House Bill Released.

The curtain is up and the House Omnibus Education Funding and Policy bill has hit the big stage.  Unlike the Senate--at least at this point--the House has combined its funding and policy components into one bill.  The Governor has stated a preference for policy and funding to be treated separately, so we will have to wait to see what the process will look like going forward.  It is also unknown whether the Legislature will assemble one giant mega-budget bill that will entail all the budget (and perhaps policy) decisions in one document.  That is a format that has been followed periodically--and more consistently--over the past few decades.

So, with no further delay, here is a link to the House Omnibus Education Funding and Policy Bill:  HF 4328.

Here are the budget change items that are in the bill:

• Permanent increase of $18/PU in School Safety Revenue at a cost of $16.6 million.
• $5.0 million for School-linked Mental Health Grants.
• $2.0 million for School Facility Audit Grants.
• $1.9 million for Safe Schools Revenue for Intermediate School Districts.
• $1.7 million for Safe Schools Revenue for Education Cooperatives.
• $1.6 million for the Monticello School District's special education state miscalculation issue.
• $420,000 for St. Cloud's summer ELL program.
• $400,000 for School Resource Officer Training.
• $350,000 for "Jake's Law."
• $300,000 for School Threat Assessment Grants.
• $273,000 for Suicide Prevention Training.
• $250,000 for Vocational Enrichment Revenue.
• $250,000 for Mounds View Early College Aid.
• $200,000 to the Legislative Auditor for a report on school district funding.
• $200,000 for the Mind Foundry Learning Foundation.
• $150,000 for a Vocational PSEO Grant.
• $50,000 for a school bus safety campaign.
• $50,000 for the Grand Rapids Children's Museum.

The bill also expands the use of Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue to include school safety improvements.  That provision would take effect for taxes payable in 2019 which is the 2019-2020 school year.

Here is a link to the budget sheet that also shows some funding reductions for various education programs:  HF 4328 Budget Amounts.

The bill will be formally heard this afternoon at 1 PM in Room 5 of the State Office Building.  The House Education Finance Committee will entertain amendments from members at tomorrow afternoon's meeting.

House Budget Targets Announced.  

Late last week, the House of Representatives passed its budget resolution outlining the budget targets for each of the programmatic categories in this year's budget and there weren't a whole lot of surprises.  The budget targets are outlined below:

• $107.45 million in tax relief, including simplification of state taxes;
• $101 million for road and bridge repairs;
• $50.6 million to address a variety of issues, including pension woes;
• $30.23 million for student safety through school safety improvements and mental health programming;
• $15 million for expanded broadband internet across the state;
• $10 million to prevent a 7 percent cut to people caring for Minnesota’s disabled community through the Disability Waiver Rate System;
• $7.12 million for public safety;
• $5 million for higher education;
• $750,000 to address chronic wasting disease; and
• $250,000 to support mental health counseling for farmers.

There is a little bit of dissonance existing between the level of funding for school safety--$50 million--announced by House Republican leadership last week and the House education budget target of $30 million, but it needs to be pointed out that the $50 million referenced at that event includes all of the money throughout the budget that will be dedicated to school safety and that there are likely initiatives that will come from other targets.  One rumor that is circulating is that there will be an amount set aside in the bonding bill to fund a competitive building project program that would funnel dollars to the districts that are most in need to safety-related facilities upgrades.  The House E-12 funding bill will be unveiled tomorrow and more details will be known at that time.

Here is a copy of the House budget resolution, which passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee on an 18-6 vote:  House Budget Resolution

And here is a story from the Session Daily published by the House Public Information Office on the resolution:  Tax relief focus of House budget targets

Senate E-12 Funding Bill Released.  The Senate Education Finance Committee presented its version of the omnibus education funding bill today in a delete-all amendment to SF 3928.  Unlike the House, where there is a strict formal budget resolution, the Senate sets targets for each committee that may be more malleable in the policy development process.  That said, the Senate is actually proposing to spend less in the coming fiscal year than the amount contained in the House budget resolution; approximately $20 million to the House's $30 million.

