle up and avoid guys wearing hockey masks.