Senate Passes Education Funding and Policy Bills. Yes, you read that right. Bills, as in two separate bills; one containing the funding provisions and one containing the policy provisions. The debate was a bit longer than it was in the House with more amendments offered and more of those amendments requiring roll call votes. The Republican minority centered in on the 1% increase in the general education basic formula in each of the next two years as the spot they sought to address through amendments, but they were unsuccessful in those efforts. One area they tried to move money from was the proposed increase in school readiness aid contained in the bill. The Senate bill increases School Readiness Aid dramatically, investing an additional $50 million in the second year of the biennium, and some believe that is simply more than a majority of school districts want or need to accomplish their goals with respect to early childhood education. It certainly is a healthy investment, but the Senate proposal does fit within the existing School Readiness program and is certainly not the overgrown program suggested by the Governor. That said, it is a healthy increase and it will likely be a target for discussion as the bill moves to conference committee. The education funding bill passed on a vote of 39-28, with 5 Republicans (Three of whom serve on the Education Funding Committee) voting for the bill and 5 DFLers voting against it. That pretty much assures that there will be a Republican member of the conference committee. The vote on the education policy bill was even stronger, with a final tally of 53-13. A dozen Republicans joined the DFLers to come to that total. The was only one amendment requiring a roll call--an amendment similar to the one approved by the House on Saturday--that would have mandated separate dressing rooms and rest rooms for transgender students. That amendment failed on a vote of 25-40 with three Republicans joining the DFLers to defeat the amendment.
The question now is how things will advance procedurally. The House combined its policy and funding bills into one bill while the Senate has chosen to keep them separate. That doesn't mean the bills couldn't be negotiated simultaneously; it would just require some fancy footwork. The Senate appears to be following the pattern of passing separate funding and policy bills for each major issue area and the strategy behind that may be to keep horsetrading of money for policy off the table, especially given that the House budget targets are all much lower than the Senate budget targets. The Senate may be trying to prevent having to consider taking House policy in return for the House accepting a higher budget target. That's inside baseball to most everyone--and truth be told, the process starts to resemble a blender on puree during the session's waning days--but all types of considerations take on a fairly large role in the procedural calculus.
It is unclear when the conference committee will begin, but it is my guess the festivities will kick off next Monday with a walk-through of each bill. We will know then how the "separate bill" issue will be resolved. I will provide perspectives as information becomes available.
Thanks. Thanks to all SEE members for participating in our district-by-district survey of how a 1%/1% basic formula increase over the biennium would affect their districts. It looks like about $89 million in cuts accompanied by a reduction in budget reserves and the prospect of attempts to raise additional revenue through voter-approved referenda. Not a pretty picture and it helps make the case as to why the final budget target has to be bigger than what either the House or Senate has proposed and how additional revenue needs to go on the basic formula. Thanks again for getting back to Deb with this useful information.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Weekend Update. The House passed their version of the omnibus education funding bill on Saturday afternoon. The debate/amendment process took about four hours, but it was remarkably uneventful. Changes in House rules over the years have made it extremely difficult to add money to bills on the House floor, which really takes a lot of steam out of the opposition. Given the House target is so small, I halfway expected a little bump coming from money left on the bottom line in the budget resolution, but that wouldn't have meant a whole lot one way or the other so the majority decided top simply ride it out. Two somewhat controversial amendments were offered. One would have allowed school to start prior to Labor Day in any year when Labor Day fell on September 6 or September 7, but that was defeated on a voice vote. The other amendment--which passed--limits restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms to students' birth sex, somewhat changing the policy passed by the Minnesota State High School League last winter. There was also an amendment that changes policy on the MTLE to allow teaching candidates who have neither passed the MTLE or reached the requisite ACT or SAT score to remain as teachers if they were evaluated as an effective teacher in each of the three years they have been teaching.
After the amending was done, there were a few fiery speeches that changed no one's mind and the bill was passed on a vote of 69-61. No DFLers voted for the bill and not Republicans voted against it.
Next up, it will be the Senate on Wednesday, where they will pass their bill. With rules being slightly different and with a bit more money to play with (and the money spread through a few more programs), the amendment process may be a bit more exciting, but that's not a sure thing. What has been happening more often this year--with the tax/spend battlelines being what they are--the minority caucuses in both houses appear to be employing a macro-strategy that stays at the 30,000 foot level and works the press and the blogosphere. It's all about battling worldviews (or in this case "stateviews") that will clash in the 2016 election. Until then, it will likely be a streamlined process until conference committee, where I expect the machinery to get gummed up a bit and the gears will likely be sticking across all of the major tax and spending bills.
After the amending was done, there were a few fiery speeches that changed no one's mind and the bill was passed on a vote of 69-61. No DFLers voted for the bill and not Republicans voted against it.
Next up, it will be the Senate on Wednesday, where they will pass their bill. With rules being slightly different and with a bit more money to play with (and the money spread through a few more programs), the amendment process may be a bit more exciting, but that's not a sure thing. What has been happening more often this year--with the tax/spend battlelines being what they are--the minority caucuses in both houses appear to be employing a macro-strategy that stays at the 30,000 foot level and works the press and the blogosphere. It's all about battling worldviews (or in this case "stateviews") that will clash in the 2016 election. Until then, it will likely be a streamlined process until conference committee, where I expect the machinery to get gummed up a bit and the gears will likely be sticking across all of the major tax and spending bills.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
House Education Funding Bill Clears Ways and Means Committee. HF 844 cleared the House Ways and Means Committee on a party-line voice vote Wednesday afternoon. There was only one witness--the president of the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers--who provided testimony and that testimony was critical of the House target. We've heard a lot about the House budget target for E-12 of $157 million over the past month and while I always take statements at face value, there were enough comments provided by members of the majority caucus insinuating that they are more than willing to increase their spending on education as the final bill is negotiated. What is a little maddening is that so many members of the majority caucus keep referencing the $1 billion biennium-to-biennium increase in education funding. It always has to be pointed out that this number signifies an increase in the base funding for education that is the result of decisions made last biennium, especially two full years of kindergarteners being weighted as a full student. Add to that increased pupil growth in terms of actual bodies entering the system and automatic increases in special education funding (which still doesn't address the massive shortfall school districts throughout the state experience in terms of special education funding) and the increase in funding due to changes in Local Optional Revenue (and referendum levy increases). So, while $1 billion is surely a nice chunk of change, it doesn't address inflation in the general education formula at all.
The Senate omnibus funding bill--SF 811--will be up in the Senate Finance Committee at some juncture tomorrow. The Senate Finance Committee convenes at 8:30 AM, but the Senate Transportation funding and policy bill is first on the agenda. It is likely that bill will take quite a bit of time to review and discuss, which may push discussion of SF 811 into the early afternoon (or perhaps evening). Stay tuned. There usually isn't much in terms of attempts to attach major amendments to bills between the time they leave their finance division and the floor, but that doesn't mean attempts won't be made to re-direct some of the dollars in the bill to different purposes. I will certainly let you know what, if anything, happens.
The Senate omnibus funding bill--SF 811--will be up in the Senate Finance Committee at some juncture tomorrow. The Senate Finance Committee convenes at 8:30 AM, but the Senate Transportation funding and policy bill is first on the agenda. It is likely that bill will take quite a bit of time to review and discuss, which may push discussion of SF 811 into the early afternoon (or perhaps evening). Stay tuned. There usually isn't much in terms of attempts to attach major amendments to bills between the time they leave their finance division and the floor, but that doesn't mean attempts won't be made to re-direct some of the dollars in the bill to different purposes. I will certainly let you know what, if anything, happens.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
House Bill Clears Tax Committee. With the House embroiled in the transportation funding debate today, there hasn't been a whole lot of action on education-related issues. HF 844 cleared the House Tax Committee yesterday. There was some concern expressed over the property tax increases to the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth school districts that result from a cut in aid for integration revenue and alternative facilities revenue. Because revenue levels remain the same, this requires a shift from aid to levy in these districts and the increase is considerable. HF 848--the House tax bill that cuts taxes by over $2 billion--was also heard on Monday. HF 848 contains a number of education-related tax changes and a number of education interests testified. Rather than provide oral testimony, I supplied the committee with a list of comments that encapsulated earlier testimony I had given on a number of provisions when they were before the Education Funding Division. Here are a list of the education-related provisions in the tax bill:
HF 844 (back to the E-12 funding bill) will be in the House Ways and Means Committee tomorrow. There will likely be very little testimony with discussion centering around the size of the budget target and little else. It is unclear when the Senate bill will be heard in Senate Finance and the Senate Tax Committee.
