Monday Committee and Bill Introductions

Hectic pace continues.  The Senate Education Policy Committee was the only education-related committee that met today and they covered the Senate companion to the non-exclusionary discipline bill heard in the House last week.  Divided government stunted much of what advocates of reducing suspensions and exclusion have promoted over the past few years, but with both Houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s office supportive of some measure of change, it is likely that some of the provisions (in some form) will be present in the final education funding and policy bill this session.

Bill Introductions.

House

HF 651–Requires Personal Finance Course for Graduation

HF 652–Modifies Teacher Shortage Reporting Requirements

HF 678–Requires Active Student Transportation Safety Training

HF 682–Constitutional Amendment to Allow Parents to Choose Nonpublic/Religious Schools for their Children with State Support Following Student

HF 683–Increases Funding for Community Education

HF 694–Increases Funidng for Minnesota Math Corp

HF 724–Allows Parent to Opt Child our of Face Covering Mandate

HF 741–Requires Literacy Results Reporting

HF 748–Allows American Indian Regalia and Other Items of Cultural Significance at Graduation Ceremonies

Senate

SF 494–Provides Funding for Building Assets Reducing Risks Center

SF 502–Requires Paid Orientation for Paraprofessionals

SF 504–Creates Minimum Aid Guarantee for School Districcts

SF 505–Creates New Funding Formula for Low Revenue/Low Property Wealth School Districts

SF 517–Requires Instruction in Critical Thinking Skills

SF 525–Supplemental Aid for School Facility Construction

SF 540–Requires Parental Notification of Adverse Incidents At School

SF 578–Appropriates Money for School-Linked Mental Health Grants

SF 581–Provides Short-Call Substitute Teaching Provisions for Rural Minnesota

SF 584–Prohibits Use of Native American Mascots

SF 585–Modifies Short-Call Substitute Teacher Policies

SF 613–Authorizes Board Approval of Expiring Referendum

SF 615–Makes Permanent the Expansion of Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Programs

SF 616–Makes an Appropriation for the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs for Certain Student Activities

SF 618–Requires Civics Course for Graduation

SF 635–Allows American Indian Regalia and Other Items of Cultural Significance at Graduation Ceremonies

Complete Governor’s Budget Released Tomorrow. We have been given more than a glimpse of the Governor’s budget across a number of tax and spending areas, but the complete document with all the details spelled out will be released tomorrow.  It will be a massive document and we’ve already seen that he is proposing a number of significant investments in education along with a number of improvements in other areas of children and families policies.  I will be posting links to the documents when they become available at the Minnesota Managment and Budget website along with any insight I can glean from the documents.  Stay tuned.