The funding highlights of the bill include:

• $19.8 million in aid for school safety in FY 19 (next school year).  Additional $15/PU for FY 19.  Additional $3.51/PU ($7.50 for districts in an intermediate district) for following fiscal years.
• $800,000 in a special education aid adjustment for the Monticello School District (provided money to transfer from the Minnesota Department of Education's litigation fund is available).
• $750,000 grant program to promote character education.
• $440,000 to two programs to promote equity and expand access to school telecommunications.
• $273,000 for suicide prevention training for teachers.
• $250,000 to the Sanneh Foundation to help close the achievement gap.
• $125,000 for a grant to develop online access to music education.
• $100,000 for the Race 2 Reduce water conservation curriculum program.
• $47,000 for the Children's Museum of Grand Rapids.

The bill also contains the academic balance provision contained in Senator Nelson's SF 2487.  There have been some changes in the language, which is found in Article 3, Section 1, of the SF 3928.

Here are the documents that accompanied the release of the Senate's omnibus education funding bill.

• SF 3928 Delete-All Amendment (Bill Language)
• Proposed Budget Change Items
• State Aid Budget Tracking
• Levy Tracking
• FY 19 School Safety Data Run by District

Amendments will be discussed in committee on Wednesday, April 18, with the bill being passed out of committee at that meeting.  The deadline for all funding bills to be out of their respective funding committees is Friday, April 20.

Bill Introductions

Even past deadlines, the beat of bill introductions goes on!

Senate

Thursday, April 12

SF 3926--Wiger--Provides for online special education reporting system.

SF 3927--Relph--Grant to St. Cloud school district for development of leadership skills and cultural knowledge.

SF 3928--Nelson--Omnibus Education Funding Bill (Delete-all adopted on Monday, April 16, as reported above is current bill language.  This is original bill language which has been replaced.).

SF 3953--Nelson--Codifies teacher code of ethics.

SF 3962--Bigham--Requires school district threat assessment teams.

SF 3966--Chamberlain--Continues facilities levy authority for members of TIES.

Monday, April 16

SF 3977--Wiger--Narrows exemption for opting out of vaccinations to religious beliefs only.

House

Thursday, April 12

HF 4352--Torkelson--Appropriates money for an agriculturally-based STEM program.

HF 4356--Haley--Waives surplus property fees for school districts and state colleges and universities.

HF 4372--Loon--Sets forecast adjustments for E-12 budget amounts.

HF 4382--Davnie--Provides for online special education reporting system.

HF 4384--Peterson--Provides transportation for certain pregnant teens or teen parents.

HF 4387--Wills--Creates grant program for school resource officer training.

HF 4393--Jurrgens--Creates school hot lunch grant program for students who do not qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

Monday, April 16

HF 4406--Lillie--Narrows exemption for opting out of vaccinations to religious beliefs only.

HF 4414--Urdahl--Appropriates money for the repurposing of the Cosmos Elementary School.

HF 4421--Schomacker--Authorizes fund transfer for Ivanhoe school district.

Committee Reports.  Two education-related committees met today.  The early afternoon featured the House Education Finance Committee, which heard four bills.  The two bills of greatest interest to those who follow funding were HF 4272, Representative Knoblach's bill that provides additional revenue for districts with high levels of special education cross-subsidies, and HF 3591, Representative Dettmer's bill that increases transportation sparsity revenue.

Here is a data run for Representative Knoblach's bill:  HF 4272

Other bills included Represenative Franke's HF 4299, a bill that requires school districts to do a threat assessment, and Representative Jessup's HF 4302, a bill that provides a grant to the Mounds View School District for its early college program.

The Senate Education Finance Committee handled five bills.  They were:

SF 3743--Senator Carla Nelson's bill that provides a $1,000,000 for competitive grants for school districts to develop character development education programs.

SF 3123--Senator Carla Nelson's bill to increase state aid for school district telecommunications projects.

SF 3013--Senator Justin Eichorn's bill that expands eligibility for early childhood scholarships down to birth and modifies the administration of the early childhood scholarship program.

SF 2540--Senator Justin Eichorn's bill that provides a grant to the Children's Discovery Museum of Grand Rapids.

SF 3433--Senator Rich Draheim's bill that authorizes transportation for certain pregnant or parenting teens.

Missed a Day.  But seeing I did two on Monday, I'm still one my targeted one-a-day regimen.  The House Education Finance Committee was the only education-related committee that met on Tuesday.  The committee received a presentation on the Governor's education budget proposal--HF 4328--and testimony from the various and sundry education organizations that have interest in the bill.  There are three major funding provisions in the Governor's bill.