- The education tax credit is expanded to include private school tuition and tuition to early childhood programs. The income eligibility ceiling for the credit is increased and indexed to inflation.
- An income tax credit of up to $2,500 is provided to a teacher who achieves a master's degree in their area of licensure. Credit could be claimed in the year in which the candidate achieves their degree and could only be claimed once.
- Limits capital levy elections to November of each year. Only operation levies held in districts in statutory operating debt could be held in a month other than November.
- Operating referendum question language would have to contain a amounts levied by board through the local option levy and the $300/PU board-approved referendum.
- Provides credit of 50% of taxes paid on agricultural property for debt service.
HF 844 (back to the E-12 funding bill) will be in the House Ways and Means Committee tomorrow. There will likely be very little testimony with discussion centering around the size of the budget target and little else. It is unclear when the Senate bill will be heard in Senate Finance and the Senate Tax Committee.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Can I Get a Witness? They didn't have to look too far for one or two (or a couple of dozen) in the House and Senate Education Finance Divisions today to find a person willing to talk. The day began in the Senate Education Funding Division. After a short bill run-through, the attention turned to witnesses from various education interest groups providing their viewpoints on the bill. The Senate bill, as described yesterday, covers the waterfront in terms of initiatives. The centerpieces of the bill are the deferred maintenance program that will provide assistance to school districts throughout the state with on-going building repair needs, a $70 million increase in school readiness (more about that later), a 1% increase on the basic formula in each year, and $20 million in additional revenue to the alternative compensation (QComp) pool. If there is a criticism of the Senate bill is that it doesn't increase the general education formula at the level of inflation (and that is a valid criticism). But when your target is $350 million (a little more than half of the Governor's target of $694 million, you don't have a lot of leeway to put money on the formula if you are pursuing anything other than the formula. If the entire $350 million were put on the formula, it would amount to approximately 2%. In fairness to the Senate, they have matched the Governor's 1% on the formula (and, as stated above, the Governor proposed a much larger target that is largely devoted to universal school-based pre-kindergarten programs). The recurring theme in most of the testimony today was if the final budget target for education increases beyond the Senate's $350 million, that increment should be directed toward the per pupil formula, The other question that is hovering over the bill is the nature of the school readiness increase. Is this program more like the current school readiness program or the universal pre-kindergarten program proposed by the Governor? These and many other questions have yet to be answered.
The testimony in the House is a little tougher because there target is so low and what can you say about a low target? There are some interesting things in the House bill that will be helpful to SEE member districts. Non-metro districts will get a little revenue bump through a change in the equity formula and there's an equalization enhancement for districts with high levels of seasonal/recreational property. It is interesting to point out that the percentage of target devoted to the general education basic formula is higher for the House bill than it is for either the Governor's proposal and the Senate bill. Of course, that advantage becomes relatively meaningless given the fact that the House target is so low, but I think it does indicate that the House's top priority for funding is the basic formula.
Both divisions intend to amend their bills tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how many amendments are offered and the nature of these amendments. I will provide a report tomorrow.
The testimony in the House is a little tougher because there target is so low and what can you say about a low target? There are some interesting things in the House bill that will be helpful to SEE member districts. Non-metro districts will get a little revenue bump through a change in the equity formula and there's an equalization enhancement for districts with high levels of seasonal/recreational property. It is interesting to point out that the percentage of target devoted to the general education basic formula is higher for the House bill than it is for either the Governor's proposal and the Senate bill. Of course, that advantage becomes relatively meaningless given the fact that the House target is so low, but I think it does indicate that the House's top priority for funding is the basic formula.
Both divisions intend to amend their bills tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how many amendments are offered and the nature of these amendments. I will provide a report tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
The Eagles have Landed. The House and Senate Education Finance Divisions both released their bills today and below is a brief summary of the primary provisions contained in each bill. The House target of $157 million is almost $200 million lower than the Senate's target of $350 million. Both of these targets are dwarfed by the Governor's target of $694 million, but there are some inventive provisions in both bills. So starting with the House, here are the highlights in that bill:
And now to the Senate:
School Readiness Run: SF 811--New School Readiness General Revenue Run: SF 811--General Education Change
So there you have the outlines of the two bills. Again,the lower legislative budget targets have made it difficult to a bill that truly meets the needs of the state's education community. The Governor has the highest target, but with so much of it invested in universal pre-kindergarten programs, it leaves room for little else. Right now, the biggest increase in the general education basic formula amount is 1% (shared by the Senate and Governor) and that lags well behind the lowest measure of inflation. There are good things in both the House and Senate bills, but the centerpiece of school funding is largely ignored. It's difficult to be too critical at this juncture because there is a lot of territory yet to be covered before the May 18 adjournment, but if there were ever a year when education could have been "caught up" to a great extent after a decade-plus of uneven funding, this was the year to do that, especially after the forecast surplus ballooned to $1.9 billion.
There's still time to right the ship. I would say that if you took the Senate framework with the Governor's target (the difference between the targets going on the formula) and incorporated in some of the elements from the House bill, you'd have one heckuva bill. So, here's hoping things fall together.
- $33/PU increase in the general education basic formula for next year and an additional $34/PU in the subsequent year. This constitutes a formula increase of approximately 0.6% in each year of the biennium and costs $97 million.
- Change in compensatory formula. Current levels of funding generated with formula including concentration factor is held harmless. Future revenue distribution does not include concentration factor.
- Repeal of the Student Achievement Levy--the new general education levy created in 2013--of $20 million. This levy is then spread to several other programs, sometimes without directly generating any new revenue.
- Increase in the equity formula for non-metro districts in the second year of the biennium. This provides an additional $8.5 million for non-metro districts ($2.5 aid/$6.0 levy).
- $2.5 million in increased extended time aid for school districts and $2.0 million in increased extended time aid for charter schools.
- $9 million to pay for costs associated with concurrent enrollment.
- $6 million for the Minnesota Reading Corps.
- Cuts in aid for integration and alternative facilities aid. The aid reduction is offset by levy increases, leaving the total revenue amounts largely the same.
- $9.5 million increase in School Readiness over the biennium ($4.5 million in FY 16 and $5.0 million in FY 17).
- $30 million increase in Early Childhood Scholarships. Amount for Pathway 2 scholarships capped, but Pathway 2 not eliminated.
- $3.6 million reduction ($1.8 million per year) for Minnesota Department of Education.
Here is a link to the documents. Bill: HF 844 delete-all Summary: HF 844 Summary
And now to the Senate:
- 1% increase in the basic formula in each year of the biennium. Total cost is $173 million.
- $20 million for districts not participating in QComp to perform teacher evaluation duties.
- $ 4 million to pay for costs associated with concurrent enrollment.
- $ 8 million in incentives to hire student support personnel.
- Long-term facilities revenue program created at $200/PU in FY 17 (Pay 16), $300/PU in FY 18 (Pay 17), and $400/PU in FY 19 (Pay 18). $63 million in aid to equalize levy associated with the program in FY 17.
- $4.6 million for Reading Corps.
- $70 million increase in School Readiness
- $5 million increase in Early Childhood Scholarships.
School Readiness Run: SF 811--New School Readiness General Revenue Run: SF 811--General Education Change
So there you have the outlines of the two bills. Again,the lower legislative budget targets have made it difficult to a bill that truly meets the needs of the state's education community. The Governor has the highest target, but with so much of it invested in universal pre-kindergarten programs, it leaves room for little else. Right now, the biggest increase in the general education basic formula amount is 1% (shared by the Senate and Governor) and that lags well behind the lowest measure of inflation. There are good things in both the House and Senate bills, but the centerpiece of school funding is largely ignored. It's difficult to be too critical at this juncture because there is a lot of territory yet to be covered before the May 18 adjournment, but if there were ever a year when education could have been "caught up" to a great extent after a decade-plus of uneven funding, this was the year to do that, especially after the forecast surplus ballooned to $1.9 billion.
