What is happening at the Capitol
The education committees continue to have experts at the meetings to provide overviews on particular education issues.
In a joint Senate committee meeting with the Senate E-12 Education Finance Committee and the Senate Human Services Reform Policy and Finance Committee, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Minnesota Department of Health and the Department of Human Services reviewed how each agency is supporting the most at-risk children and their families from prenatal to age 5. Their presentation
showing how services are provided to children and families through several real life stories is quite interesting. The state is spending nearly $1 billion
in the hope of putting the children on a successful trajectory. noting that failing to do so results in much higher costs to the state throughout the life of the child. Other entities are also getting involved. As a example, South St. Paul, which is a SEE district, is in a collaboration with 3 other school districts, Dakota County, non-profits, etc., which is focused on the ambitious goal that each and every child in Dakota County is proficient in reading by 3rd grade when they are 8 years old. Data shows that if children are not reading by age 8, the odds that they will graduates from high school diminishes exponentially. Here is more info on this effort - description
The House Education Innovation Policy committee reviewed the report
of the 2016 Legislative Study Group on Educator Licensing. Another work group was convened at MDE to look specifically at teacher licensure for career and technical education (CTE). The final recommendations were discussed in the Senate E-12 Policy Committee CTE jobs are in high demand by businesses across the state and many of them are well paid careers. Finding CTE teachers is extremely difficult. Fully, 1/3 of the CTE classes in our schools are taught by community experts, who are not licensed teachers but are individuals that are experts in that content area. One of the multiple problems that contributes to the lack of CTE licensed teachers is that state law requires a four year baccalaureate degree to get a teaching license. However, there are no
baccalaureate CTE teaching programs in areas like welding, cosmetology, and medical careers. The state must develop a flexible process of providing multiple pathways to licensure for the various CTE programs so Minnesota public school students can have access to these valuable education opportunities. Read more - summary
and full report
As always, check out Brad's Blog
for more detailed information on what is happening at the Capitol.