Tuesday Wrap

Three Hearings Today.  There were three education-related hearings today.  The day led off with the Senate Education Finance Committee hearing from a variety of education professionals including regular and special education teachers and paraprofessionals.  The testimony covered much of Education Minnesota’s 2023 legislative platform and the work of Education Minnesota’s policy arm, the Education Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).  Here is the link to today’s schedule at which the EPIC presentation is linked:  Senate Education Finance Committee–January 10, 2023.  The testimony from the witnesses was pretty stark and really outlined many of the challenges being faced by the teachers and other education professionals.  The committee members asked a variety of interesting and thoughtful questions about what needs to be done to lessen the pressure on school staff and meet the needs of Minnesota students’ diverse needs.

The House Education Finance Committee continued its review of Minnesota’s education funding system.

The House Education Policy heard from newly-appointed Minnesota Commissioner of Education Dr. Willie Jett and members of the Minnesota Department of Education describe the department’s operations and the duties handled by each section within the department.  The Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) also testified and provided the same background as it did in the Senate Education Policy Committee on Monday.  The handouts are here:  House Education Policy Committee–January 10, 2023.

Senate Bill Introductions–Tuesday, January 10, 2023

The Senate had a very brief floor session today and two education-related bills were introduced:

SF 104–Requires observance of Indigenous Peoples Day (Companion to HF 211)

SF 123–Free School Meals for All Students (Companion to HF 5)