There's still time to right the ship. I would say that if you took the Senate framework with the Governor's target (the difference between the targets going on the formula) and incorporated in some of the elements from the House bill, you'd have one heckuva bill. So, here's hoping things fall together.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
The Week that Will Be. It's not Que Sera Sera time yet, as the contents of the omnibus education funding bills have yet to be introduced. That means there is still some time to get some last-minute lobbying in (and I have been doing a little on both sides of the street). It's difficult to discern at this precise moment what the bills are going to look like. The Senate target of $350 million is almost $200 million more than the House target of $157 million (and both targets are well below the the Governor's target of $694 million). That gives the Senate a little more elbow room to put together a more wide-ranging bill (it would be difficult to call it comprehensive with the target where it is) and I expect that the Senate bill will contain provisions on facilities, student support personnel, and early childhood education in addition to an increase on the basic formula. A 1% increase in the formula costs between $55 million and $60 million per year, which would mean a biennial increase for a 1% increase in both years of the biennium between $165 million and $180 million. That's the formula increase in the Governor's budget recommendations and that would absorb half of the Senate budget target. One advantage for the Senate is that because there are property tax implications with most any facilities revenue increase, any state aid costs related to the equalization that would likely accompany any levy increases would only have to be carried in the second year of the biennium (Pay 2016/FY 2017), which would in effect cut the cost of any change in half for this biennium (I'm assuming--always dangerous--that if there is an increase in facilities revenue it will not come in the form of "aid only"). I still don't know what the tea leaves have in store in the Senate.
In the House, I think things will get really inventive. Given the $2.2 billion tax cut target in the House budget resolution, there may be the opportunity to carry the state aid costs that would accompany changes in education-related levies, but given the calculations on what it costs to put money on the basic formula, the House cannot even match the Governor's 1%/1% unless they de-link compensatory revenue and sparsity revenue from the basic formula increase (and even then it gets really tight). The possibility exists that some revenue categories could be combined with money moving toward the basic formula as a result, but it's hard to see which categories could be the target of such a strategy. Needless to say--and this goes for all three of the budget targets (Governor, Senate, House)--there are going to be a lot of districts contemplating going to the voters for a referendum if the general education basic formula is only increased by 1%.
I was WRONG! Mark it down (you've probably got a notebook full of my mental miscues and misstatements already, so this is nothing new). Last week I reported that the funding bills had to be out of their last committee by April 24. That is not the case. The bills only need to be out of their funding division by that point. Given we are five weeks away from the constitutionally-mandated adjournment date for the regular session, that might constitute a distinction without a difference, as the Education Funding Divisions appear intent on getting their bills of committee a week before the April 24 deadline. That means they could conceivably clear the Tax and Finance/Ways and Means Committee treks before May 1. That would give the conference committees two full weeks to put together a package to bring to the respective floors of the Legislature. That seems like a tight time frame and in some respects it is. But it certainly isn't an impossible task.
Interesting Bill. HF 983 authored by Representative Eric Lucero was heard last Friday afternoon in the House Education Finance Division. This bill takes a bit of a different tack on providing funding equity for low-funded school districts. The bill targets revenue to districts that are both in the bottom 20% of per pupil general education funding (minus referendum) and the bottom 20% in referendum market value per pupil unit. Of the 21 districts who meet these two criteria, 11 are SEE member districts (as Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!). All but a handful of SEE districts fall well below average in per pupil general education funding (with or without including the referendum) and we are property poor districts. The projected biennial cost of HF 983 is approximately $19 million, which makes it a tad on the pricey side for the House target of $157 million, but that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen. At the very least, the bill is another reminder of how so many SEE districts find their way to end of the line with limited resources at their disposal and impaired ability to improve their revenue position with voter-approved levies.
In the House, I think things will get really inventive. Given the $2.2 billion tax cut target in the House budget resolution, there may be the opportunity to carry the state aid costs that would accompany changes in education-related levies, but given the calculations on what it costs to put money on the basic formula, the House cannot even match the Governor's 1%/1% unless they de-link compensatory revenue and sparsity revenue from the basic formula increase (and even then it gets really tight). The possibility exists that some revenue categories could be combined with money moving toward the basic formula as a result, but it's hard to see which categories could be the target of such a strategy. Needless to say--and this goes for all three of the budget targets (Governor, Senate, House)--there are going to be a lot of districts contemplating going to the voters for a referendum if the general education basic formula is only increased by 1%.
I was WRONG! Mark it down (you've probably got a notebook full of my mental miscues and misstatements already, so this is nothing new). Last week I reported that the funding bills had to be out of their last committee by April 24. That is not the case. The bills only need to be out of their funding division by that point. Given we are five weeks away from the constitutionally-mandated adjournment date for the regular session, that might constitute a distinction without a difference, as the Education Funding Divisions appear intent on getting their bills of committee a week before the April 24 deadline. That means they could conceivably clear the Tax and Finance/Ways and Means Committee treks before May 1. That would give the conference committees two full weeks to put together a package to bring to the respective floors of the Legislature. That seems like a tight time frame and in some respects it is. But it certainly isn't an impossible task.
Interesting Bill. HF 983 authored by Representative Eric Lucero was heard last Friday afternoon in the House Education Finance Division. This bill takes a bit of a different tack on providing funding equity for low-funded school districts. The bill targets revenue to districts that are both in the bottom 20% of per pupil general education funding (minus referendum) and the bottom 20% in referendum market value per pupil unit. Of the 21 districts who meet these two criteria, 11 are SEE member districts (as Gomer Pyle would say "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!). All but a handful of SEE districts fall well below average in per pupil general education funding (with or without including the referendum) and we are property poor districts. The projected biennial cost of HF 983 is approximately $19 million, which makes it a tad on the pricey side for the House target of $157 million, but that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen. At the very least, the bill is another reminder of how so many SEE districts find their way to end of the line with limited resources at their disposal and impaired ability to improve their revenue position with voter-approved levies.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Testimony on Governor's Supplemental Budget. Lots of bills heard today in both the House and Senate Education Finance Divisions, but most of the attention was paid to testimony on the Governor's supplemental budget recommendations, which have driven his budget target for the E-12 budget area up to just under $700 million. Given the House's E-12 target of $157 million and the Senate's of $350 million, we're all hugging up the Governor's target. The problem is that out of his $700 million target, he has managed to recommend only a 1% increase in the general education basic formula amount for both years of the bienniums. Paraphrasing Mr. Rogers, "Can you say 'cuts,' boys and girls?" It's difficult to see how the situation will get much better given the targets in the House and Senate, but I wrote about that yesterday. The other highlights of the testimony centered around concern over the Governor's recommendation for universal all-day pre-kindergarten. One witness testified for the concept, but most everyone else mentioned it as something that the state isn't particularly ready for because of space and transportation concerns (that was a consistent message from the education community) or it's simply an unwise use of resources (that was coming from the private early childcare providers). Given the House's budget target, I don't think we'll be seeing any revenue dedicated toward this initiative of the Governor's. What happens in the Senate remains to be seen, but indications are (and again, given the size of the target) that the reception on that side of the street won't be that much warmer. I'm guessing there will be money for early childhood scholarships in both the Senate and House bills and maybe some revenue from School Readiness. I've been wrong before, but that seems to be the way the wind is blowing right now.
Other than that, the testimony centered on things that weren't in the Governor's budget: less than stellar support for the general education basic formula, no increase in support for deferred maintenance for school districts, and no revenue to pay for teacher development and evaluation. Dr. Jim Behle, St. Michael-Albertville superintendent and SEE Legislative Chair, provided SEE's perspectives on the Governor's budget recommendations.
Other than that, the testimony centered on things that weren't in the Governor's budget: less than stellar support for the general education basic formula, no increase in support for deferred maintenance for school districts, and no revenue to pay for teacher development and evaluation. Dr. Jim Behle, St. Michael-Albertville superintendent and SEE Legislative Chair, provided SEE's perspectives on the Governor's budget recommendations.
