ST. PAUL, MN – Lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the K-12 Education budget bill last night by a vote of 78 to 56. Pending a vote in the Minnesota Senate, the legislation is on its way to Governor Mark Dayton’s desk to be signed into law.
The budget funds statewide all-day Kindergarten, invests $40 million in early learning scholarships, and adds $234 million on the per-pupil formula, or roughly $156 per pupil.
The investments are designed to meet ambitious goals that include closing the achievement gap, reaching a 100 percent high school graduation rate, 100 percent literacy by third grade, and 100 percent career and college readiness by graduation.
In addition to making vital new investments, the budget includes reforms to student assessments and teacher licensure to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent as effectively as possible.
“Frankly, we’ve put our children’s education on the backburner for far too long,” said Rep. Jason Metsa (DFL—Virginia). “This bill takes serious steps to fix that problem. We’re making long overdue investments that are paired with strong accountability measures to make sure taxpayers get the most bang for their buck. It’s exactly what we need to do to build a stronger economy.”
The bill’s historic investments are a sharp contrast from education bills of the past decade. As Minnesota remained trapped in a cycle of perpetual deficits, the fiscal burden fell on the backs of students and schools in the form of painful budget cuts. As a result, a number of school districts cut back to four-day school weeks. Even more alarming, Minnesota slipped from the top 10 in funding to 22nd and now ranks 47th in the nation in classroom sizes.
Reforms to student assessments and diagnostics, teacher licensure, and integration initiatives included in the bill are key to making sure the new investments deliver meaningful results and improved outcomes.
For example, the bill replaces the GRAD exam with career and college readiness entrance exams. Students will take these new tests beginning in middle school to provide parents and kids with important diagnostics to empower them with early planning for their career goals and success in learning.
The bill takes evidence into account that suggests the current Minnesota Teacher Licensure Exam (MTLE) has kept talented teachers out of our classrooms. Teachers and stakeholders have stated time and again that the MTLE’s basic skills test is extremely problematic and results in high failure rates, large expenditures on test taking, and eventual joblessness due to continual failure.
The bill recognizes this problem and renews the availability of temporary teaching licenses for those who cannot pass the basic skills test. It also establishes a task force to recommend a high quality alternative way to assess a teacher candidate’s skills.
The K-12 bill also contains a new strategy to close the revenue equity gap and reduce property taxes. The budget enhances the equity formula guaranteeing all districts at least $300 per student of equity and referendum revenue, includes a new Student Achievement Levy and raises and indexes operating referendum levy equalization factors to reduce property taxes. The provisions are expected to be in the final Omnibus Tax Bill.
Rep. Metsa encourages his constituents to contact him with any questions. He can be reached by phone at (651) 296-0170, by email at rep.jason.metsa@house.mn, or by postal mail at 521 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.