Governor Dayton dedicated a total of $14.8 million in his supplemental budget for new American Indian (AMI) educational support for the 2016-17 school year. Learn where AMI Students are in Minnesota MREA has learned that every school district, charter school, and BIA school that enrolls 20 or more AMI students will receive a base of $20,000 and a concentration factor of $405 … Read More
Governor Calls for Every Child in Preschool
ST. PAUL, MN – Minnesota could be among the first states in the country to offer free, full-day early learning programs for every four-year-old – if a proposal from Governor Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Senate becomes law this session. If passed, the proposal would allow an estimated 47,300 students to attend preschool in the program’s first year of operation. … Read More
School Readiness Programs Get Results
An array of research shows that providing students from low-income families the opportunity to attend a high quality pre-school program closes achievement gaps and offers extensive societal benefits. This has led to a growing interest among state policymakers to increase Minnesota’s investment in quality pre-K programming. Impressive Research Results The results from school readiness Pre-K programs are impressive. For example, data … Read More
Budget Plans Begin to Hatch
As the policy deadlines loom the discussion about respective budget plans is starting to emerge. With a $1.9 billion surplus in hand the debate about education should be a matter of how much and where to spend it. The House Ways & Means Committee meets Monday morning to take testimony on what should be the upper limits of spending by … Read More
Dropout Prevention Forum Coming to MN in April
The 2015 National Forum on Dropout Prevention for Native and Tribal Communities will feature more than 50 presentations emphasizing strategies that work with native students who are at risk of dropping out of school before high school graduation. The forum, “Building Engaging Educational Communities for Native Students,” will be held April 26-29 in Prior Lake. Dr. Sandra J. Fox, who received … Read More
Many Education Bills in the Air
MREA has been especially busy this year advocating on behalf of Greater Minnesota schools. There are a series of bills in the air. Here’s a rundown of what they are by key issue and where they stand at the Capitol as of now. Each includes the bill authors and where possible, links to their text and status at the legislature. … Read More
Bill to Improve IEP Process for Special Education
Key legislation has been presented to repeal a law that requires the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to contract for a single vendor for the IEP (Individualized Education Plan). HF 804 and SF 740 would instead require schools districts to contract with vendors for seamless transference of records. View issue brief. Currently 85 percent of school districts in Minnesota use the same system … Read More
March Madness Ignites with $1.9 Billion Surplus
Minnesotans received positive news about their state budget on Friday from the February budget forecast. Last December the state projected a surplus for the next two years (fiscal years 16-17) of $1.04 billion. The updated forecast now estimates a surplus of $1.87 million. The $832 million in projected growth is largely due to a expected increases in income and sales tax … Read More
Senate Debates Basic Funding Formula Increase
Two bills related to the general education funding formula and one related to compensatory revenue were all laid over for possible inclusion in the Senate E12 omnibus bill. SF163, sponsored by Sen. John Hoffman (DFL – Champlin), would increase school district basic revenue formula allowance to $6,131 starting in fiscal year 2016. SF541, sponsored by Sen. Greg Clausen (DFL – … Read More
Universal All Day Preschool Stalls at Capitol
A bill that would give school districts the opportunity to offer all-day preschool to 4-year-olds stalled last Tuesday in the House Education Innovation Policy Committee. This year, the proposal came forth in the form of HF46 sponsored by Rep. Erin Murphy (DFL – St. Paul). The bill would allow eligibility for children who are 4 years old and not enrolled … Read More