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
We're Back in the Saddle Again. The Legislature has returned from its Easter/Passover break and the next two weeks are going to be extremely hectic with the deadline for all of the finance and tax bills to be out of their last committee and referred to the floor just over two weeks away. The Senate Education Finance Committee announced its schedule for the next ten days at this morning's meeting. The remainder of this week will be dedicated to hearing bills heard in the Education Committee that were referred to Education Finance due to fiscal implications contained in the bills along with measures that either create new programs with appropriations or increase the appropriations for existing programs. The formal funding proposal for the division will be posted online next Tuesday, with review and testimony taking place next Wednesday, and final mark-up of the bill taking place Thursday with amendments offered. The bill will then go to the full Finance Committee and the Tax Committee, which would take place the week of April 20. The schedule for the House bill has not been announced yet, but I assume it will be similar. The only difference is that the House bill will go to the House Tax Committee and then Ways and Means as it makes its way to the House floor. The last week of April and the first week of May will involve marathon floor sessions at which all of the appropriations bills will be passed. Conference committees to reconcile differences between the House and Senate bills will likely start the first week of May. With the curtain on the 2015 legislative regular session slated to end on midnight May 18, that would mean a mad rush to the finish line.
Shock and "Aw, Shucks." That's how I'm describing the education budget target situation in the House and Senate. I reported when I blogged last that the House budget target for E-12 was $157 million, less than 25% of the Governor's target of $694 million. The Senate released its budget target on Friday, March 27, and they announced a target of $350 million, just over 50% of the Governor's target. Hence, the "shock" of the House budget target being so low and the "aw, shucks" that the Senate budget wasn't higher so that the reconciliation of the final budget target could be pushed up as high as possible. I hate to overreact in these instances. Chronologically, we're nearing the end of the session, but in terms of the work of the session, we're basically in the third inning with a lot of game to be played. That said, it is disappointing in a year in which we are looking at a very healthy budget situation that the targets could be higher.
Shock and "Aw, Shucks." That's how I'm describing the education budget target situation in the House and Senate. I reported when I blogged last that the House budget target for E-12 was $157 million, less than 25% of the Governor's target of $694 million. The Senate released its budget target on Friday, March 27, and they announced a target of $350 million, just over 50% of the Governor's target. Hence, the "shock" of the House budget target being so low and the "aw, shucks" that the Senate budget wasn't higher so that the reconciliation of the final budget target could be pushed up as high as possible. I hate to overreact in these instances. Chronologically, we're nearing the end of the session, but in terms of the work of the session, we're basically in the third inning with a lot of game to be played. That said, it is disappointing in a year in which we are looking at a very healthy budget situation that the targets could be higher.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
House Target Announced. It's always difficult to predict where the exact spending targets are going to be when they are announced, but veteran Capitol observers were all pretty much surprised when the House budget targets were released yesterday. The biggest surprise was the budget target for E-12 education, which came in at $157 million above base, which is approximately $400 million below the Governor's proposed level of spending (after the release of the Governor's supplemental budget). The House budget resolution (which is linked below) pares back spending below the base in Health and Human Services and reduces increases in other areas of the budget in order to propose $2.2 billion in tax cuts. The tax cuts are unspecified, but $2.2 billion is a lot of moolah, so the possibilities are pretty much endless. Some tax targets may include the statewide business property tax that was implemented in 2001 as part of the negotiations that eliminated the state general education levy. There will also be efforts to reduce property taxes on agricultural property, but that's not expected to amount to more than $100 million to $200 million over the biennium (big money, but even at $200 million, it would leave $2+ billion in other tax reductions).
The size of the E-12 education budget is a bit puzzling to many. The House has been hearing a lot of bills (and a lot of them cost money) and indications were that the House wanted to put revenue on the general education basic formula in excess of the 1% increase in the Governor's budget. At $157 million, that simply will not be possible. Further, the House has shown some support for the Early Childhood Scholarship Program, but again, with a target at this level, any significant investment in any program could be difficult to accomplish. As disappointed as some of us are (and count me among the disappointed), the House has left $315 million in revenue unallocated in their budget resolution and it is possible that some of that revenue will be moved into the E-12 budget category as the process continues.
The House Ways and Means Committee met on Tuesday night to pass the budget resolution to the House floor and amendments were offered. Representative Mary Murphy offered an amendment that would have pushed the E-12 budget target up to the Governor's recommended level of spending, but that was defeated on a party-line vote. There were several other amendments offered to either direct portions of the proposed budget resolution in certain directions or raise/lower recommended target amounts, but like the education budget amendment, they all failed on party-line votes.
It will be interesting to see how the process unfolds from this point forward. The Legislature is breaking for a week starting Friday and legislators will be holding meetings in their districts and the budget will be discussed. Reaction from the public during the spring break has sometimes (not often) brought dramatic changes in approach as legislators return to St. Paul for the remainder of the legislative session, so if you are upset by the budget targets, it is important to talk to your legislator (politely of course) about the needs of your school district.
The Senate will be releasing its budget targets on Friday and I will make no predictions as to what their targets will look like. Hopefully, it will be in the range of the Governor's recommended levels of spending and perhaps a little more on the education side of things. I will certainly post the numbers and my thoughts on Friday.
Link: House Budget Resolution
Bill Introductions. Wednesday, March 25.
The size of the E-12 education budget is a bit puzzling to many. The House has been hearing a lot of bills (and a lot of them cost money) and indications were that the House wanted to put revenue on the general education basic formula in excess of the 1% increase in the Governor's budget. At $157 million, that simply will not be possible. Further, the House has shown some support for the Early Childhood Scholarship Program, but again, with a target at this level, any significant investment in any program could be difficult to accomplish. As disappointed as some of us are (and count me among the disappointed), the House has left $315 million in revenue unallocated in their budget resolution and it is possible that some of that revenue will be moved into the E-12 budget category as the process continues.
The House Ways and Means Committee met on Tuesday night to pass the budget resolution to the House floor and amendments were offered. Representative Mary Murphy offered an amendment that would have pushed the E-12 budget target up to the Governor's recommended level of spending, but that was defeated on a party-line vote. There were several other amendments offered to either direct portions of the proposed budget resolution in certain directions or raise/lower recommended target amounts, but like the education budget amendment, they all failed on party-line votes.
It will be interesting to see how the process unfolds from this point forward. The Legislature is breaking for a week starting Friday and legislators will be holding meetings in their districts and the budget will be discussed. Reaction from the public during the spring break has sometimes (not often) brought dramatic changes in approach as legislators return to St. Paul for the remainder of the legislative session, so if you are upset by the budget targets, it is important to talk to your legislator (politely of course) about the needs of your school district.
The Senate will be releasing its budget targets on Friday and I will make no predictions as to what their targets will look like. Hopefully, it will be in the range of the Governor's recommended levels of spending and perhaps a little more on the education side of things. I will certainly post the numbers and my thoughts on Friday.
Link: House Budget Resolution
Bill Introductions. Wednesday, March 25.
Senate
SF 1995--Dahle--Creates Ag2School debt service property tax credit.
House
SF 2098--Ward--Appropriates money for the child and adult care food program.
SF 2113--Carlson--Modifies special education payment schedule for certain charter schools.
SF 2115--Swedzinski--Modifies school district reporting requirements and requires Commissioner of Education to annually eliminate obsolete reporting requirements.
Monday, March 23, 2015
On To Education Finance. With the omnibus education policy bill passing its first hurdle last week, the focus will now turn to the Education Finance Committees in both the House and Senate. Although the first policy committee deadline has passed, the committees dealing with education policy in the House and Senate have one more week of hearings to cover bills moving individually that have cleared the policy committee in the other body. There aren't a lot of bills in this category, as most education-related bills get folded into the omnibus bills.
The latest engrossments of the omnibus policy bills have been posted. Engrossments are versions of the bill into which the amendments passed in the previous committee are incorporated. If one wishes to see the language of the amendments and where they were placed, the House or Senate Journal contains the committee report for a bill and lists the amendments. The engrossment is simply the final product.
HF 1591: First Engrossment
SF 1495: First Engrossment
Bill Introductions. Wednesday, March 18
The latest engrossments of the omnibus policy bills have been posted. Engrossments are versions of the bill into which the amendments passed in the previous committee are incorporated. If one wishes to see the language of the amendments and where they were placed, the House or Senate Journal contains the committee report for a bill and lists the amendments. The engrossment is simply the final product.