• $16 million aid increase to school district for FY 19 for school safety revenue (putting per pupil amount at $54/PU).  School safety revenue is set at $72/PU thereafter with an aid/levy mix.
• $17 million aid increase in changes to the special education formula for FY 19 with tails of an additional $43.5 million in the next biennium.
• $56 million in the next biennium to make the School Readiness Plus program permanent.

There are a number of other program funding increases, but those listed above is where the big money is located.

Legislative budget targets have not been set yet, so it is difficult to know exactly where the conflicting views of the Legislature and Governor will collide.  Who knows?  Maybe there won't be conflicting views.

NAEP Results Released.  

(Sorry.  Couldn't resist the temptation.)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP) released its annual report outlining student achievement across the states that participate in the NAEP process.  Christopher Mangan from the St. Paul Pioneer Press put together this article that takes apart Minnesota's results.  As has been the case in recent history, our scores stack up very well nationally, but we continue to have troubling gaps between the achievement of white students and students in minority groups.

Link:  MN students near top on national test. Breaking results down by race tells another story.

Here is a link to the Nation's Report Card where you can see where Minnesota stands compared to other states.  Link:  Nations Report Card

In addition, here is the link that gives an overall review of the national results:  The 2017 grades 4 and 8 mathematics and reading results are in!

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris in Town.  Renowned pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris spoke at the Westminster Town Forum in Minneapolis yesterday.  I listened to the re-broadcast of her speech while driving back from the Belle Plaine Community Forum on their proposed bond election (Thanks for inviting me Dr. Laager and thanks to all the community members who participated).  Dr. Burke Harris provides a lot of insight in her remarks about how childhood trauma has an adverse effect on later intellectual and emotional development.

Here is a link to her remarks:  Dr. Nadine Burke Harris at Westminster Town Hall Forum

In addition, this link leads to the Center for Youth Wellness that Dr. Burke Harris founded:  Center for Youth Wellness

Last, but not least, a link to more information about ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) scores and what they may mean:  Take The ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does And Doesn't Mean

Second Post of a Day/Night Double Header.  The House and Senate were back in session today.  The only education-related hearing was the Senate Education Finance Committee, which featured five bills, four of which concerned school facilities safety. Of the bills heard, SF 3243--Senator Pratt's bill that increases the Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue by $100 per pupil unit for Fiscal Year 2020 through Fiscal Year 2027--has the biggest chance of making it into the Senate omnibus education funding bill.  Other bills that were heard were Senator Wiger's SF 2507, a bill that includes cybersecurity along with the Governor's school safety revenue increase, and SF 2508, a bill that would create a new facilities funding category (School Improvement Revenue) that would provide districts with $212 per pupil equalized at the same rate as Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue to be used for facilities improvement.  The text of SF 2508 was Recommendation 4 in the final report of the School Facilities Finance Working Group issued in 2014.  It would replace the current lease levy, which is unequalized.  Before going further, in my testimony in support of all of the school safety bills, I pointed out that SF 2508 would solve a lot of issues facing the state's school districts, including that of building improvements for school safety and it is probably the best long-term strategy to pursue.  Unfortunately, it's not a budget year and even if there is some money left on the table after the Legislature and Governor agree on a tax conformity plan, it won't be enough to fund this measure going into the future.  The last of the school facility bills was Senator Clausen's SF 3472, which increases the school safety levy and makes certain that cooperative units receive a proportional increase in the total revenue increase.

The final bill of the day was Chair Nelson's SF 2774, which provides a $273,000 grant to Kognito, a group that provides evidence-based online suicide prevention training for teachers and students.  Here is a link to the Suicide Prevention simulations that are part of the training offered by Kognito:  Kognito Suicide Prevention

Bill Introductions

Introductions are down to a trickle!

Senate

SF 3896--Eaton--Increases and modifies Gifted and Talented Revenue.

SF 3904--Abeler--Appropriates money for a study comparing charter school and school district financing.

SF 3911--Dziedzic--Requires affirmative consent instruction.

SF 3914--Clausen--Defines cultural competency required for teacher licensure.

House

HF 4325--Poston--Allows for identification of students for free lunch using the Community Eligibility Program.

