Legislative Updates and Ewald at the Capitol for 2023
2023 Legislative Session Has Adjourned
After completing its work and sending a complete two-year state budget to Governor Walz, the 2023 legislative session has adjourned! Below is an update on a provision of interest in the Tax bill and a summary of items of interest in the Education Finance bill.
Pension reform proposal included in Tax bill
Over the weekend the legislature passed, and sent to the Governor, the Tax bill. Late last week, the Tax conference committee agreed to include funding to address pension reform to reduce normal retirement age to 65 (effective July 1, 2025). To pay for this change the employee contribution is increased .25 % and the employer share is increased .75%, (all after June 30, 2025). To pay for the employer costs, $101.9 million ($47.020 million in FY26 and $54.910 million in FY27) is appropriated and language is added so this cost comes from a pension adjustment mechanism.
HF2497 – Education Finance Appropriations Bill – Items of interest to career and technical education
Career and technical education consortium grants
Expands the grants statewide and increases the appropriation from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 per year and extends the program statewide.
Career and technical education - aeronautics pilot program
Appropriates $450,000, one year only, for a grant to the Little Falls school district for an aeronautics and commercial over-the-road technical program.
Career and technical education – Emergency medical services
Appropriates $500,000, ongoing, for a grants to high schools to offer enrolled students emergency medical services courses.
Computer science working group
Requires a working group to develop a computer science state strategic plan. Includes in the make-up of the work group a career and technical education teacher.
Teacher and Staff shortages, Increasing Diversity, and Retention
- $37 million in FY24-25 and $50.9 million in FY26-27 for Grow Your Own grants.
- $30 million in FY24-25 and $10 million in FY26-27 for licensure shortage areas/special education teacher pipeline initiatives.
- $8.8 million per year for Collaborative Urban and Greater Minnesota Educators of Color grants.
- $6 million in FY24-25 and later for teacher residency programs.
- $5 million annually for a student support personnel workforce pipeline.
- $2.5 million annually for early childhood Grow Your Own grants.
- $1 million in FY24-25 and later for Black Men Teach.
- $500,000 annually for student scholarships to address school-based early childhood and family education licensure shortage areas.
Academic Standards, Course Requirements, Graduation Requirements
- Requires local CTE standards to align with CTE frameworks developed by the Department of Education, standards developed by national CTE organizations, or recognized industry standards.
- Requires students who begin grade 9 in the 2024-2025 school year and later must successfully complete a course for credit in:
- personal finance in grade 10, 11, or 12
- government and citizenship in grade 11 or 12
- A teacher of a personal finance course must have a field license or out-of-field permission in agricultural education, business, family and consumer science, social studies, or math.
- Requires high schools to offer an ethnic studies course aligned with state social studies standards by the 2026-2027 school year. Requires school districts to provide ethnic studies instruction to elementary and middle schools by the 2027-2028 school year aligned with state standards. An ethnic studies course may fulfill a social studies, language arts, arts, math, or science credit if the course meets the applicable state academic standards. An ethnic studies course may fulfill an elective credit if the course meets applicable local academic standards or other requirements.
- Requires a school district to offer as part of its social studies curriculum education on the Holocaust and genocide education in middle school and high school curriculum by the 26-27 school year per rules on social studies standards and benchmarks.
- Requires science standards to include earth and space science, life science, and the physical sciences.
- For the three credits of science, one credit must satisfy all the earth and space science standards for grades 9 through 12, one credit must satisfy all the life science standards for grades 9 through 12, and one credit must satisfy all the chemistry or physics standards for grades 9 through 12.
- Requires state high school math standards to include algebra II, integrated math III, or an equivalent, and grade 8 standards to include completion of algebra.
- Requires districts to adopt state arts standards. Adds media arts as a fifth arts area.
- Modifies physical education standards and math credit requirements.
- Strikes civics test requirement from social studies standards.
Teacher Licensure
- Strikes the requirement for a candidate to have a passing score on a board-adopted examination of skills in reading, writing, and mathematics to receive a Tier 4 teaching license. Makes a Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensure candidate exempt from passing an examination of general pedagogical knowledge and licensure-specific content if the candidate has completed a board-approved preparation program or a state-approved teacher preparation program in another state and passed licensure examinations in that state.
- Allows PELSB to begin renewing license applications before July 1 and removes the 30-day deadline for issuing or denying the license.
- Expands the list of applicants exempt from the requirement to hold a bachelor's degree for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 license to include persons teaching world languages and culture and the performing or visual arts.
- Establishes a pilot program for the 23-24 and 24-25 school years. Allows a district or charter school and an applicant to jointly request PELSB approve an application for a short-call substitute license. Requires an applicant to meet one of the following requirements: have an associate degree or equivalent and receive substitute training from the district or school or have a high school diploma or equivalent and have been employed as an education support professional or paraprofessional in the district or charter school for at least one year.
Legislative Update--Week of May 1, 2023
Conference committee update
With two weeks left in the 2023 legislative session, conference committees have been busy working out differences in the major budget bills. A few conference committees, such as the committee working on the Omnibus Tax bill, are still in the process of being appointed and have not yet begun work.
The Education Finance conference committee met several times this week. Committee members spent most of the time reviewing the House and Senate bills, but they did discuss the House proposal to provide an inflationary increase in the formula at some length. They also agreed to a handful of small policy items that were the same or similar in both bills but made no other significant budget decisions.
Pension Commission holds informational hearing on TRA pension bill
On Thursday, the Pension Commission held an informational hearing on HF3294/SF3314, legislation to reduce the retirement age for teachers who do not qualify for Rule of 90. The bill lowers the retirement age from 66 to 64 for those teachers and pays for this change with a .5% increase in employee contributions and a 1% increase in employer contributions. The bill also includes an unspecified appropriation to school districts to cover the employer contribution costs. The hearing was informational only and the commission took no action on the bill.
Legislative Update--Week of April 24, 2023
Senate advances omnibus labor policy bill
This week the Senate passed an omnibus labor policy bill. This bill makes changes to the Public Employee Labor Relations Act. Before the debate, the bill included two provisions of great concern - adding to collective bargaining a requirement to negotiate class size, staff ratios, e-learning days, and student testing calendars and changing the inherent managerial right to make decisions about the number of personnel. The amendment passed on a vote of 35-32, with two Democrats joining all Republicans to remove this provision.
Senate passes omnibus education finance and policy bills
On Monday, the Senate passed the Omnibus Education Finance on a vote of 35-32. Every Democrat, along with one Republican, voted for the bill. One amendment by Senator Lucero created a new aid component called "general education disparity aid." The intent is to give additional aid to school districts with revenue at or below the 20th percentile of districts. Similar language is not in the House bill.
The Senate also passed the Omnibus Education Policy on a vote of 36-31. Every Democrat, along with two Republicans, voted for the bill. One amendment was adopted to reinstate the Tier 2 to Tier 3 pathway for three years of teaching experience.
Except for the amendments noted, the House and Senate bills remain the same as when they advanced out of their respective committees. As a reminder, several of the provisions we were watching, such as increases to prep time, mandating specific class size ratio in statute, a minimum salary for hourly school employees, and cost-sharing for health insurance, have not advanced.
We continue to be concerned about provisions in the House labor policy bill relating to collective bargaining, inherent managerial rights, and the fiscal and policy impacts of extending unemployment insurance to hourly school employees. We continue to advocate our concerns on these provisions.
Conference committee members appointed
With the passage of the omnibus bills, the next step is for the House and Senate to appoint conference committees. A conference committee is a committee made up of members from each body with the responsibility of reconciling the differences between two versions of a bill that has been passed by both bodies. Below are the members assigned to the education conference committee:
- Representative Cheryl Youakim
- Representative Josiah Hill
- Representative Laurie Pryor
- Representative Mary Frances Clardy
- Representative Ron Kresha
- Senator Mary Kunesh
- Senator Steve Cwodzinski
- Senator Heather Gustafson
- Senator Erin Maye Quade
- Senator Zach Duckworth
The conference committee is expected to begin the week of May 1.
Dates to remember
May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of April 17, 2023
State of the State
Governor Tim Walz presented his annual State of the State address on Wednesday evening, the first of his second term. The 30-minute speech reflected on bills that had already made their way to his desk, including federal tax conformity, universal school meals, unemployment benefits for the iron ore industry, establishing Juneteenth as a state holiday, and the commitment to carbon-free energy by 2040. Walz also touched on priorities he hopes will be included in the next two-year budget, including paid family and medical leave, "Walz Checks," gun safety measures, a child tax credit, tying education funding to inflation, and establishing a department of children and families.
House passes Omnibus Education Bill
On a vote of 70-60, the House passed the Omnibus Education Finance bill. Several amendments were offered and while most were not adopted, one of interest passed. An amendment by Rep. Urdahl was adopted that made changes to the provision requiring students to complete a course for credit in government. The bill now requires that students complete the course for credit in grades 11 or 12.
The Senate will take up the Omnibus Education Finance and Omnibus Education Policy bills on Monday, April 24.
Once the Senate passes these bills, the next step will be for conferees to be appointed so then the House and Senate can work out the differences between the two bills in a conference committee.
Dates to remember
May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of April 10, 2023
Legislature returns from break
The legislature returned from its week-long break and now has six weeks left in the legislative session. This week, committees in the House and Senate have been advancing their omnibus budget bills and some budget bills have begun to be debated by the full House and Senate.
Education Finance bills advance
The House Education Finance bill was heard and passed out of the Tax Committee and Ways and Means Committee and is headed to the House for a vote by that body. The Senate Education Finance bill was heard in the Tax Committee this week and awaits a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee. Once the Finance Committee hears the bill, it will go to the Senate for a vote by that body. After that, the conference committee process will begin.
House Education Finance bill information
District runs - FY24-25
Senate Education Finance bill information
Pension bill advances
Just before the break the Joint Pension Commission advanced an omnibus pensions bill. This bill appropriates $600 million in one-time funding for the various pension plans. Key provisions include:
- a one-time 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment for retirees
- the assumed rate of return is reduced to 7% percent for all plans
- $145 million in one-time funding for TRA to buy down liabilities
- A 1% increase in employee contributions for St. Paul Teacher Retirement Fund Association members to fund a benefit improvement - unreduced benefits for retirees aged 62 with at least 30 years of service
Dates to remember
- April 19: State of the State address.
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of March 27, 2023
This week both the House and Senate advanced their respective education omnibus appropriations bills – SF2684 and HF2497.
Overall, the House and Senate increased E-12 education funding by $2.514 billion for the FY24-25 biennium, $300 million is allocated for early education. While the budget targets are the same, there are significant differences between the two bills, most notably in the per-pupil formula amounts and tying the formula to inflation. The House incorporated the policy provisions from its education policy bill into the appropriations bill. The Senate continues to have two bills – a finance bill and a policy bill.