HF 1591: First Engrossment
SF 1495: First Engrossment
Bill Introductions. Wednesday, March 18
Senate
SF 1833--Rest--Makes year-long student teaching program part of teacher preparation--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1833&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1834--Rest--Reaffirms importance of teacher mentorships--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1834&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1848--Clausen--Increases total operating capital--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1848&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1864--Jensen--Creates grant program to increase robotics programs in Greater Minnesota--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1864&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1872--Hayden--Appropriates money for grant to Urban League for 13th grade--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1872&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 1990--Loon--Provides for digital student achievement backpack--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1990&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1992--Slocum--Requires a student member on school boards--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1992&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1995--Erickson--Dissolves Minneapolis school district--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1995&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2001--Moran--Provides for student placement--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2001&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2004--Peterson--Establishes a global education to workforce initiative--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2004&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Bill Introductions. Thursday, March 19.
Senate
SF 1890--Dahle--Creates excellence in teaching program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1890&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1905--Wiger--Modifies charter school provisions--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1905&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1907--Dahms--Creates paperwork reduction task force--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1907&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1918--Nienow--Creates numeracy incentive aid for 8th grade students--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1918&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 2031--Whelan--Appropriates money for grant to Urban League for 13th grade--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2031&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2041--Yarusso--Creates excellence in teaching program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2041&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2045--Hausman--Establishes grant program to increase student services--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2045&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2046--Pierson--Modifies pupil unit provisions--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2046&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2047--Christensen--Provides for information technology certifications through public-private partnerships--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2047&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Bill Introductions. Monday, March 23.
Senate
SF 1927--Thompson--Modifies transportation procedures for non-resident charter school students--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1927&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1933--Nienow--Creates a financial incentive for districts that enhance proficiency for English language learners--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1933&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1935--Wiger--Removes obsolete language in general education revenue statutes--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1935&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1936--Wiger--Removes obsolete language in general education revenue statutes--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1936&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1938--Kiffmeyer--Modifies definition of equity region--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1938&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1939--Johnson--Clarifies that children under 7 who voluntarily enroll in school are subject to compulsory attendance law--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1939&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1955--Kiffmeyer--Creates new revenue stream for school districts with low per pupil unit general revenue and low per pupil unit property wealth--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1955&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 2064--Nornes--Appropriates money for Minnesota Learning Resource Center--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2064&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2068--Dettmer--Increases cap on basic alternative teacher compensation aid--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2068&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2088--Kahn--Proposes Constitutional Amendment to lower voting age for school district elections to 16--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2088&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 2096--Peterson--Appropriates money for global education to workforce program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF2096&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Not a Ton to Report. All three education-related committees met and none of them met into the night, which was somewhat unexpected. The House Education Policy Committee finished its work on the House omnibus education policy bill within its morning meeting time frame. Rather than offer a raft of amendments one at a time, the Democrats offered an alternative version of the bill that contained a number of measures in the committee bill, but departed from what the majority has put together on a number of items, particularly in the area of teacher tenure. The House Education Innovation Policy Committee has now finished most of its work, but will hear a few bills that met deadline in the Senate and will be traveling through the process outside the omnibus bill framework.
Things were a mite slower in the Senate, as they couldn't finish their work on their version of the omnibus education policy bill in the allotted time and will now meet tomorrow. The bill will have to be approved by 11:59 tomorrow evening and I will be curious to see how long the committee will go. The meeting will begin at 8:00 AM and run until 10:30 AM. If the bill is not finished by 10:30 AM, the committee will return at 3:00 PM and work until they are done. Discussion appears to be going more deliberately and the minority caucus can always find something to try to amend (that's the nature of the business). There was a bit of a surprise today when an amendment offered by Senator Gary Dahms that would expand the scope of the use of community experts in agricultural education. It's rare that an amendment offered by a member of the minority caucus makes it into the bill, but a couple of DFLers joined the Republicans in supporting the amendment.
That's about it for today.
Things were a mite slower in the Senate, as they couldn't finish their work on their version of the omnibus education policy bill in the allotted time and will now meet tomorrow. The bill will have to be approved by 11:59 tomorrow evening and I will be curious to see how long the committee will go. The meeting will begin at 8:00 AM and run until 10:30 AM. If the bill is not finished by 10:30 AM, the committee will return at 3:00 PM and work until they are done. Discussion appears to be going more deliberately and the minority caucus can always find something to try to amend (that's the nature of the business). There was a bit of a surprise today when an amendment offered by Senator Gary Dahms that would expand the scope of the use of community experts in agricultural education. It's rare that an amendment offered by a member of the minority caucus makes it into the bill, but a couple of DFLers joined the Republicans in supporting the amendment.
That's about it for today.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Wednesday Just Flew By. The Senate Education Committee discussed its version of the omnibus education policy bill this morning and will be taking amendments tomorrow. The feedback on the bill was generally positive. There will always be a few bugs in an omnibus bill when it is first released because so few bills are amended in the committee process prior to their incorporation into the omnibus policy or funding bill that the first opportunity to discuss serious amendment comes after the omnibus bill is released. The House Education Innovation Policy Committee will also be marking up the first iteration of their omnibus education policy bill tomorrow, so I am prepared for a long day. I don't get to the gym as often as I would like during the session, but I'll be putting in a few miles in the tunnel tomorrow keeping track of items in both bills.
There are some significant similarities between the House and Senate policy bills, most notably in changes to teacher licensure provisions as they pertain to teachers licensed in other states and the use of community experts. The bills also contain most, if not all, of the technical provisions contained in the Governor's bill. There will be discussion surrounding the testing issue. Both the House and Senate are proposing a reduction in testing, but the Senate has gone beyond both the House and the recommendations of the working group convened by the Minnesota Department of Education in putting together its recommendations. Most everyone agrees students are subjected to too many tests and many of these tests don't add much in terms of usable information to improve pedagogy.
After the bills are finished tomorrow, they will head to the funding division of each education committee to be incorporated into the omnibus funding and policy bill. The deadline for the funding bill to be constructed is April 24, a full two and a half weeks after the Legislature returns from a week-long Easter/Passover break. While most of the discussion that will take place after this week will center on revenue--both in terms of amount and distribution--I am certain policy differences will arise and will continue to be discussed.
Education Property Tax Bills Discussed in House Education Finance. The House Education Finance Committee discussed four bills relating to the role of the property tax in the education funding system this afternoon. First up was Chair Jenifer Loon's bill to eliminate the Student Achievement Levy (also known as General Education Levy Lite) that was passed during the 2013 legislative session. This levy is set at $20 million, which is not an exorbitant amount of money in the whole scheme of things, but it looks enough like the old General Education Levy that some would like to squish it like a bug before it gets too large. This bill is a classic example of "good news/bad news" depending on how you view it. First off, getting rid of the Student Achievement Levy creates a $20 million revenue hole in the education funding formula. That might not be too much of a problem to fill this year with such a robust budget forecast, but keep the Student Achievement Levy may come in handy if the state's economy were to ever experience a downturn. On the other hand, if the House has a zero levy target, this $20 million in levy savings from the elimination of the Student Achievement Levy could be directed toward other programs into which the $20 million could be folded. Increased deferred maintenance comes to mind as a possible destination for levy dollars. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the House. The one big plus of the Student Achievement Levy from SEE's perspective is that it is fully equalized and any program into which the levy dollars would be directed will not be fully equalized. At the same time, other equalization programs could be enhanced to bolster a sense of fairness in the system and the levy could be moved to a different program that would actually infuse new revenue into schools. Stay tuned.