HF 4328--Loon--Governor's Education Funding Proposal.

HF 4329--Bernardy--Makes School Readiness Plus program funding permanent.

HF 4330--Peterson--Establishes Help Me Grow program.

HF 4331--Dean--Requires one credit in government and citizenship for high school graduation.

Let's Get Ready to Rumble.  

It's been a quiet session thus far (at least from my perspective).  A lot of bills have been heard and there has been an outpouring of public activity on several issues, most notably gun control how it relates to school safety.  For the most part, the Legislature worked diligently through the policy committee deadlines and has constructed its omnibus policy bills.  There are a number of important items in these policy bills--for education, the re-implementation of the five-star school rating system is probably the most prominent, but the session will likely not pivot on most of these provisions.

From this point forward in the session money will be the focus with some conformance to the changes in the Federal tax code at the heart of those discussions.  Minnesota's income tax system has been aligned with the measure of Federally Adjusted Gross Income (FAGI) in the calculation of income tax burdens, but with the significant changes to the definition of FAGI in the tax bill passed by Congress in late-2017 and signed by the President, that measure no longer is as seamless for Minnesota taxpayers as it has been in the past.  Thus, conforming to the Federal changes is a little trickier in Minnesota than it is in most other states, especially given the fact that there is now a cap on the deduction for state and local taxes at the Federal level.

As pointed out in Sunday's StarTribune, the issue will dominate the remaining six weeks of the 2018 Legislative Session.  Here is a link to that article:  Taxes top state lawmakers' agendas in second half of the legislative session

The primacy of the tax debate does not mean other important items will be totally shuffled off to the side.  There will be a supplemental budget bill and there will be a number of confrontations between the Legislature and the Governor across the varied budget fronts.  In education, the Governor has proposed some money for school safety along with more money being built into the special education base and a folding of the School Readiness Plus program into the base as well.  While the Legislature hasn't released its budget plans as of yet, at first blush it feels as though they are going to concentrate almost solely on school safety in both the areas of facilities and staff.  It's too early to tell, but we may yet again see a stand-off over early childhood funding.  There may be more traction and a chance for agreement on the special education issue.  In addition to the Governor's recommendation, there is a bill authored by Representative Jim Knoblach and Senator Jerry Relph (HF 4272/SF 3861) that provides districts with high levels of special education cross-subsidies with some measure of relief through a new special education formula component.  Rather than add an additional wrinkle to the formula, the Governor's proposal changes some elements within the current special education formula.  

Here is a link to the text of the Knoblach/Relph bill:  HF 4272/SF 3861.

There are also data runs that accompany both bills.   Here they are:

HF 4272/SF 3861

Governor's Special Education Recommendations

National Attention on Education.  However one feels about teacher strikes, there is little doubt that the statewide strikes by teachers in Oklahoma and West Virginia have brought the issues of education funding and policy into the public spotlight in a way and at an angle that hasn't been seen in a number of years.

Here is last weekend's edition of Marketplace Weekend, which includes a feature on teacher salaries and education funding (it leads off the broadcast, so there's no waiting around for the story):  Marketplace Weekend--04/06/18: Teachers, tariffs, and savings-savvy tech workers

The Sunday edition of The New York Times included a pull-out section on education.  Noted educator thinker Sir Kenneth Robinson weighed in with his opinions on what he views to be the major problems facing education in this interview:  An Expert's View: Sir Ken Robinson

As a bit on an aside, one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen on the internet is this animation based on Robinson's speech on changing education paradigms.  Enjoy it!

Here is another interesting article about individuals who earned a college degree, but decided to re-tool their skills and go into a trade.  Career and technical education has been generating a lot of interest lately both in states and nationally and articles like this do point out the impending shortage of skilled workers that is just around the corner:  Tired of Your Cubicle? Try a Trade.

Follow the Blog.  The next six weeks are going to be chock full of happenings on the education front and I will be blogging most every weekday and perhaps on some weekends.  If you have questions about what is posted or have a suggestion about something I should cover more closely, let me know at brad.lundell@schoolsforequity.org.

