English language learners get high marks in omnibus ed. policy bill

An omnibus education policy bill with an emphasis on improving the academic success of English language learners and fostering the study of foreign languages received a passing grade from the House.

Passed 82-39 as amended Friday night, HF2397 now goes to the Senate where Sen. Patricia Torres Ray (DFL-Mpls) is the sponsor.

The policy bill contains provisions dealing with teacher preparation, teacher licensure and student expectations, with a focus of providing better educational outcomes for English language learners.

“These students really struggle,” said Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul), the bill sponsor and chair of the House Education Policy Committee. “The great news is we know how to do a better job.”

The bill would also establish voluntary state bilingual and multilingual seals to recognize high school graduates who demonstrate high proficiency in speaking, reading and listening in one or more languages in addition to English. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system would award foreign language credits to students who receive a bilingual or multilingual seal beginning in the 2015-2016 school year.

One provision in the bill that became a focus of House floor debate was the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children. The bill contains a provision that would allow Minnesota to join the compact

The compact assists children of active-duty military families when changes in deployment force them to switch schools. It seeks to create a uniform interstate policy concerning the transfer of education records, immunization history and other pertinent information. Forty-seven states are already in the compact.

Another provision debated on the floor would direct the Board of Teaching to adopt rules for initial teacher licensure that requires individuals to pass a reading, writing, and math skills exam or attain an equivalent composite score on the ACT Plus Writing test or the SAT test.

To get a teaching license now, an individual must pass a reading, writing and math skills exam. The board is currently allowed to issue up to two temporary one-year teaching licenses to otherwise qualified candidates who have not yet passed the skills exam or attained the necessary composite test score.

Mariani said that as many as a quarter of teacher candidates are failing the skills test. “We think it’s a good, powerful way of addressing this issue.”

Rep. Mark Uglem (R-Champlin) successfully amended the bill to have the Minnesota State High School League review playoff and championship data for member schools and conferences throughout the state to determine how to make tournament structure and activities more competitive. A report would be due the Legislature by Feb. 15, 2015.

Staying with the sports theme, a provision allowing the Chaska School District to begin the 2015-2016 school year prior to Labor Day is in the bill. The one-time early start is sought in anticipation of the 2016 Ryder Cup Matches being played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska.