Four education-related bills were debated and passed by the full Senate this past week. They now move on to the House.
They cover state testing, the academic standards review process, fund transfer flexibility and short-term substitutes.
Here’s a quick overview of each of the bills and their impact on E-12 schools:
- SF628 would require schools to administer the MCAs regardless of the type of learning structure – in-person, distance or hybrid – that the school has in place (Chamberlain, R – Lino Lakes)
View SF 628 - SF 438 would suspend the Commissioner of Education’s academic standards review cycle, in an ongoing effort to play catch-up from learning, personnel, funding, and enrollment losses caused by the pandemic.(Chamberlain, R – Lino Lakes)
View SF 438 - SF710 would expand the current authority school districts have for fund transfer flexibility this year and allow them to redirect revenues coming into the district. (Duckworth, R- Lakeville)
View SF 710 - SF819 would create a pilot program for short-call substitute teachers, in order to increase the amount of substitute teachers eligible to enter classrooms, addressing the long growing deficit of available substitute teachers.This bill has faced some opposition from other members of the Senate Education Finance and Policy Committee, such as Sen. Chuck Wiger (DFL, Maplewood), who has previously argued that is it important uphold a high standard of quality for professionals who interact with our students. The bill allows candidates who can attain a Tier 1 paraprofessional license in any subject to serve as a short call sub. (Dornink, R – Dodge)
View SF 819