Representative Steve Drazkowski was up next with SF 596, a bill that aims to provide relief to owners of agricultural property on school district debt service. Agricultural property is not included in the referendum market value tax base, but it is included in the adjusted net tax capacity tax base that is used on debt service questions. With skyrocketing agricultural land values, this has saddled owners of agricultural property with a pretty hefty share of the taxes paid on these questions when they are successful. Like I testified today, fifteen or twenty years ago, all that would have needed to be done to solve this problem was to increase the debt service equalizing factors. Unfortunately, changes in the student populations--they are declining in most of Greater Minnesota--accompanied by a steady rise in agricultural values have made this avenue a non-viable solution for those districts that have more than half of its total property base in agricultural property. SF 596 takes a different tack in that it changes the tax base used for future debt service levies. Under the bill, half of the tax base for these questions would be referendum market value and half would be adjusted net tax capacity. To cushion homeowners and business owners from assuming too heavy a tax load resulting from the removal of agricultural property from half of the property wealth used to calculate the tax burden, the debt service equalization program would be enhanced. If I had my druthers, the debt service equalization would be enhanced to an even greater degree, but we still have time to cross that bridge.
The final bill discussed today was Representative Tom Anzelc's bill--HF 1641--that would enhance the equalization factor for local option revenue for school districts with high levels of seasonal/recreational property and high levels of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Most of these districts are in Northern Minnesota. Like agricultural property, the value of seasonal/recreational parcels has continued to rise dramatically, which has sapped the value of the equalization formulas in these districts, forcing the entire burden onto local property taxpayers. As witnessed by the high levels of free or reduced-price lunch numbers in many of these districts, the income of the residents does not match the value of the land in the district. This is a double-whammy for districts in this situation. In order to remedy the situation, Representative Anzelc's bill would hike the equalizing factor for districts in this situation and allow them to access the full $424 per pupil in local option revenue at a reasonable cost to their taxpayers. Pine River-Backus is one district that finds itself in this unfortunate situation and Superintendent Cathy Bettino and Business Manager Jolene Bengtson provided excellent testimony that provided insight for the committee into the problems faced by these districts. Like the agricultural property tax issue, the seasonal/recreational property issue falls unevenly throughout the state, leaving many districts at a huge disadvantage when it comes to the union of the property tax and education funding issues. While SEE does not have a lot of districts that would either be considered "deep rural" with heavy concentrations of agricultural property or with heavy concentrations of seasonal/recreational property, our organization has always stood on the principal that students should have access to high quality education programs regardless of where they live in Minnesota and if the property tax system is an impediment to districts to ensure a reasonable shot at this goal, changes need to be made.
So thanks to all of the Representatives who came forward with these bills. It's always an enlightening discussion when bills like these are heard and indications are the area where education funding and property taxation meet will receive considerable attention during the remainder of the session.
There are some significant similarities between the House and Senate policy bills, most notably in changes to teacher licensure provisions as they pertain to teachers licensed in other states and the use of community experts. The bills also contain most, if not all, of the technical provisions contained in the Governor's bill. There will be discussion surrounding the testing issue. Both the House and Senate are proposing a reduction in testing, but the Senate has gone beyond both the House and the recommendations of the working group convened by the Minnesota Department of Education in putting together its recommendations. Most everyone agrees students are subjected to too many tests and many of these tests don't add much in terms of usable information to improve pedagogy.
After the bills are finished tomorrow, they will head to the funding division of each education committee to be incorporated into the omnibus funding and policy bill. The deadline for the funding bill to be constructed is April 24, a full two and a half weeks after the Legislature returns from a week-long Easter/Passover break. While most of the discussion that will take place after this week will center on revenue--both in terms of amount and distribution--I am certain policy differences will arise and will continue to be discussed.
Education Property Tax Bills Discussed in House Education Finance. The House Education Finance Committee discussed four bills relating to the role of the property tax in the education funding system this afternoon. First up was Chair Jenifer Loon's bill to eliminate the Student Achievement Levy (also known as General Education Levy Lite) that was passed during the 2013 legislative session. This levy is set at $20 million, which is not an exorbitant amount of money in the whole scheme of things, but it looks enough like the old General Education Levy that some would like to squish it like a bug before it gets too large. This bill is a classic example of "good news/bad news" depending on how you view it. First off, getting rid of the Student Achievement Levy creates a $20 million revenue hole in the education funding formula. That might not be too much of a problem to fill this year with such a robust budget forecast, but keep the Student Achievement Levy may come in handy if the state's economy were to ever experience a downturn. On the other hand, if the House has a zero levy target, this $20 million in levy savings from the elimination of the Student Achievement Levy could be directed toward other programs into which the $20 million could be folded. Increased deferred maintenance comes to mind as a possible destination for levy dollars. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the House. The one big plus of the Student Achievement Levy from SEE's perspective is that it is fully equalized and any program into which the levy dollars would be directed will not be fully equalized. At the same time, other equalization programs could be enhanced to bolster a sense of fairness in the system and the levy could be moved to a different program that would actually infuse new revenue into schools. Stay tuned.
Representative Steve Drazkowski was up next with SF 596, a bill that aims to provide relief to owners of agricultural property on school district debt service. Agricultural property is not included in the referendum market value tax base, but it is included in the adjusted net tax capacity tax base that is used on debt service questions. With skyrocketing agricultural land values, this has saddled owners of agricultural property with a pretty hefty share of the taxes paid on these questions when they are successful. Like I testified today, fifteen or twenty years ago, all that would have needed to be done to solve this problem was to increase the debt service equalizing factors. Unfortunately, changes in the student populations--they are declining in most of Greater Minnesota--accompanied by a steady rise in agricultural values have made this avenue a non-viable solution for those districts that have more than half of its total property base in agricultural property. SF 596 takes a different tack in that it changes the tax base used for future debt service levies. Under the bill, half of the tax base for these questions would be referendum market value and half would be adjusted net tax capacity. To cushion homeowners and business owners from assuming too heavy a tax load resulting from the removal of agricultural property from half of the property wealth used to calculate the tax burden, the debt service equalization program would be enhanced. If I had my druthers, the debt service equalization would be enhanced to an even greater degree, but we still have time to cross that bridge.
The final bill discussed today was Representative Tom Anzelc's bill--HF 1641--that would enhance the equalization factor for local option revenue for school districts with high levels of seasonal/recreational property and high levels of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Most of these districts are in Northern Minnesota. Like agricultural property, the value of seasonal/recreational parcels has continued to rise dramatically, which has sapped the value of the equalization formulas in these districts, forcing the entire burden onto local property taxpayers. As witnessed by the high levels of free or reduced-price lunch numbers in many of these districts, the income of the residents does not match the value of the land in the district. This is a double-whammy for districts in this situation. In order to remedy the situation, Representative Anzelc's bill would hike the equalizing factor for districts in this situation and allow them to access the full $424 per pupil in local option revenue at a reasonable cost to their taxpayers. Pine River-Backus is one district that finds itself in this unfortunate situation and Superintendent Cathy Bettino and Business Manager Jolene Bengtson provided excellent testimony that provided insight for the committee into the problems faced by these districts. Like the agricultural property tax issue, the seasonal/recreational property issue falls unevenly throughout the state, leaving many districts at a huge disadvantage when it comes to the union of the property tax and education funding issues. While SEE does not have a lot of districts that would either be considered "deep rural" with heavy concentrations of agricultural property or with heavy concentrations of seasonal/recreational property, our organization has always stood on the principal that students should have access to high quality education programs regardless of where they live in Minnesota and if the property tax system is an impediment to districts to ensure a reasonable shot at this goal, changes need to be made.
So thanks to all of the Representatives who came forward with these bills. It's always an enlightening discussion when bills like these are heard and indications are the area where education funding and property taxation meet will receive considerable attention during the remainder of the session.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Senate Education Policy Bill Unveiled. The Senate has released its strike-everything amendment to SF 1495, the Senate omnibus education policy bill. There's a lot in it and there are some similarities to the House bill in the area of teacher licensure, especially for teachers licensed in other states and those seeking alternative paths to licensure. There is also language in the special education article that makes the online reporting system passed as part of last year's omnibus bill optional for school districts and not mandatory beginning with the 2018-2019 school year.
Here is a link to the strike-everything amendment that will be discussed tomorrow in the Senate Education Policy Committee beginning at 8:30 AM.
Link: Strike-everything to SF 1495
Bill Introductions for Tuesday.
Here is a link to the strike-everything amendment that will be discussed tomorrow in the Senate Education Policy Committee beginning at 8:30 AM.
Link: Strike-everything to SF 1495
Bill Introductions for Tuesday.