We were not successful in getting our career and technical education funding request but I want to highlight a few key provisions of interest or impacting career and technical education.
Career and technical education consortium grants
House: Expands the grants statewide and increases the appropriation from $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 per year and extends the program statewide.
Senate: No comparable provision.
Career and technical program expansion; aeronautics pilot program
House: Appropriates $450,000, one year only, for a grant to the Little Falls school district for an aeronautics and commercial over-the-road technical program.
Senate: No comparable provision.
Computer science working group
House: Requires a working group to develop a computer science state strategic plan. Includes in the makeup of the work group a career and technical education teacher.
Senate: No comparable provision.
Teacher and staff shortages, increasing diversity, and retention
House:
- $17 million annually for Grow Your Own (GYO) grants.
- $20 million annually for licensure shortage areas and special education teacher pipeline.
- $4.35 million annually for Collaborative and Greater MN Teachers of Color grants.
- $7 million in FY24 to support the development of career pathways for students interested in pursuing education-related professions.
- $1.4 million in FY24, available for four years, to fund the costs of first-time teacher licensing fees and licensure exams.
Senate:
- $24 million annually for Grow Your Own (GYO) grants.
- $4.35 million annually for Collaborative and Greater MN Teachers of Color grants.
- $1.4 million in FY24, available for up to four years, to fund the costs of first-time teacher licensing fees and licensure exams.
Academic Standards, Course Requirements, Graduation Requirements
House:
- Requires local CTE standards to align with CTE frameworks developed by the Department of Education, standards developed by national CTE organizations, or recognized industry standards.
- Requires students to complete a half-credit in personal finance.
- Requires students to complete a course for credit in government and citizenship within the existing social studies credit requirements.
- Requires districts to offer an ethnic studies course and to provide ethnic studies instruction in elementary and middle schools per state academic standards by the 2027-2028 school year.
- Requires a school district to provide Holocaust and genocide education in middle school and high school curriculum by the 2024- 2025 school year per rules on social studies standards and benchmarks.
Senate:
- Requires local CTE standards to align with CTE frameworks developed by the Department of Education, standards developed by national CTE organizations, or recognized industry standards.
- Requires students to complete a personal finance course for credit during their senior year of high school.
- Requires students to complete one credit in government and citizenship to graduate.
- Repeals the requirement for districts to administer civics test questions as part of the social studies curriculum.
Teacher Licensure
House:
- Eliminates the option that allows a candidate to receive a Tier 3 license if they have three years of teaching experience under a Tier 2 license.
- Strikes the requirement for a candidate to have a passing score on a board-adopted examination of skills in reading, writing, and mathematics to receive a Tier 4 teaching license. Makes a Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensure candidate exempt from passing an examination of general pedagogical knowledge and licensure-specific content if the candidate has completed a board-approved preparation program or a state-approved teacher preparation program in another state and passed licensure examinations in that state
- Allows PELSB to begin renewing license applications before July 1 and removes the 30-day deadline for issuing or denying the license.
Senate: Same as House provisions.
The Senate bill will now head to the Senate Tax Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The House bill will follow a similar path, heading to the House Tax Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Each bill will then travel to its respective body for a vote. After that, the conference committee process will begin. This process will take a few weeks to unfold, so we do not expect the House and Senate to begin working out the differences until the end of April/beginning of May.
Dates to remember
- April 5- 10: Legislative break.
- April 19: State of the State address.
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of March 20, 2023
Joint budget targets
This week, Governor Walz, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, and House Speaker Melissa Hortman agreement on overall budget targets. These targets provide details to finance committees on how much money is available to spend in their respective omnibus budget bills. These budget targets are an outline. It is up to the committee chairs to finalize details on how to allocate their slice of the budget.
The budget target for K-12 education is set at $2.514 billion for the FY24-25 biennium, $300 million of this is allocated for early education. $3.3 billion is the target for the FY26-27 biennium. Based on information shared at the press conference, tying the formula to inflation is also part of this agreement.
We expect to see the details of the House and Senate budget bills sometime Monday.
Committee hearings – week of March 20, 2023
House Education Finance
The committee reviewed the Omnibus Education Policy Bill. The provisions of this bill will be rolled into the education appropriations bill next week.
The committee heard two other bills of interest to MACTA. The first expands the CTE consortium grants statewide and increases funding by $5 million per-year. The committee also heard a bill to allow school districts to receive grants from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency’s challenge program. This program provides funding to organizations for a variety of activities, including new construction or rehabilitation of existing housing.
Lastly, the committee heard bills addressing course and credit requirements (personal finance, ethnic studies, holocaust studies).
Dates to remember
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of March 13, 2023
The budget-setting process will begin to unfold
With the release of the February budget forecast, the legislature must now decide how to allocate the funds toward a two-year state budget. The first step in this process is for the House and Senate leaders to determine committee budget targets, which break down how much finance committees can expect to appropriate for their budget bills. We expect the leaders to announce these targets soon. Once the committee chairs have their targets, they will work quickly to meet the April 4 finance bill deadline.
Universal meals bill signed into law Friday
The bill to provide universal free meals became law Friday, March 17. Last Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill, which included language to hold compensatory pupil counts at the FY24 level for one year, on a bipartisan vote of 38-26. The House quickly agreed to the Senate changes, repassed the bill, and sent it to the Governor for his signature.
