Dear Friends,
Yesterday I took part in a joint hearing of the House Education Finance and Education Innovation Policy Committees to discuss the important topic of teacher licensure. In 2011, the legislature passed a bipartisan bill requiring the Board of Teaching to streamline teacher licensure rules. For too many years, teachers coming from out of state have found it difficult to earn their Minnesota teaching license, having to jump through unnecessary hoops at great personal expense to simply continue their teaching career in Minnesota.
The 2011 law had no legal deadline, and unfortunately four years later we still haven't seen much progress on these streamlined rules. In 2015 the legislature passed, and Governor Dayton signed into law, a measure to require the Board of Teaching to produce new licensure rules by January 1, 2016. The Board of Teaching is behind schedule, and not on track to meet this statutory deadline.
If a great teacher from Iowa or South Dakota or Wisconsin wants to move to Minnesota and continue their teaching career, we should be welcoming them with open arms. We have a teacher shortage in Minnesota; dozens of school districts across the state can't find good teachers to fill openings. Kids in those districts are the ones hurt most by the teacher shortage, as they might not have the same opportunities given to kids in schools with full teaching staff.
I'm extremely disappointed that the Board of Teaching isn't following through and following the law that was passed. Streamlining the teacher licensure process and making it simpler for teachers to do what they do best is a major priority and something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
I will keep you updated if there are any developments with these rules.
Rosemount Coffee Break
On Tuesday, November 3rd, I attended the Dakota County Regional Chamber Coffee Break hosted by Rosemount Floral. Always a great opportunity to chat with local business folks and hear what's happening in our business community.
District 196 Election Results
Voters in District 196 went to the polls Tuesday, approving a proposed $180 million bond referendum which will fund various school construction, technology, and other projects by a margin of 69.02% to 30.98%
The top four school board members who will serve on the District 196 school board were Jackie Magnuson with 21.13%, Joel Albright with 18.15%, Rob Duchscher with 17.12% and Bob Schutte with 17.07%. Read a full recap of the election results in the Rosemount Town Pages by clicking here.
Veterans Day
Veterans Day is coming up next Wednesday, November 11th, when we pause to thank and remember the men and women who have served and continue to serve in our military.
Apple Valley High School will honor veterans at their 6th annual Veterans Day Recognition Ceremony starting with a social hour at 8:15am followed by the assembly at 9am. Coffee, doughnuts, and bagels provided. For more information, please click here.
There was a wonderful story about our own local hero, Apple Valley Council member, Tom Goodwin, which you can read by clicking here.
County Road 42 Detour Coming Nov. 15
County Road 42 will be closed to the east of Highway 3 in Rosemount on Sunday, November 15th starting at 10AM so Union Pacific Railroad can make repairs to the rail crossing. The road will be blocked in both directions between Highway 3 and Business Parkway. Detours will be marked. More information on the City of Rosemount website, which you can visit by clicking here.
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me at any time with your comments, questions, or concerns. Reach me by email at rep.anna.wills@house.mn or call 651-296-4306. You can also follow my updates on social media on Facebook at www.fb.com/RepAnnaWills and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AnnaCWills.
Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Anna Wills
State Representative, District 57B