Senate
Did Not Meet
House
HF 1949--Whelan--Requires a school board to publicly inform parents of a decision to keep available instructional materials a parent considers harmful to minors--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1949&session=ls89&version=list&session_number=0&session_year=2015
HF 1973--Mariani--Creates program and appropriates money to recruit, educate and license underrepresented student populations to teach--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1973&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Monday, March 16, 2015
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.
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
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Another Long Day. The LIFO Express stopped in the Senate Education Committee this morning with discussion of Senator Terry Bonoff's SF 97 and Senator Eric Pratt's HF 2 (the House File has passed the full House and has thus been substituted for Senator Pratt's Senate companion SF 473). HF 2 is the more comprehensive bill, as it contains provisions that deal with teacher licensure, the use of community experts in the classroom, and the status of teachers licensed in other states in addition to changes made to teacher tenure provisions as they relate to teacher layoffs. SF 97 concentrates almost solely on how unrequested leave of absence decisions will be made by school districts and how teacher performance will figure into those decisions. Given statements by Senate leadership, it's doubtful that these bills will go any further than they have in that body. That doesn't mean that changes in teacher tenure are dead for the session, as the contents of HF 2 may well find their way into the House omnibus education funding bill and would be part of the negotiations that will develop the final funding and policy package relating to education during the 2015 session.
The House Education Innovation Policy Committee met for four hours (two hours in the morning, two hours in the evening) and covered a variety of topics. The Governor's omnibus education policy bill absorbed most of the time during the morning session, with the evening session dedicated to a number of bills, most notably Representative Ron Kresha's bill that would provide a tax credit for contributions to foundations that provide early learning opportunities (HF 1368) and Representative Anna Wills' HF 964, a bill that aims to reduce special education paperwork.
Link: HF 1368
Link: HF 964
The House Education Finance Committee covered five bills, some of which will likely find their way into the House omnibus education funding bill. To me, the highlight was HF 733, a bill authored by Representative John Petersburg that would correct an error in the ballot language passed by the Owatonna school district in the fall of 2013 (the same year the Local Optional Revenue took effect). The Minnesota Department of Education approved the language prior to the election, but then changed their interpretation, leaving the district with confused taxpayers and the prospect of not being able to collect their entire referendum. Owatonna Superintendent Peter Grant and Director of Operations Tom Sager have set a land speed record in getting this bill approved by two committees. I think they've spent less than ten minutes total at the witness stand. I might need these guys at some point to push SEE's platform through.
The House Education Innovation Policy Committee met for four hours (two hours in the morning, two hours in the evening) and covered a variety of topics. The Governor's omnibus education policy bill absorbed most of the time during the morning session, with the evening session dedicated to a number of bills, most notably Representative Ron Kresha's bill that would provide a tax credit for contributions to foundations that provide early learning opportunities (HF 1368) and Representative Anna Wills' HF 964, a bill that aims to reduce special education paperwork.
Link: HF 1368
Link: HF 964
The House Education Finance Committee covered five bills, some of which will likely find their way into the House omnibus education funding bill. To me, the highlight was HF 733, a bill authored by Representative John Petersburg that would correct an error in the ballot language passed by the Owatonna school district in the fall of 2013 (the same year the Local Optional Revenue took effect). The Minnesota Department of Education approved the language prior to the election, but then changed their interpretation, leaving the district with confused taxpayers and the prospect of not being able to collect their entire referendum. Owatonna Superintendent Peter Grant and Director of Operations Tom Sager have set a land speed record in getting this bill approved by two committees. I think they've spent less than ten minutes total at the witness stand. I might need these guys at some point to push SEE's platform through.
Thursday Bill Introductions.
Senate
SF 1668--Chamberlain--Authorizes reverse referendum for school-board approved revenue authority under certain circumstances and prohibits public school employees from using public funds to advocate, pass, elect, or defeat a political candidate--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1668&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1674--Wiger--Amends graduation standards--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1674&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1697--B. Petersen--Empowers authorizers to terminate contracts based on student performance--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1697&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 1777--Lucero--Modifies curriculum review process--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1777&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1787--Newton--Changes announcement policy for location of defibrillators--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1787&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1800--Backer--Authorizes a grant to expand robotics programs in schools in greater Minnesota--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1800&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1806--Hancock--Appropriates money for construction and renovation of school facilities in Red Lake School District--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1806&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1818--Baker--Increases funding for community education youth after-school enrichment program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1818&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1838--Mariani--Modifies charter school provisions--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1838&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1839--Wills--Confirming how statewide testing requirements apply to nonpublic and home school students and out-of-state students transferring into Minnesota public schools--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1839&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1849--Selcer--Increases general education basic formula allowance by 2.5% each year of the biennium--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1849&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
A Busy Wednesday. It was the Senate that ran long today. With the policy committee deadline looming, there is a lot of work to be done and the Senate Education Policy Committee tackled a couple of big bills today. The day led off with discussion of the Governor's omnibus education policy bill. Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and MDE Legislative Coordinator Steve Huser presented the bill section-by-section. This bill is largely technical in nature, seeking to clear up and streamline a lot of provisions that have been enacted over the years. The big noise will come when the Governor's budget bill is released shortly.
Link: SF 1495--Governor's Policy Bill
The committee tackled a couple of other bills this morning, but two interesting bills were left for the evening. SF 979 is Senator Mary Kiffmeyer's bill that would require prior written consent from parents before a student survey could be given to a student. There was testimony on both sides of the bill from those who believe the student survey is a valuable tool that provides information that is helpful to school districts and state agencies as they fashion policies to meet the social needs of today's high school students. The data is private and is only available in aggregate form, so concerns that the responses of individual students become public is unfounded. Still, given the legitimate concerns over the use of public data, there is growing skepticism surrounding the collection of survey data regardless of how general it might be.
Link: SF 979--Student Survey Bill
Rounding out the evening, the committee addressed SF 589, Senator Greg Clausen's bill on alternative teacher licensure and granting licenses to teaching candidates who have acquired licenses in other states. Headway is being made on this bill as all parties directly involved in the debate appear reasonably satisfied with the compromise Senator Clausen has fashioned. I don't have a copy of the amendment that was attached to the bill tonight to link here and one probably won't be available in an electronic copy until the committee finishes its work on its omnibus policy package. Rest assured, it's all-around good work by Senator Clausen, whose experience as a school administrator is proving invaluable as policy is developed.
Tuesday Introductions.
Link: SF 1495--Governor's Policy Bill
The committee tackled a couple of other bills this morning, but two interesting bills were left for the evening. SF 979 is Senator Mary Kiffmeyer's bill that would require prior written consent from parents before a student survey could be given to a student. There was testimony on both sides of the bill from those who believe the student survey is a valuable tool that provides information that is helpful to school districts and state agencies as they fashion policies to meet the social needs of today's high school students. The data is private and is only available in aggregate form, so concerns that the responses of individual students become public is unfounded. Still, given the legitimate concerns over the use of public data, there is growing skepticism surrounding the collection of survey data regardless of how general it might be.
Link: SF 979--Student Survey Bill
Rounding out the evening, the committee addressed SF 589, Senator Greg Clausen's bill on alternative teacher licensure and granting licenses to teaching candidates who have acquired licenses in other states. Headway is being made on this bill as all parties directly involved in the debate appear reasonably satisfied with the compromise Senator Clausen has fashioned. I don't have a copy of the amendment that was attached to the bill tonight to link here and one probably won't be available in an electronic copy until the committee finishes its work on its omnibus policy package. Rest assured, it's all-around good work by Senator Clausen, whose experience as a school administrator is proving invaluable as policy is developed.
Tuesday Introductions.
House
HF 1672--Moran--Appropriates money for GED services initiative--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1672&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1676--Kelly--Establishes youth development educational partnership fund--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1676&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1689--E. Murphy--Requires sexual assault and sexual harassment policies to contain an affirmative consent standard--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1689&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1692--Atkins--Allows charter school students to participate in extracurricular in their resident district--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1692&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1697--Moran--Appropriates money for family literacy program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1697&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1709--M. Murphy--Establishes full-service community schools--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1709&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1712--Quam--Authorizes commissioner of education to help coordinate crisis response teams--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1712&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Wednesday Introductions.