Governor's revised budget plan
With the release of the updated budget forecast, Governor Walz announced the revised "One Minnesota Budget" this week. The Governor announced some changes to the E12 education funding recommendations, most notably on compensatory and the timeline to begin eligibility for unemployment insurance for hourly school employees. Here is a link to his updated education recommendations.
The proposal to change the compensatory formula includes the following:
- Simplifies the funding formula by using pupils identified as eligible for free or reduced-price meals via direction certification as the new count to calculate the revenue per building.
- Creates a building concentration factor comparing pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals via direct certification to total fall enrollment.
- Establishes a building compensatory allowance calculated by multiplying the building concentration factor by a statewide compensatory allowance.
- Establishes a statewide compensatory allowance in FY25 that creates stability in transitioning to the new formula compared to FY24 statewide compensatory revenue; this allowance increases annually by the same percentage as the general education basic formula allowance.
- Allows for the allocation of additional compensatory revenue in FY25 through FY27 if the statewide sum of the building formulas does not reach a minimum allocation.
The Governor also revised the implementation timeline for his proposal to extend unemployment insurance to hourly school employees to begin this summer rather than FY25.
In last week's update, I provided information on legislation advancing to make changes to PELRA. Attached is a letter outlining concerns the education organizations sent to the authors of the bill and House and Senate leadership. Ed Orgs Response to HF1690-SF1632-FINAL.pdf
Committee hearings – week of March 13, 2023
Senate Education Policy
The committee heard legislation allowing students to earn elective credits through employment with healthcare providers. The committee also heard bills to increase teacher preparation time and provide funding to school districts for literacy instruction, also known as the Read Act.
Senate Education Finance
The committee heard a slate of bills to address school district property taxes – one to increase local optional revenue, and two others to increase equalization for operating and debt service referendum. The committee also heard bills outlining standards if a district performs active shooter drills, require an hour of personal safety instruction, and establish a new Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
The committee also reviewed the Governor’s E12 budget bill. Here is a link to district runs showing the aid and levy impact on individual school districts.
House Education Finance
The committee reviewed the Governor’s E12 budget bill and bills to provide funding for teacher time to fill out due process forms, American Indian education, create a special education teacher pipeline and establish a new Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The committee also heard the bill to increase the per-pupil formula by 20%, require districts to negotiate class size with its teachers and establish class size ratios for each grade if no other collective bargaining agreement is reached.
House Education Policy
The committee heard bills to outline standards if a district performs active shooter drills, require climate justice instruction, more discussion on civics, and add a requirement to state statute for schools to offer education on the Holocaust and other genocides in the middle and high school curriculum.
Dates to remember
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break.
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of March 6, 2023
Halfway Point of Session
Committees worked overtime this week to hear bills before the March 10 deadline, which means bills must have been heard in their house of origin to continue. The number of bills that can advance is now narrowed down significantly.
The next deadline, March 24, will come fast. The policy committees will continue to meet as they hear policy bills that met the first deadline. The finance committees will focus on putting together their budget bills behind the scenes in anticipation of having them out in time to meet the April 4deadline. Leadership has not yet established budget targets, but leadership and committee chairs have been discussing these targets privately.
Universal meals bill advances in the Senate
The bill to provide universal free meals is one step closer to becoming. The Senate Finance Committee passed the bill to the Senate floor this week. To address concerns, the committee adopted an amendment to hold compensatory pupil counts at the FY24 level for one year. This is a temporary fix as policymakers continue to work on a longer-term solution.
Bill making various changes to PELRA advances
Legislation is advancing to make changes to PELRA (HF1690/SF1633). Provisions include:
- Changing the terms and conditions of employment to include negotiating class size, staff ratios, and testing calendars.
- Reducing the probationary period from 120 to 90 days in a 170-day period.
- Requiring districts to negotiate with the union on e-learning days
- Requiring access to the union for employees, buildings, and data
- Adding part-time, seasonal staff to the definition of “teacher” to allow for union membership
The path for this legislation is circuitous - some provisions are included in either the House or Senate omnibus education policy bills, and some may or may not be traveling in other omnibus bills. As these provisions advance, we will be raising concerns about their impact.
House and Senate Omnibus Education policy bills advance
This week the House and Senate Education Policy Committees advanced their respective policy bills. While there are many similarities between the House and Senate bills, there are differences between each bill on credit requirements, teacher licensure, and changes to PELRA. Summaries of both bills are attached.
Note that as of now the House omnibus education policy bill does not include the removal of the Tier 2 to Tier 3 pathway. That bill is in the jurisdiction of the House Education Finance Committee so I expect to see this proposal in their budget bill which will come out later in the month.
The Senate is advancing a stand-alone omnibus policy bill, while the House will roll its policy bill into an omnibus education finance bill later in the month. The process will be a little confusing for a few weeks, but eventually, it will all come together in a conference committee where they work out their differences.
Committee hearings of interest – week of March 6, 2023
House Education Finance
The committee heard several PELSB bills (removing barriers to teacher licensure, and removing a pathway from Tier 2 to Tier 3) and a bill establishing teacher residency grants.
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement
This week the commission took public testimony on the TRA proposal to provide a benefit improvement for teachers (legislation has not yet been introduced). The committee also received an overview of another TRA pension benefit bill.
Bills introductions of interest
SF2575: Providing grants to aspiring educators; establishing an endowment; appropriating money.
SF2684: Governor’s E12 education funding recommendations.
HF2588: Requiring a school district to grant secondary credit for postsecondary courses outside the school year; appropriating money.
Dates to remember
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break.