It's Always Something.  At least that's what Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say on SNL's Weekend Update way back when.  The "something" that will be part of this year's education policy discussion is the proposed return of the five-star rating system and that will set up a confrontation between the Legislature and the Governor on the issue of accountability.  Both the House and Senate omnibus education policy bills contain similar provisions that would bring back the five-star rating system.  The current school rating system on the Minnesota Department of Education website isn't the easiest thing to navigate, but it provides both a wealth of information and some context to the school environment that parents need to consider when choosing a school.  Going back to a school grading system that is solely based on achievement on test scores really buries a lot of school quality measures.  It will be interesting to see how this debate is resolved.

In the meantime, here she is, Roseanne Roseannadanna.

Senate Education Policy Committee Passes Senate Omnibus Education Policy Bill.  It was a fairly compact meeting as far as these types of meetings go, with the elapsed time coming in around four hours.  There was plenty of discussion around the changes in school achievement and several amendments were attached--including one on incorporating the concept of affirmative consent into sex education curricula--but it was a relatively calm hearing with most of the amendments being defeated on a straight party-line vote (which isn't odd at this stage of the game).

Here's an article about the affirmative consent language that went into the House omnibus education policy bill.   Bill would mandate affirmative-consent instruction for all Minnesota public high school students 

The Senate has similar, but not identical language.

House Releases School Safety Proposal.  House leadership unveiled a $50 million package for school safety improvements yesterday.  It appears it will be similar to the Senate proposal in that it will be flexible for districts and will consist of a combination of grants and increased levy authority.  The Senate has more money in its bill, but the aid portion is one-time money for the 2018-2019 school year.  The Senate also provides eight years of increased equalized levy authority at the tune of $100/PU for fiscal years FY 2020 through FY 2028 through an increase in the Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue (LTFMR).  The House has made that revenue stream more flexible by allowing it to be used for school safety improvements, but so many schools have hit the limit in what they can levy under that program that the increased flexibility does not add up to much.

What the House proposes does go beyond the Governor's recommendation and there may be a confrontation over the Governor's proposal to make School Readiness Plus permanent over legislative proposals to channel revenue almost exclusively into school safety this session.  Hearkening back to the original theme of today's entry:

Here is the MPR story on the House proposal:  House GOP ups ante on school safety push

The Legislature is on break next week, but when they return on April 9, be ready for some high-flying action.  The nuts-and-bolts of tax conformity have yet to take shape and budget targets have yet to be set.  The Governor has outlined his budget proposal, but the stumbling block in his proposal may be the amount of money he has obligated for the next biennium with an increase in special education funding and the incorporation of the school readiness plus funding into the base.

Here is the Senate Omnibus Education Policy Bill.  I wanted to get this out prior to today's meeting of the Senate Education Policy Committee meeting at 3 PM.  There are a lot of similar provisions to the House omnibus bill and there will likely be a spate of amendments offered by DFLers today in committee, so it's not a finished product.  But look through it for things you might like (and might dislike).

Link:  SF 3086 Framework Amendment

Interesting (and Troubling) Bill Squeaks Out of Senate Transportation Committee.  Senator Scott Newman's SF 3837--a bill that would dedicate the revenue generated from the sales tax on auto repairs and auto replacement parts to the highway fund--passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee tonight on a vote of 8-7.  One Republican voted against the bill, which means if no minds change between now and the Senate floor, the bill will have rough sledding seeing it will need all the Republican votes (unless some DFLers cross over to support the bill) to pass given the one-vote partisan margin in the Senate.

The problem with the bill is straightforward.  As I have been wont to say, you can only spend a dollar once and any dollar diverted from the general fund for transportation purposes cannot be spent on budget categories that are more heavily reliant on general fund spending for support, particularly education and health and human services.  The other problem with the bill is that it is a proposed constitutional amendment.  This means that if the Legislature passes it, it will go on the ballot this fall with the Governor having no chance to veto it.  So stay tuned on this one.

Interesting Article from The Economist on Gifted and Talented Education.  Thought I'd toss this in today's blog.  It's an article from last week's issue of The Economist that talks about the identification and education of gifted students.  It's a very interesting article.

How and why to search for young Einsteins

Bill Introductions

House (Senate not in session)

HF 4260--Davnie--Requires that certain forecasted positive general fund balances be allocated to restore the special education aid payment percentage.

HF 4271--Pugh--Allows certain online core curricular courses to be delivered at sites other than public school buildings.

HF 4272--Knoblach--Provides special education equity aid.

