Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I'd like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to you and your family!
This is an important holiday to celebrate the brave men and women who are either serving or have served our country, protecting our freedom across the globe.
Minnesota's veterans deserve our appreciation, and I would like to thank those who have served!
I hope you have a wonderful Veterans Day.
Education Hearing
On Thursday, the Education Finance and Innovation Policy committees held a joint hearing to receive an update from the Board of Teaching regarding their compliance with changes to teacher licensure laws passed earlier this year.
Streamlining out-of-state teacher licensure was an initiative I spearheaded this session, and it was signed into law as part of the Education Omnibus Bill. Under the new law, the Board of Teaching is required to adopt new rules to facilitate the licensure of out-of-state educators, or those trained in alternative preparation programs, by January 1, 2016. The Board of Teaching, which just filed its 60-day public comment period on November 2, is not expected to meet that mandated deadline.
If Minnesota wants to remain a national leader in education, we must ensure that our schools can hire the best teachers, and that includes welcoming world-class educators from across the U.S. It's disappointing that the Board of Teaching continues to drag its feet on a common sense effort to fix the teacher licensure process because this is about hiring quality, qualified teachers and providing the best education possible for our students.
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As your voice in St. Paul, if I can be of any assistance to you or your family on a matter of state government, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Kelly
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