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of February 27, 2023
February budget forecast released
On Monday, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the February forecast, providing legislators with information on how much money will be available when crafting the next two-year budget. This forecast showed the $17.6 billion surplus predicted in November shrunk slightly to $17.5 billion. Remember, this new forecast includes inflation on the spending side of the budget. Without inflation, the surplus would be $19 billion.
First committee deadline
The number of bill introductions, hearings, and passage of bills continues at an unprecedented pace, more than double the average for the past ten years. Things will slow down a bit after the March 10 committee deadline, where committees must act favorably on bills in their house of origin. These deadlines, determined by the House and Senate leadership, help narrow what bills advance through the session. If legislation with policy implications has not received a hearing by next Friday, it will be difficult for bills to move forward if they did not meet the first deadline.
Committee hearings – week of February 27, 2023
This week the education policy committees had full agendas. Notably, they heard several controversial bills that garnered a lot of testimony with concerns from stakeholders.
Specifically, the Senate Education Finance committee held a two-hour-long hearing on the bill to remove a pathway from Tier 2 to Tier 3. MACTA provided excellent testimony as to why this proposal will harm CTE. We are working with others to address concerns and are hopeful we can make changes to address our concerns.
Both the policy committees have mostly wrapped up hearing individual bills and will shift to moving their respective omnibus policy bills out of committee next week. Below is a summary of other hearings of interest to you or impacting CTE.
Senate Education Policy
In addition to the pathway bill, the committee heard two other PELSB bills – changes to the PELSB board and removing barriers to licensure. The committee also heard legislation to create a teacher residency pilot program and two bills (SF901 and SF242) to add personal finance as a graduation requirement.
The committee also heard a bill proposing changes to PELRA. Provisions include adding class size, staff ratios, and student testing calendars to the terms and conditions of employment, requiring districts to negotiate the number of e-learning days, changes to the number of days for teaching service to count for probationary status, and new requirements to provide detailed personnel data to the union.
House Education Policy
The committee also heard bills to change PELRA and increase teacher preparation time. Lastly, the committee heard bills to add new graduation requirements -- civics (the committee adopted an amendment to allow students to take the course in grades 10, 11, or 12), personal finance, and ethnic studies.
Bill introductions of interest
SF2058: Appropriating money for career and technical education consortium grants.
SF2358: Requiring a school district to grant secondary credit for postsecondary courses outside the school year.
SF2368: Appropriating money for teacher licensure application fees and background checks.
SF2442: Requiring Holocaust and genocide education in social studies curriculum for middle and high school students; creating a Holocaust and Genocide Education Task Force; requiring a report; appropriating money.
HF2497: Governor’s budget recommendations.
Dates to remember
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin.
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of February 20, 2023
Minnesota Legislature gets a snow day
On Tuesday, the House and Senate passed a joint resolution to recess until Monday, canceling committee hearings for the rest of the week and floor sessions. The decision came following predictions of nearly two feet of snow and high winds that leaders feared would endanger lawmakers, staff, and the public commuting to the Capitol.
Inflation added to the state budget forecast
In 2002, the state faced significant budget deficits, so lawmakers removed inflation from the spending side of the budget forecast to help balance the budget. Minnesota is one of the few states that does not include inflation in its budget forecast. That is all set to change with HF 35/SF46, which adds inflation to the spending side of the state budget forecast. This week the legislature voted for the bill and sent it to Governor Walz for approval. The governor signed the bill, which goes into effect immediately. This comes just ahead of the release of the February budget forecast on Monday, which will tell lawmakers what money is available for the two-year budget due at the end of the session.
Committee hearings – week of February 20, 2023
The committee schedule was light this week because of weather cancellations. Because of the cancellations, next week will be a full week of bill hearings.
The Senate Education Finance committee heard our bill to increase funding for career and technical education. It was a great hearing with bipartisan support for the bill.
Next week the Senate Education Policy Committee is hearing SF1477, which removes a pathway for a Tier 2 teacher to move up to Tier 3. There is a lot of concern about this bill, and we will be providing testimony in opposition to these changes.
Bills introductions of interest
HF2042, Appropriating money for career and technical education consortium grants.
Dates to remember
- February 27: February forecast released.
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin.
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break.
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session.
Legislative Update--Week of February 13, 2023
On Thursday, the full Senate took up the confirmation of Willie Jett II to serve as Commissioner of Education. The Senate Education Policy committee had unanimously endorsed his confirmation, but there was more debate on the Senate floor. Some Republican senators expressed frustration over policy provisions the governor is advancing and more discussion on the Feeding our Future investigation. The Senate ultimately voted to confirm him 51-13.
The Department of Minnesota Management and Budget will release an updated budget forecast on February 27. This forecast will provide the most up-to-date budget outlook that legislative leaders and the governor will use to craft the two-year state budget. Notably, the January monthly budget update showed that revenue coming in to the general fund exceeded expectations by $270 million.
CTE issues moving forward
On Tuesday, February 21, the Senate Education Finance Committee will hear the bill to increase CTE funding. SF108, authored by Senator Grant Hauschild, proposes to increases career and technical revenue from 35 to 50 percent of eligible expenditures.
We have the same lineup of testifiers as the House hearing - MACTA president Troy Haugen Mike Harvey, Superintendent at Zumbrota-Mazeppa Public Schools, Joshua Munoz an agriculture teacher at Como High School, and Tom Appel, Executive Director at MN Association of Agriculture Educators.
If you’d like to watch the hearing, click here on the morning of the hearing and search for the Senate Education Finance Committee.
