Minnesota’s growing concurrent enrollment (dual-credit) programs for high school students to earn college credit while attending high school is being threatened by recent actions of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The Commission is proposing new credentialing requirements for Minnesota’s secondary teachers to teach these college courses under the auspices of a college or university. MREA Working to Establish Coalition MREA is very … Read More
A Few Surprises in Testing Reform in Minnesota
There are always surprises and possible unintended consequences in newly enacted legislation. One example is the noble goal of reducing the amount of testing time by students. While curbing the time students spend on standardized testing is an almost universally supported idea, to achieve this goal the Minnesota Legislature reduced the Minnesota Department of Education’s (MDE) testing budget in half. This … Read More
MDE Releases Look Up Table on Impacts
Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) just released the FY ’16 and ’17 runs and look up table based on the results of the 2015 special session signed education bill. MREA downloaded the report and makes it easily accessible here: View the impact on your school. School districts can see the financial impact the bill has on their respective districts by putting their … Read More
Governor Signs E-12 Bill into Law
The special session of the Minnesota Legislature ended over the weekend and the Governor Dayton has signed all of the special session bills into law. The E-12 bill, now Chapter 3 of the 2015 Special Session (SS HF 1 for those who want to look it up) provides $525 million for E-12 schools over the next two years. View details by issue. Overall the … Read More
New, Improved E-12 Bill Unveiled
On Friday, a new and improved $525 million E-12 bill emerged for approval during an upcoming special session. This bill includes 2&2 on the formula, more money in existing early learning programs like scholarships and school readiness and a major expansion of American Indian Education funding. Statewide access to an equalized levy for deferred maintenance funding stayed in the final … Read More
Special Session Plans
On Friday, the House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee held a joint hearing to review four bills that are paving the way to a special session. Included in this package of bills is the new and improved E-12 bill that contains $525 million in new spending on a variety of education initiatives over the next two years. The … Read More
Talks Continue: Universal Pre-K Dead
An agreement on the outstanding education issues is elusive after Gov. Mark Dayton and House Speaker Kurt Daudt met four days in a row last week. One thing Gov. Dayton and Speaker Daudt agreed to quickly is that the Special Session would be held in the State Office Building. Several hearing rooms are large enough to hold each body, it is … Read More
GOP Counters Dayton's K-12 Education Offer
The GOP on Friday afternoon countered Gov. Mark Dayton’s initial proposal for a K-12 education agreement for a special session. View the Governor’s priorities. The GOP’s offer includes starting with HF844 as vetoed and add: $125 million additional spending for FY 16/17 for: Formula to 2 percent increase each year (2&2) Increase School Readiness Funding by $21.5 million (for total of … Read More
Gov. Dayton Shares Priority List
Gov. Mark Dayton shared his priority list for K-12 education, totaling $250 million in funding. The list comes after Dayton vetoed the E-12 bill approved by the Minnesota Legislature in an effort to gain support for universal Pre-K. Many of the priorities listed by the governor also were included in the Conference Committee Report. Governor’s Priorities Here’s a breakdown of … Read More
3 Keys as Talks Start on Vetoed Education Bill
Governor Mark Dayton and Speaker Kurt Daudt will meet Tuesday to discuss next steps given a vetoed education bill. On behalf of all Greater Minnesota students, MREA wishes them well in their conversation and respectfully makes three suggestions: Start with HF 844 and add to it the provisions needed for a signature. HF 844 closes the biggest current rural-metro funding … Read More