The coordination of issues and efforts between House and Senate Education committee this year seems unprecedented. In most years, even when one party controls both legislative bodies, we see divergent policy and finance threads emerge very early. That’s not the case so far this year.
In fact, the two bodies have held more joint hearings than probably in several previous sessions combined. The topics between the House and Senate mirror each other. In some instances one body let the other work on an issue first, but the next week of hearings shows the other body picking up where the previous body left off. These topics include:
- MTLE reform (HF 171, HF 652)
- Integration reform (HF 247)
- All Day K with flexibility (SF 2, SF 162)
- Safe Schools levy expansion (HF 356)
- School bonding requests due to flooding (Rushford-Peterson, Moose Lake)
- Equalization requests (HF 579, SF 177)
- Standards for adult high school diplomas (HF 477)
Bullying and Accountability Reform are next in line for review. See HF 826 for the anti-bullying advocates proposal for safe and supportive schools. Nothing has been finalized on any of these topics, but these appear to be the core set of education finance and policy issues moving forward.
View the committee schedules for the week:
House Education Finance I House Education Policy I House Early Childhood and Youth Development Policy I Senate Education I Senate E-12 Budget Division