Dear Neighbors,
School Safety
Coming into this session, we wanted to take a look at ways we could improve school safety, and pass legislation toward that end. Yesterday we took an important step in that direction with the passage of our school safety and education bill. I’ve heard from residents in our area whose top priority is improving school safety. That’s why I’m proud to support our legislation that I believe will help to strengthen security in Minnesota schools.
Some highlights of our bill include:
- Championing a multifaceted approach to give school districts the resources and flexibility they need to address student safety and security. That includes expanding the use of long-term facilities maintenance revenue for facility security upgrades, strengthening the state’s commitment to school-linked mental health grants, supporting suicide prevention training for teachers, increasing funding for Safe Schools Revenue, and more
- Strengthening and clarifying state law to address teacher misconduct and teacher licensure including prohibiting sexual relationships between educators and students, even if that student is 18; requiring periodic teacher background checks; and prohibiting the issuance or renewal of a teacher/administrative license or bus driver endorsement for certain felonies or gross misdemeanors involving a minor
- Requiring the Minnesota Department of Education to create a School Report Card —a one-stop-spot for summative and easily accessible school and district ratings that will provide families with a place to research, compare and help determine which school will work best for their child
- Enhancing the transparency of school funding and our commitment to tackling our state’s achievement gap by doubling the number of school audits each year. These audits will discern whether or not education dollars allocated to school districts and dedicated to special education, English-learner and low-income students are reaching the students intended
- Ensuring students are exposed to a wide variety of post-secondary options including the trades and branches of the military
- Strengthening laws that protect kids from school lunch shaming
- Creating a Special Education Working Group to engage stakeholders and examine the factors that are driving rising costs
Tax Conformity
Other big news from this week was the introduction of our bill that will help us conform to the federal tax code, making it easier to file taxes next year. Our proposal would provide significant tax relief for the middle class. More than 2.1 million Minnesota tax filers would see a tax cut under our plan. This stands in stark contrast to Governor Dayton’s supplemental budget plan that would raise taxes on Minnesotans of every income level. That’s a tough sell when we have a budget surplus.
Fixing the Met Council
As you know, I’ve been working to make the Metropolitan Council more accountable to Twin Cities residents. One way of doing that is by requiring Met Council members to be elected officials. This would give citizens some avenue of recourse if they disagree with what their member does on the council. Because they’re currently unelected and appointed by the sitting governor, Met Council members only need to listen to the governor, not to the people they represent.
There’s good news, though. My bill requiring Met Council members to be elected officials is part of our larger State Government Finance proposal. On top of that, our Congressman, Jason Lewis, just passed an amendment at the federal level to do this very same thing. This would put us on par with every other metropolitan planning organization in the country. It’s long overdue, and I hope to see this become law.
Please Contact Me
We have just a few weeks left in the legislative session, and I hope you will contact me with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. You can reach me at rep.tony.albright@house.mn or 651-296-5185.
Enjoy your weekend,
Tony