Special education study extension

The House E-12 Education Committee sent a bill to the floor that would allow completion of a study on state special education.

HF3621, sponsored by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center), would permit the Special Education Task Force to complete its work by extending its term to Feb. 15, 2009.

The task force was created during the 2007 legislative session to recommend to the Legislature how Minnesota’s special education provisions, that exceed minimum federal requirements, might be amended to conform to federal requirements or made more effective.

Sen. LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Plummer) said the task force held seven full-day meetings, instead of the planned four, reviewing approximately 119 separate statutes.

The task force has so far reviewed 73 rules, partly because of time constraints, and partly because the Department of Education was reviewing the rules at that time, Stumpf said.

Rep. Marsha Swails (DFL-Woodbury) said she was struck by a comparison to Wisconsin, which has 26 statutes. “If Wisconsin can do it, certainly Minnesota can do it,” she said.

John Guffman, a parent serving on the task force, disagrees that the state system is overregulated. “I would oppose holding ourselves out like Wisconsin, which has seven times more litigation than Minnesota,” he said.

A companion bill, SF3465, sponsored by Sen. Linda Scheid (DFL-Brooklyn Park), awaits action by the Senate Education Committee.