Other committee hearings of interest – week of February 6, 2023
House Education Finance and House Higher Education Finance and Policy
The House Education Finance and House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee held a joint hearing to hear an overview of linking K-12 schools and higher education institutions with workforce community partnerships.
House Education Policy
The committee heard several bills related to teacher licensure. The first bill, HF1257, attempts to remove barriers to entering the teaching workforce by making changes to testing requirements, adding additional exemptions to receive a Tier I license, and implementing a short-call substitute pilot project. The second bill adds two teachers to the PELSB board, eliminates the position of a human resources director to serve on the board and makes changes to the portfolio process.
The last bill, which was the most controversial, removes the option that allows Tier 2 teachers who have taught for three years and who had positive evaluations, to obtain a Tier 3 license. The committee adopted an amendment to allow current Tier 2 teachers to use their Tier 2 experience to obtain a Tier 3 license until December 31, 2026.
Jamie Anderson, a hospitality careers teacher in the Anoka Hennepin School District STEP program, provided excellent testimony on the impact this would have on CTE teachers.
The committee took no action and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in their omnibus policy bill. There is still time to influence the outcome so look for an advocacy alert later next week.
Legislative Update--Week of February 6, 2023
The fast pace of the session does not show any signs of slowing down. The record number of bill introductions continues, and a closer examination of the numbers tells the full story. By the end of the fourth week of the session, the House and Senate outpaced the average number of bill introductions three-fold. As of Thursday, the House has introduced 1,582 bills, and the Senate has introduced 1,526 bills.
This has been accompanied by late-night/early-morning floor sessions and Friday Committee hearings usually reserved for the end of the session. The unseasonably early push to pass high-priority items through the legislative process contrasts with the typical end-of-session push. Lawmakers are not procrastinating, but time will tell if they maintain this momentum throughout the session.
Thursday evening, the House passed HF4, legislation to fund universal school meals for all students attending school districts participating in the free school meals program. The Senate companion is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee and then a vote by the full Senate.
CTE issues moving forward
This week the House Education Finance Committee heard legislation to increase funding for career and technical education. HF1082, authored by Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, proposes to increases career and technical revenue from 35 to 50 percent of eligible expenditures.
MACTA president Troy Haugen provided a good overview of CTE programs in Minnesota. Testimony was also provided by Mike Harvey, Superintendent at Zumbrota-Mazeppa Public Schools, Joshua Munoz an agriculture teacher at Como High School, and Tom Appel, Executive Director at MN Association of Agriculture Educators. It was a great hearing and there was a good article in Session Daily about the bill hearing.
Other committee hearings of interest – week of February 6, 2023
House Education Finance
The House Education Finance Committee had a packed agenda this week. First, the committee heard the bill to extend unemployment insurance to hourly school employees. The committee adopted an amendment to provide $161 million annually in ongoing funding. The bill is still silent on how school districts cover contract costs for contractors that pass on their additional UI costs in their contracts. We are working on getting these costs covered. The bill has several more stops before it goes to the full House for a vote. The Senate companion has yet to receive a committee hearing.
The committee also heard a bill to allow extended time revenue for pupils enrolled in career and technical education courses.
House Education Policy
The House Education Policy committee heard an overview from MDE on the education policy bill and received an update from PELSB on their legislative priorities.
Several bills related to teacher licensure were on the agenda, but no testimony or action was taken. One bill is especially concerning. HF1224 eliminates the provision that allows Tier 2 teachers who have taught for three years to obtain a Tier 3 license. This bill will be heard in the committee this week and MACTA will be testifying in opposition to the bill.
Dates to remember
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin.
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of January 31, 2023
In my last update, I mentioned that the pace was picking up rapidly with the session. That was an understatement. This week proved to move at an even faster pace with more high-profile bills advancing to the House and Senate floors for final passage and the Governor's signature, packed committee schedules, and a record number of bill introductions. The pace of bill introductions picked up so much that leadership is cautioning their members to slow down the number of bill introductions. As of this week, House members introduced 1,270 bills, and Senate members introduced 1,202 bills, far surpassing the number of bill introductions for this period in the last budget-setting session.
On Monday, the Senate Education Policy Committee unanimously approved the confirmation of MDE Commissioner Willie Jett - the first step in the confirmation process. The full Senate will next have to take up his confirmation.
Committee hearings – week of January 31, 2023
Pension Commission
On Monday, the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement received an update from the state pension plans. PERA and TRA provided a general update and outlined their legislative proposals.
2023 TRA Benefit Proposal Funding
House Workforce Committee
The House Workforce Committee heard the bill proposing to extend unemployment insurance to hourly school employees. The committee adopted an amendment to align the funding with the Governor’s recommendations ($161 million) with one big difference. The House proposes funding for one year only while the Governor proposed ongoing funding. MSBA testified about the need to fully fund the costs to school districts and the impact this might have for districts trying to fill summer positions. The private school bus operators testified about the need to provide funding for the increased costs that could pass onto school districts. The bill was sent to the House Education Finance Committee.
The bill will be heard in the House Education Finance Committee this coming Tuesday evening. MASBO will be testifying on the need for full funding and other impacts for school districts.
Senate Education Finance
The Senate Education Finance Committee received an overview of the Governor’s budget recommendations and an overview of the importance of early learning.
The committee heard legislation to allow school boards to renew a referendum by board vote. An amendment was adopted requiring board members to take a recorded roll call vote, and then the bill was passed and sent to the Senate Elections committee.