HF 4274--Hertaus--Increases building lease levy.

Deadline Approaches.  The second deadline is Thursday, March 29, and that is the day the Senate Education Policy Committee will be marking up the Senate's version of the 2018 omnibus education policy bill.  The bill may be available online tomorrow and I will certainly post it when it becomes available.  The Senate hasn't indicated what will be in the bill other than the framework of technical changes from the Governor's policy bill that was laid out in HF 3086.  There will clearly be additions to that bill.  One item that will be contained is the special education funding working group and it is expected that the approach advocated by the Senate will differ than the one suggested in HF 3315.  The Senate reportedly wants to have the working group comprised wholly of legislators while the House prefers a membership roster with no legislators, but instead 19 different education-sector stakeholders.  The Senate bill may also contain Senator Carla Nelson's SF 2487, the academic balance bill that was the subject of intense discussion earlier this session.  However, SF 2487 is currently in the Education Finance Committee and Senator Nelson may want to have her academic balance provision in the omnibus funding bill instead.

Showdown over Early Childhood Funding.  One provision in the Governor's budget bill is the expenditure of more dollars into an early childhood education initiative that has been championed by the Governor over the past four years.  The budget accord reached at the end of the 2017 session put $50 million (approximately $25 million per year) into a program labeled School Readiness-Plus.  The agreement made this program only effective for the current biennium.  In his budget proposal, the Governor seeks to make this funding permanent, but that is hardly going to be a slam dunk.

Here's a news story from MPR about the impending (but polite) collision of mindsets:  Dayton pushes again for pre-K funding

More from MPR.  Monday's Midday (or what used to be called Midday) program featured a roundtable discussion from three Minnesota teachers (one being current Education Minnesota President Denise Specht) on school safety and what teachers need to help keep schools safe.  Here is a link to the podcast:  Do we expect too much from teachers?

Legislative Auditor to Study Equalization.  The votes have been cast and the Legislature has directed the Legislative Auditor to study equalization (it appears the concentration will be on debt service equalization, but that is unclear at the moment) during the interim.  I want to thank Representative Connie Bernardy for giving me a heads-up that a study of equalization was going to be forwarded to the Legislature as a possible study topic.  She urged me to contact SEE members and have them contact their legislators with a message to support this topic for study.  Voila!  It worked.  I don't know if there has ever been a Get Out the Vote effort on a Legislative Auditor proposal, but there has been one now and it was successful.  So thanks to all who contacted their legislators and thanks to the legislators who voted for the proposal.

Bill Introductions (Monday, March 26)

Senate

SF 3800--P. Anderson--Modifies requirements for milk for school lunches and vocational programs.

SF 3801--Dahms--Establishes STEM program that focuses on agriculture.

SF 3807--Dziedzic--Creates state fund to pay for unreimbursed special education costs.

SF 3808--Torres-Ray--Makes permanent the authority for certain students with interrupted formal education to participate in an early middle college program for one additional year.

SF 3810--Torres-Ray--Appropriates money for students in alternative programs.

SF 3821--Hoffman--Modifies education partnership program and grant process.

SF 3831--Kent--Prohibits school lunch providers from shaming students.

House

HF 4214--Peterson--Authorizes transportation for certain pregnant or parenting teens.

HF 4229--Sandstede--Modifies teacher licensure requirements.

HF 4238--Bennett--Provides a statutory definition for special education cooperatives.

HF 4239--Bennett--Expands pathway for paraprofessionals to obtain a teaching license.

HF 4255--Smith--Modifies probationary period provisions for teachers and principals in school districts outside cities of the first class.

House Education Policy Bill Clears First Hurdle.  It wasn't that much of a hurdle seeing the bill passed easily on a voice vote, but the hearing wasn't without a lot of debate.  The primary focus of the debate and the subject that received the most proposed tweaks was the change in the state accountability system contained in the bill.  The provisions in the bill go back to the "star" system that has been shelved during the Dayton administration and replaced with multiple measures of accountability.  The current situation has caused some to complain that it is too complicated and that parents cannot find the information to make informed decisions on where to send their children where the program fits them best.  All of the efforts to amend this section of the bill were unsuccessful, but I fully expect the subject to be re-visited all the way through the legislative session.

