Wall-to-Wall Wednesday.  Wednesday is the day when all of the education-related committees meet.  House Education Funding leads off at 10:30 AM and goes until noon, when it hands it off to the House Education Policy Committee, which starts at 1:00 PM and runs until 2:30.  After that, things get punted across the street to the Senate, with the Senate E-12 Finance and Policy going from 3:00 until 4:30.  It's early in the session, but priorities seem to be shaping up already as witnessed by today's hearings.

The House Education Funding Committee took up testimony from a panel of superintendents--Astein Osei (St. Louis Park), Stephanie Burrage (Robbinsdale), and Dave Krenz (Austin)--and a panel of special education directors--Melissa Schaller (Intermediate 917), Darren Kermes (Intermediate 288), and Deb Marcotte (Hiawatha Valley Education District).  The focus of the hearing was the complications for the delivery of education services due to the pandemic and how these districts were creative in meeting the challenge.  But even with this creativity, funding gaps and uncertainty exist, some of which the House will suggest be mitigated by  HF 4  (Discussed in Yesterday's Blog Entry) that the Committee will hear tomorrow (Thursday) morning.  It is important to note that HF 4 goes further in correcting the funding downturn resulting directly from the reduced pupil count than the Governor's proposed budget.  It is more than a truism that a dollar can only be spent once and that any revenue used to fill the funding deficit resulting from pandemic will not be available for new initiatives in the coming biennium.  With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the balance is struck between correcting the funding problems caused by the pandemic for the current school year and any proposed new programs that would be established during this session for next school year and beyond.

The House Education Policy Committee heard another bill authored by Representative Hassan today -- HF 217 -- which proposes to spend just under $45 million over the coming biennium for a variety of programs aimed at increasing the number of teachers of color in Minnesota schools.  While we don't know what targets will look like in the House and Senate, it's safe to assume that both sides will propose something on this issue and the House proposal will likely be larger in dollars and scope.  This will be a high priority and it will be interesting to see where the discussion goes this session.

The Senate E-12 Finance and Policy Committee heard Senator Chamberlain's SF 244 , a bill that would create a grant program for licensed teachers to receive training in the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) program.  LETRS is a scientifically-based reading program that has shown remarkable results in raising the reading scores of elementary school students throughout the country.  Last session, then-Senate Education Chair Carla Nelson proposed re-directing revenue from the Literacy Incentive Aid program into a program that would require all school districts to take the LETRS training.  Senator Chamberlain's bill dials that back and proposes to spend $1 million in each year of the biennium.  Senator Chamberlain has long been a champion of scientifically-based reading instruction, especially through his work with the dyslexia community and this proposal has considerable support among teachers (at both the elementary/secondary and post-secondary levels) and parents.  

As in the case of teachers of color, I believe the other body (in this case, the House in HF 288 authored by Representative Edelson) will also expend effort in this area.  This is another area where interests will likely mesh, but the extent to which they mesh in terms of resources remains the question.

Time to Get Blogging!  It's been a slow start to the 2021 Legislative Session, which was somewhat to be expected given the fact that the Legislature is pretty much meeting in hybrid mode with committee meetings done remotely.  This has slowed down bill introductions and committee hearings have largely dealt with study topics rather than hearing bills to this point.  Much of the discussion has revolved around recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with assistance to businesses and individuals at the heart of the discourse.  That doesn't mean the committee hearings haven't been interesting.  In education, a lot of attention has been given to the task of opening schools again and with elementary students in most districts attending again in person, the debate is turning to questions surrounding how to help students get back to where they need to be academically and to weave them back into the school environment emotionally.  There is no question that almost a year out of formal classroom education has taken its toll on everyone in the education enterprise, but the starkest loss has likely been felt by students.

One bill with considerable implications for education was heard in the House Education Policy Committee last week and will be heard in the House Education Funding Committee later this week.  HF 4 authored by Minneapolis Representative Hodan Hassan holds school districts harmless for general education revenue losses due to dips in enrollment due to the pandemic by allowing districts to use the greater of their current enrollment or their enrollment numbers from the 2019-2020 school year.

Other items in the bill include:

• Allows districts to expand extended time programs for the coming summer by board action with added hours being reported through the framework of the current extended time program.
• Requires school districts to prioritize students with disabilities, especially those in Level 3 or Level 4 programs, when considering return to in-person instruction.
• $2 million for full service community school grants.
• $6 million for grants for trauma-informed professional development grants.
• $3 million for Math Corps and $2 million for Reading Corps.

Here is a link to the bill summary:  HF 4 Bill Summary 

Governor's Budget Released.  While things have proceeded at a relatively leisurely pace to this point, the release of the Governor's budget in budget session usually marks the point when the action picks up.  The Governor is putting forth an ambitious budget that calls for a biennial increase of approximately $770 million over the base with $300 million of that coming from an increase in the general education formula of 1% for the 21-22 school year and 2.5% for the 22-23 school year.

Here are the other highlights of the bill:

• Increases in equalization for local option revenue, operating referendum revenue, and debt service revenue.
• Dedication of Federal revenue to extended time programs.
• Freezing the special education cross-subsidy at its current level.
• $28 million over the biennium to reduce the English learner cross-subsidy.
• $46 million over the biennium establishing a student support personnel categorial program.  The formula would provide $22 per student with a district minimum of $35,000.  The intent is to increase the presence of school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors and school nurses in school districts throughout the state.
• $5 million in each year of the biennium for full service community schools.
• A strong commitment to American Indian education through the expansion of a variety of programs.
• The creation of an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office at the Minnesota Department of Education.
• $5 million per year for increased teacher mentorship.

What I've provided is a short synopsis of what is in the Governor's recommendations for the E-12 system.  If you want to digest the whole 417 pages, here is the link:  Governor Walz/Lt. Governor Flanagan E-12 Budget Recommendations

 And here are the Cliff's Notes:  Summary of Governor Walz/Lt. Govnernor Flanagan E-12 Budget Recommendations

And Finally, here is the page on the Minnesota Department of Education website related to the Due North education plan outlined in the budget recommendations.  There is some valuable links that show the background behind a number of the recommendations.

Due North Education Plan 

Reaction to the recommendations has been spirited and below are several links to news stories regarding the Governor's and Lieutenant Governor's budget recommendations.

Star Tribune 

St. Paul Pioneer Press 

Due North Press Conference on You Tube (Governor enters at 5:00 mark)

The Real Reason I Haven't Been Blogging.   It's hard to get on the computer when the dog is surfing the web.  I hope she doesn't have my credit card number.  Mondo dog treats if she does!