Senate Education Policy
The committee heard numerous bills relating to American Indian regalia or objects of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies, lead testing requirements, and the Teachers of Color Act.
House Education Finance
The House Education Finance Committee heard bills to fully fund the special education and the English learner cross-subsidies. The committee also heard legislation to allow school boards to renew a referendum by board vote. This bill passed the committee and was sent to the House Elections committee. Additionally, a bill to provide funding for student support personnel aid (an amendment to allow this funding to retain staff was adopted.
House Education Policy
The House Education Policy committee heard an overview of graduation standards and held an informational hearing on barriers to providing educational options and flexibility for student learning. The committee also heard bills to delay the physical education standards, allow high school students to earn elective credits through employment with health care providers, and require paraprofessional paid orientation.
Bills introductions of interest
HF1082, Increasing career and technical revenue.
HF1138, Establishing a pilot program for a teacher residency grant.
HF1178, Repealing requirement to retire type III vehicles after 12 years.
HF1203, Modifying membership of the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board; appropriating money.
HF1220, Modifying the world's best workforce performance measures.
HF1224, Making changes to tiered licensure.
HF1257, Removing barriers to teacher licensure.
HF1267, Modifying hours of instruction requirements and e-learning requirements; allowing districts to offer full-time online instruction.
HF1268, Making changes to teacher licensure and teacher preparation programs.
HF1269, MDE policy bill
Dates to remember
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin.
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of January 23, 2023
The pace of session is picking up rapidly. A record number of bills have been introduced so far, many bills are already headed to their respective bodies for passage, and committees are increasing the number of bills on their calendars.
The Senate is also taking up confirmation hearings of Governor Walz's cabinet members much earlier than usual. Monday the Senate Education Committee will take up MDE Commissioner Will Jett's confirmation. His confirmation will then advance to the Senate floor for a vote by the full Senate.
Walz Budget details unveiled
Governor Walz unveiled the details of his budget recommendations for the 2023-2024 biennium on January 24. The total budget expenditure is $65.2 billion, with an additional $8 billion in tax cuts. Most of the record-shattering $17.6 billion budget surplus will be spent with these proposals, but the recommendations also include leaving $1.3 billion on the bottom line.
Regarding the E-12 education budget, the governor recommends an additional $13 billion over the biennium for education. Highlights include a 4% and 2% per-pupil formula increase, tying the formula to inflation (capped at 3%), reducing the special education and ELL cross-subsidies, universal free meals, funding for student support personnel, expansion of public PreK programs, and the creation of a new Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Attached is a full summary of the E-12 education budget recommendations but below are highlights that are of interest to or impacting career and technical education. More details will be available when the recommendations are introduced as legislation in the coming weeks. Detailed spreadsheets and district runs will also be available soon.
Career and Technical Education Access: The governor recommends $30 million starting in FY24 to support the expansion of CTE programs. Funds will be available over four years through FY27.
- $26.3 million will provide grants to school districts, charter schools, and intermediate school districts to expand or establish CTE programs.
- $2.5 million will support a statewide CTE teacher mentoring and retention project, including licensure support for Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers, and work-based learning adoption.
Proposals to address teacher and staff shortages, increasing diversity, and retention: The governor proposes several initiatives to address teacher and staff shortages.
- Expanding the current Grow Your Own (GYO) program by $6 million annually beginning in FY24.
- $1.5 million annually for GYO grants focused on early childhood educators.
- $10 million for GYO grants focused on teacher shortage areas at $10 million annually.
- $14.665 million for student-teacher stipends.
- $490,000 in FY24 and FY25 and $700,000 in FY26 and later for student scholarships to address a licensed teacher shortage in Minnesota's school-based early childhood and family education.
- $7 million FY24 to support the development of a career pathway for students interested in pursuing education-related professions.
- $1.4 million in FY24, available for up to four years, to fund the costs of first-time teacher licensing fees and licensure exams.
- $9.94 million in FY24, available for four years, to expand statewide teacher induction and mentoring programs, including sustained training for mentors, principals, and other school leaders.
Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) Funding Pilot: The governor recommends $50 million in FY24 for a pilot program to increase effective partnerships between secondary and postsecondary institutions, provide districts with up to 88% in additional ADM for students taking PSEO courses, provide greater support to students in PSEO, and to collect data to understand possible changes around the funding and structure of dual credit opportunities.
Competency-Based Education Expansion: The governor recommends$32 million in FY24 to engage a cohort of school districts, stakeholders, and partners who implement student-centered, flexible, personalized, and competency-based practices. Funds will provide grant awards to expand successful practices.
Committee hearings – week of January 23, 2023
The Senate Education Policy Committee heard bills addressing student discipline, adding civics as a graduation requirement, and expanding extended time revenue for career and technical education programs offered outside of the regular school day.
The Senate Education Finance Committee heard bills to provide funding for student support personnel (amended to allow districts to use funds to retain staff hired with federal funds during the pandemic), another student discipline bill (which also provides funding staff training), a bill to provide universal meals, and the bill to fund access to menstrual products in school buildings.
The House Education Policy Committee heard the Teacher of Color Act, legislation addressing student discipline, and a bill prohibiting malicious and sadistic conduct.
The House Education Finance Committee heard bills to provide universal meals and the bill to fund access to menstrual products in school buildings.
Bills introductions of interest
SF680: Modifying provisions for teacher preparation time.
SF618: Requiring a civics course as a graduation requirement.
HF651: Requiring a personal finance class for high school graduation.