There were several amendments added in the committee today that had not received much attention prior to the hearing.  None of these issues are new, but it was a little surprising to see them come up today.  The additions are as follows:

• A requirement that school districts teach a civics course in either 11th or 12 grade.
• A requirement that the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, in consultation with the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health, assist school districts to develop and implement a consent program to reduce instances of sexual abuse.
• Requirement that PELSB survey all teacher preparation programs to determine the availability of dyslexia instruction.

The bill now heads to the House Education Finance Committee.  It is unclear at this juncture whether the bill will travel on its own or be folded into the mega-budget bill the Legislature will likely construct sometime in mid-April.  All will be reveal in due time.

Student Discipline Debate.  I don't know how many of you remember the old James J. Kilpatrick versus Shana Alexander segment on 60 Minutes called Point/Counterpoint where the conservative Kilpatrick and the liberal Alexander would hash over an issue in a brief exchange.  The debate between Katherine Kersten and Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius over the proposed changes to student discipline that may come about due to concerns voiced by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights over the racial disparity in suspensions.

Here are the articles from the StarTribune, with Kersten's initial take from the Monday edition and Commissioner Cassellius' response from Tuesday.

Kersten:  Undisciplined: Chaos may be coming to Minnesota classrooms, by decree

Cassellius:  Counterpoint: What Katherine Kersten can't grasp about schools but readers should

Bill Introductions

Senate (Wednesday 3/21)

SF 3639--Koran--Requires districts to allow online learners access to a school site.

SF 3654--Utke--Requires that statewide tests be given after April 14.

SF 3655--Rosen--Authorizes school districts to use Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue for school safety building improvements.

SF 3664--Wiger--Requires school districts to publish a summary of its crisis management policy and establishes threat assessment teams and oversight committees.

SF 3674--Eichorn--Broadens eligibility for natural disaster debt service equalization program.

SF 3727--Franzen--Provides a definition for STEM education.

Senate (Thursday 3/22)

SF 3733--Fishbach--Allows patriotic societies the opportunity to encourage student participation.

SF 3742--Nelson--Requires credit in government and citizenship for high school graduation.

SF 3743--Nelson--Creates competitive grant program for character development education.

SF 3746--Benson--Requires school districts to adopt student mobile device policy.

SF 3768--Kent--Modifies teacher licensure requirements.

SF 3787--Senjem--Provides grant to develop a teacher preparation program that leads to a license to teach the blind or visually impaired.

House (Wednesday 3/21)

HF 4081--Sandstede--Increases transportation funding.

HF 4115--Slocum--Raises revenue for charter schools to approximate school district revenue.

HF 4117--Urdahl--Requires credit in government and citizenship for high school graduation.

HF 4119--Jessup--Requires teacher preparation programs to include instruction on dyslexia.

HF 4120--Anselmo--Establishes safe schools revenue program.

House (Thursday 3/22)

HF 4141--Gunther--Authorizes school districts to use Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue for school safety building improvements.

HF 4142--Urdahl--Creates competitive grant program for character development education.

HF 4201--Omar--Requires guidance counselor in every school.

HF 4202--Fischer--Requires school districts to publish a summary of its crisis management policy and establishes threat assessment teams and oversight committees.

HF 4207--Maye-Quade--Requires affirmative consent instruction.

HF 4208--Davnie--Creates state fund for unreimbursed special education costs.

HF 4209--Anselmo--Provides a definition for STEM education.

HF 4210--Loon--Increases number of pupil audits.

Whirlwind!  The pace has picked up over the past week.  Bills are still being introduced in droves, committees are meeting into the night, and the Governor released his budget recommendations.  The Governor's budget recommendations are the starting point for the serious fiscal negotiations that will be taking place over the next two months.  The Governor has put forward a fairly aggressive investment for the coming fiscal year (FY 19), although it appears he come in lower than the Senate's recommendation (of course, all is in flux).  Where the Governor differs from the Senate is in the revenue he commits to the next biennium in the form of increased schools safety revenue, increased special education revenue, and in making the School Readiness Plus program that was passed last session permanent.  The School Readiness Plus program was slated to be sunset after FY 19 per the agreement reached at the end of the 2017 Legislative Session.  The uptick in the February budget forecast along with the Governor's recommendation to not fully conform with Federal income tax changes and produce a revenue cushion in the process.  I have oversimplified the Governor's approach on taxes and the details have yet to be released, but it appears that additional revenue will be available through several means beyond the rosier budget forecast.