Senate
SF 1564--Johnson--Creates alternative accountability measures--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1564&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1565--Torres Ray--Requires student member on school boards--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1565&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1585--Metzen--Allows charter school students to participate in extracurricular in their resident district--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1585&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1616--Nelson--Modifies early childhood scholarships--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1616&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1630--Nelson--Establishes basic needs revenue category--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1630&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1631--Weber--Modifies certain postsecondary credit provisions--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1631&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1632--Pratt--Allows school districts to transfer revenue between funds--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1632&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1635--Rest--Modifies special education payment schedule for certain charter schools--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1635&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1642--Tomassoni--Appropriates money to cooperative unit to provide staff development--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1642&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 1740--Kelly--Exempts certain property used to provide services to school district personnel through taxation--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1740&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1762--Erickson--Creates a financial incentive for districts that enhance proficiency for English language learners--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1762&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1763--Erickson--Creates numeracy incentive aid for 8th grade students--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1763&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Committees Running Overtime. Less than two weeks to the first policy committee deadline means lots of meetings and lots of bills being heard. The Senate Education Policy Committee met Monday morning for close to three hours and the House Education Innovation Policy went into the night this evening. Both committees covered a wide range of policy bills. Very few of the bills will be going directly to the floor. Instead, most are being held in the committee for possible inclusion in the omnibus education policy bills in each body.
Of all the bills being heard, the ones that elicited the most discussion were HF 645, Representative Deb Kiel's bill to streamline the teaching licensing procedure for teachers licensed in other states. There are teacher shortages in a number of curricular areas throughout the state that could be filled by teachers who have been licensed in other states. Initially, the variance process for these candidates isn't that onerous, but, of course, variances don't last forever and if these individuals don't get the necessary coursework done, they don't get a Minnesota license. Most education groups support the bill, but the Board of Teaching and the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education have concerns, mostly over what they view to be requirements for Minnesota teachers that ensure high-quality instructors.
Link: HF 645
Representative Peggy Bennett's HF 1392, which would reduce the number of tests required of Minnesota students and change the testing regime to give teachers more useful information about their students' performance, was also heard. Of course, the state's testing policy has been under almost constant scrutiny over the past decade and there will be changes to it this year. A working group was convened by the Minnesota Department of Education last fall and those recommendations have been released. Representative Bennett's bill is a variation on that theme and it was supported today by a delegation of administrators from the Albert Lea School District.
Link: HF 1392
Link: Governor Dayton's Comments on Testing
The other bill that generated considerable interest in the House Education Innovation Policy Committee today was HF 1220, Representative Ron Kresha's bill that deals with early learning scholarships. Early learning is going to receive a lot of attention throughout the session. It was clear that was going to be the case before the session started. It became increasingly clear when the Governor released his budget with over $100 million dedicated to universal pre-kindergarten. After the Governor's announcement that he was "tripling down" on his universal pre-kindergarten last week by adding an additional $200+ million to it, it became the centerpiece of discussion; not that it will necessarily happen, but certainly in that its magnitude has put the overall budget target for education at a level that could accommodate a lot of programs and that dollars will probably be moved from universal pre-kindergarten for other purposes in both the House and Senate. Representative Kresha's bill deals with the scholarship program and there is concern that the bill as currently written would severely limit school district participation in the program. That has yet to be determined, but this, like many other issues related to early childhood education will be discussed as the overall issue is addressed over the remainder of the session.
Link: HF 1220
Monday Bill Introductions.
Of all the bills being heard, the ones that elicited the most discussion were HF 645, Representative Deb Kiel's bill to streamline the teaching licensing procedure for teachers licensed in other states. There are teacher shortages in a number of curricular areas throughout the state that could be filled by teachers who have been licensed in other states. Initially, the variance process for these candidates isn't that onerous, but, of course, variances don't last forever and if these individuals don't get the necessary coursework done, they don't get a Minnesota license. Most education groups support the bill, but the Board of Teaching and the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education have concerns, mostly over what they view to be requirements for Minnesota teachers that ensure high-quality instructors.
Link: HF 645
Representative Peggy Bennett's HF 1392, which would reduce the number of tests required of Minnesota students and change the testing regime to give teachers more useful information about their students' performance, was also heard. Of course, the state's testing policy has been under almost constant scrutiny over the past decade and there will be changes to it this year. A working group was convened by the Minnesota Department of Education last fall and those recommendations have been released. Representative Bennett's bill is a variation on that theme and it was supported today by a delegation of administrators from the Albert Lea School District.
Link: HF 1392
Link: Governor Dayton's Comments on Testing
The other bill that generated considerable interest in the House Education Innovation Policy Committee today was HF 1220, Representative Ron Kresha's bill that deals with early learning scholarships. Early learning is going to receive a lot of attention throughout the session. It was clear that was going to be the case before the session started. It became increasingly clear when the Governor released his budget with over $100 million dedicated to universal pre-kindergarten. After the Governor's announcement that he was "tripling down" on his universal pre-kindergarten last week by adding an additional $200+ million to it, it became the centerpiece of discussion; not that it will necessarily happen, but certainly in that its magnitude has put the overall budget target for education at a level that could accommodate a lot of programs and that dollars will probably be moved from universal pre-kindergarten for other purposes in both the House and Senate. Representative Kresha's bill deals with the scholarship program and there is concern that the bill as currently written would severely limit school district participation in the program. That has yet to be determined, but this, like many other issues related to early childhood education will be discussed as the overall issue is addressed over the remainder of the session.
Link: HF 1220
Monday Bill Introductions.
Senate
SF 1449--Hall--Clarifies parental view of curriculum--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1449&session=ls89&version=latest&session_number=0&session_year=2015
SF 1467--Johnson--Provides full funding for concurrent enrollment program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1467&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1483--Kiffmeyer--Modifies certain high school league provisions--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1483&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1498--Wiger--Allows districts to compensate effective and highly effective teachers in hard-to-staff settings--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1498&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1501--Torres Ray--Appropriates money for family literacy services and a high school community action program--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1501&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1502--Clausen--Directs Board of Teaching to adopt standards for an endorsement enabling licensed high school teachers to provide dual enrollment instruction at a high school--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1502&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1505--Dahle--Implements portions of the 2013 legislative auditor's report on special education--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1505&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1508--Bonoff--Allows charter schools to give an enrollment preference to children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1508&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1513--Hann--Dissolves Minneapolis school district and creates six separate districts--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1513&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1528--Hoffman--Enhances PSEO payments to postsecondary institutions to include textbook and equipment costs--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1528&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1536--Bonoff--Appropriates money for Girls in Action--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1536&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1541--Bonoff--Requires reporting school and district data on foreign exchange and study abroad programs--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1541&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
SF 1543--Brown--Clarifies participation requirements for athletic teams--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF1543&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
House
HF 1542--Selcer--Requires reporting school and district data on foreign exchange and study abroad programs--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1542&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1546--Miller--Clarifies participation requirements for athletic teams--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1546&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1547--Quam--Establishes Student Privacy Act--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1547&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1571--Newton--Enhances PSEO payments to postsecondary institutions to include textbook and equipment costs--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1571&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1591--Erickson--Governor's Education Policy Bill--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1591&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1592--Bly--Provides for a placement policy for practice and student teachers--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1592&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1626--Erickson--Modifies revenue distribution for regional library system support formula--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1626&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1629--Mariani--Allows districts to compensate effective and highly effective teachers in hard-to-staff settings--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1629&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1635--Schomacker--Establishes grant program for certain instructors--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1635&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1636--Christensen--Creates greater ability for districts to transfer revenue between funds--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1636&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1641--Anzelc--Modifies equalization rate for local optional revenue for districts with high concentrations of seasonal/recreational property--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1641&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1642--Selcer--Recommendation #4 from School Facilities Finance Working Group report--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1642&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1643--Sundin--Allows districts to transfer funds from ECFE to Learning Readiness--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1643&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1648--Whelan--Clarifies parental view of curriculum--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1648&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
HF 1657--Erickson--Empowers authorizers to terminate contracts based on lack of student performance--https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF1657&version=0&session=ls89&session_year=2015&session_number=0
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