HF652: Modifying teacher shortage reporting requirements.
Dates to remember
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin.
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body.
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of January 16, 2023
It's hard to believe we've only finished the third week of the legislative session. With the speed and intensity with which things are moving feel like we should be much closer to the bill deadline time. Both the House and Senate have introduced bills at a record pace and many high-profile bills are advancing quickly.
Budget and revenue update
The $17.6 billion budget surplus, the largest in state history, continues to grow. The Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) office found that net general fund receipts for November and December of 2022 were $217 million more than forecast in November. In February, MMB will release an updated forecast which lawmakers will rely on to create the two-year budget.
Governor’s “One Minnesota Budget Plan”
This week, Governor Walz unveiled the first two parts of his four-part budget plan. The first piece proposes to allocate $12 billion over the next four years for increased investments in education, children, and families. The second part of the budget unveiled this week focuses on the economy. The entirety of the budget plan will be released on January 24.
Below is a summary of the Governor’s education priorities but I wanted to make sure to highlight that he includes increased funding for career and technical education!
- Increasing the per-pupil formula by 4% next year, 2% the following year, and tying future increases to inflation
- Reducing the special education cross-subsidy by 50%
- Reducing the English learner cross-subsidy by 25%
- Providing universal free meals to students
- Increased funding for career and technical education
- Increased funding for school-linked behavioral health grants and intermediate school-linked behavioral health grants, early childhood mental health programs
- Funding for multi-tiered systems of support
- Literacy achievement
- Adding school support personnel
- Reducing discipline disparities
More details will be available once his budget recommendations are released on January 24. Please remember that this is the first step in the budget process and the Governor is one of three entities that will weigh in on the budget. The House and Senate will have their education funding priorities and we have time to influence their decisions regarding the funding levels to support public education.
Dates to remember
- January 24: Governor’s budget recommendations released
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Bills introductions of interest
SF448: Increasing the general education basic formula allowance by five percent per year for fiscal years 2024 and 2025; linking future formula increases to the rate of inflation.
SF476: Requiring school districts and charter schools to provide climate justice instruction; requiring a report.
HF358: Modifying social studies requirements; requiring school districts to offer a course in government and citizenship.
HF381: Making permanent a pilot scholarship program for aspiring teachers of color; establishing a special revenue fund account; modifying provisions of the teacher shortage loan repayment program.
HF613: Allowing high school students to earn elective credits through employment with certain health care providers.
Legislative Update--Week of February 9, 2023
While some high-profile issues have started to advance in the House and Senate, it was a quiet week of hearings in the education committees. Both the House and Senate education committees held more overviews and were also introduced to new Commissioner of Education, Willie Jett.
Leaders announce committee deadlines
On Thursday legislative leaders announced deadlines which bills must meet to advance through the legislative process. They also announced a short spring break.
March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin
March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body
April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills
April 5- 10: Legislative break
Committee hearings – week of 1/9/23
This week the various education-related committees were introduced to the new Commissioner of Education, Willie Jett, heard overviews on education funding, the role of MDE and PELSB.
The House Education Policy Committee heard two bills, HF5 to provide universal meals, and HF44, to provide access to menstrual products for students. Both bills were sent to the House Education Finance committee. That committee will delve more deeply into the fiscal impact of these proposals.
Bills introductions of interest
H. F. 271, A bill for an act relating to education; providing for non-exclusionary discipline
H. F. 320, A bill for an act relating to education; strengthening the Teachers of Color Act; increasing the percentage of teachers of color and American Indian teachers in Minnesota; amending the world's best workforce requirements; requiring reports; appropriating money
H. F. 321, A bill for an act relating to government data practices; limiting the educational data that may be designated as publicly available directory information; allowing private educational data to be shared with government entities having a legitimate education interest in the data
S.F. No. 163: A bill for an act relating to education finance; promoting digital well-being education and training for the health, mental well-being, and learning of all Minnesota students as it relates to the use of digital media; appropriating money for a Minnesota-based organization that collaborates with communities to promote digital well-being.
Dates to remember
- January 24: Governor’s budget recommendations released
- March 10: Committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin
- March 24: Committees must act favorably on bills, or companions of bills, that met the first deadline in the other body
- April 4: Committees must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills
- April 5- 10: Legislative break
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Legislative Update--Week of January 2, 2023
The 2023 Legislative Session Begins
The 2023 legislative session began this week with in-person floor sessions in both bodies after almost three years of virtual legislating at the Minnesota Capitol. While the floor sessions in the House were sleepy this week, the Senate spent hours Wednesday determining a proposal to allow remote voting and other administrative matters. Committees held their first committee hearings and focused on member introductions and overviews.
Democrats lay out session priorities
This week the Governor and the DFL majorities laid out their priorities for the 2023 session. All three highlighted investments in education, including special education and universal school meals as a top priority. In addition, Governor Walz indicated a high priority for him is to tie the per-pupil formula will to inflation.
Committee structure for the 23-24 biennium
Senate Education Finance chair, Sen. Mary Kunesh
Click here to see committee details
House Education Finance chair, Rep. Cheryl Youakim
Click here to see committee details
Senate Education Policy chair, Sen. Steve Cwodzinski
Click here to see committee details
House Education Policy chair, Rep. Laurie Pryor
Click here to see committee details
Dates to remember
- January 23: Governor’s budget recommendations released
- May 22: Last day of the 2023 legislative session
Bill Introductions of Interest
H. F. 105, Expanding the use of extended time to pupils enrolled in career and technical education courses