The bill has been taking somewhat different paths in each body.  There was a motion on the first day of the session in the House to simply re-refer the bill to the House Ways and Means Committee instead of allowing it to go through the Education Policy and Public Safety Policy and Finance Committee.  That motion failed and the bill proceeded through the normal process and now sits in the Public Safety Policy and Finance Committee after being held over after it was heard in that committee.  It is unclear why the bill wasn’t moved on to the Ways and Means Committee.  There could be several reasons.  The majority may be trying to firm up the votes necessary for the bill to pass the floor, which isn’t a foregone conclusion as both sides of the argument do not appear to be completely happy with the bill that has been put together and the bill seems to be following a path where the majority will have to supply all the votes and with slim majorities in both the House and Senate, it will be crucial that the majorities keep their vote counts solid.

Things have run more smoothly in the Senate as the bill passed both the Education Policy and Judiciary and Public Safety Committees on straight party-line votes and is now headed to the Senate Finance Committee.  Things may slow down a bit from here, but as soon as votes are shored up it will likely move.  This is certainly something the school community would like to see accomplished as soon as possible, so don’t hesitate to contact your local legislators and urge them to support the bill and make sure that School Resource Officers will feel confident they can return to school buildings.

The Governor’s Education Policy Bill–HF 3782(Pryor)/SF 3567 (Cwodzinski)—has been introduced and it was heard in the Senate Education Policy Committee last week and will be heard on Wednesday, February 28, in the House Education Policy Committee.  I am a bit surprised that it wasn’t longer.  There are clarifications surrounding the READ Act passed in 2023 in the bill and the READ Act chief authors have also introduced some policy clarifications and additional revenue in HF 3744 (Edelson)/SF 3698 (Maye-Quade.  Currently, the bill contains an additional $4.2 million for the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota and an additional $10 million for professional development.  There is space for another appropriation yet to be determined for training incentives that would most likely take the shape of stipends for teachers who take training in the science of reading.

Additional funding for the READ Act and greater guidance are top priorities for almost every education lobbying group and if there is a place where the education committees may put money this year, it will most likely be the READ Act.  But along with additional revenue, school districts will need greater flexibility in implementing the act.  Districts throughout the state are at very different stages of implementation and they all have different needs as the process takes place in their individual districts.  In order for this effort to succeed, policymakers will have to find and maintain the delicate balance between keeping districts’ eyes on the overall goal while allowing districts the kind of time and flexibility to bring their staff along on this time-consuming process.  Success won’t be achieved overnight, so maintaining a steady, yet flexible, course needs to be followed.

It will be a somewhat quiet week ahead.  With the precinct caucuses being held on Tuesday evening, there will be a few committee meetings on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Everyone will be waiting for Wednesday’s February budget forecast, which will set the fiscal parameters for the remainder of the 2024 Legislative Session.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or comments at 612-220-7459 or brad.lundell@schoolsforequity.org.