As it stands right now, it looks like the Senate will be putting more revenue into the current fiscal year than the Governor, but again, it's too early to tell for certain.  Senator Carla Nelson's SF 2754 proposes to put about $80 million into flexible school safety revenue for the coming fiscal year with no money committed beyond that.  The Legislature's contention is that next year will be a budget year and that committing heavily into the next biennium for any purpose would reduce budget flexibility and the opportunity to put money into efforts like increased funding for special education or an increase in the basic formula.

The House has yet to commit revenue to anything and they may be waiting until their tax bill takes shape before coming forward with a fleshed out budget proposal.  One thing all parties have agreed to adopt is the pension bill which will solve the TRA issue that has been left to fester over the past few years.  Under the plan, the employer share will go up by 1.25% (1/4 percent per year for five years) with the state picking up the tab through the pension subtraction in the general education formula).  The employee share will go up by 0.25% in 2024.

Here is a link to the Governor's press document on the budget proposal for FY 19.  Excellent Educations for Minnesota Students

Bill Introductions

Senate--Thursday, March 15

SF 3433--Draheim--Authorizes transportation for certain pregnant teens.

SF 3435--Housley--Requires Minnesota State High School League to adopt rules relating to youth hockey.

SF 3436--Wiger--Appropriates money to Minnesota Literacy Council to upgrade Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment.

SF 3439--Nelson--Clarifies district authority to implement competency-based courses and programs.

SF 3470--Clausen--Prohibits public employers from reducing compensation of members of Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board.

SF 3741--Clausen--Authorizes school districts to use Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue for building safety improvements.

SF 3742--Clausen--Increases safe schools levy and links portion of levy available to intermediate school districts to increases in the basic formula.

Monday, March 19

SF 3516--Nelson--Requires that a portion of voluntary prekindergarten recipients to be served through a mixed delivery system.

SF 3572--Chamberlain--Requires dyslexia screening in early grades.

SF 3591--Wiklund--Requires school boards to have a policy on student deaths.

SF 3592--Cwodzinski--Increases student transportation revenue.

SF 3606--Dziedzic--Requires a counselor in every school.

SF 3608--Kiffmeyer--Increases referendum and debt service equalization.

SF 3626--Dibble--Fully funds voluntary prekindergarten program.

House

Thursday, March 15

HF 3870--Peterson--Requires that a portion of voluntary prekindergarten recipients to be served through a mixed delivery system.

HF 3879--Lee--Appropriates money for after-school and STEM programming.

HF 3880--Hortman--Allows individuals promoting skilled industries access to secondary students.

HF 3881--Loon--Modifies formula for calculating transportation aid for students in Post-Secondary Enrollment Options.

HF 3882--Neu--Requires that students in online learning courses be allowed to be in school building during regular school hours.

HF 3883--Slocum--Appropriates money for study of differences between charter schools and school districts.

HF 3884--Theis--Provides a complaint procedure for certain school dismissals.

HF 3885--Christensen--Appropriates money for school security audits.

HF 3886--Lueck--Authorizes online learning providers to generate 

online learning aid for courses offered to nonpublic pupils.

HF 3887--Moran--Appropriates money to Minnesota Literacy Council to upgrade Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment.

HF 3888--Howe--Allows patriotic organizations to encourage student participation.

HF 3902--Dettmer--Increases board-approved referendum authority.

Monday, March 19

HF 3971--McDonald--Increases referendum and debt service equalization.

HF 3990--Kunesh-Podein--Reestablishes January 15 teacher bargaining deadline.

HF 3991--Peterson--Modifies innovation research zone pilot project.

HF 4002--Runbeck--Requires school districts to adopt student mobile device policies.

HF 4015--Peterson--Authorizes school districts to use Long Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue for building safety improvements.

HF 4025--Bliss--Broadens the natural disaster debt service 
equalization aid program to assist school districts with a high percentage of property excluded from the tax rolls.

House Releases Education Policy Bill.  The House Education Innovation Policy will spend the next couple of days presenting and entertaining amendments on their 2018 omnibus education policy bill.  Here is a link to HF 3315 as it will be presented to the committee tomorrow:  HF 3315