KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
     underscored = new language to be added

H.R. No. 4, as introduced: 82nd Legislative Session (2001-2002) Posted on February 8, 2001

  1.1                          A house resolution 
  1.2             congratulating Minnesota's charter schools. 
  1.3      
  1.4      WHEREAS, ten years ago, Minnesota became the first state in 
  1.5   the nation to enact legislation allowing the creation of charter 
  1.6   schools, which have prompted innovation and new choices in 
  1.7   public education and new opportunities for students; and 
  1.8      WHEREAS, under the law, the role of public school boards 
  1.9   was transformed from merely delivering public education services 
  1.10  to purchasing services, setting goals, measuring performance, 
  1.11  and enforcing accountability; and 
  1.12     WHEREAS, charter schools are independent public schools 
  1.13  where teachers and parents have autonomy regarding budget, 
  1.14  staffing, curriculum, and teaching methods; and where public 
  1.15  school funding follows the student to the charter school; and 
  1.16     WHEREAS, City Academy, the nation's first operating charter 
  1.17  school, opened in St. Paul in September 1992; and 
  1.18     WHEREAS, since the Minnesota Legislature passed the first 
  1.19  charter school law, 36 states and the District of Columbia have 
  1.20  passed laws authorizing charter schools, and some 1,700 charter 
  1.21  schools serve about 350,000 students around the nation; and 
  1.22     WHEREAS, charter school successes have included better 
  1.23  student performance for students with special needs, as well as 
  1.24  high levels of satisfaction among students, teachers, and 
  2.1   parents; and 
  2.2      WHEREAS, Minnesota's charter school law has taken a 
  2.3   balanced approach by encouraging growth of charter schools while 
  2.4   holding them accountable; and 
  2.5      WHEREAS, in October 2000, the Minnesota charter school law 
  2.6   was named a winner in the Innovations in American Government 
  2.7   Awards Program, of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard 
  2.8   University, and was among only ten recipients of one of the 
  2.9   nation's most prestigious public service awards; and 
  2.10     WHEREAS, the award also includes a $100,000 grant that will 
  2.11  be used to increase public awareness of charter schools and to 
  2.12  encourage replication by other states; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.13     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State 
  2.14  of Minnesota that it extends recognition and gratitude to the 
  2.15  many persons who have contributed to the birth, growth, and 
  2.16  success of charter schools: 
  2.17     The members of the 1991 Minnesota Legislature, especially 
  2.18  the chief authors of 1991 S.F. 630 and H.F. 773, Senator Ember 
  2.19  Reichgott Junge and Representative Becky Kelso and co-author 
  2.20  Senator Gen Olson; 
  2.21     The governors who gave their steadfast support to the 
  2.22  charter school initiative, Governor Rudy Perpich and Governor 
  2.23  Arne Carlson; 
  2.24     The legislative staff members and department personnel who 
  2.25  labored long to work out the details of the legislation; 
  2.26     The sponsors and school districts who have had the courage 
  2.27  and commitment to back charter schools; 
  2.28     The charter school educators, administrators, and parents 
  2.29  whose valuable, innovative, and committed work has turned a 
  2.30  legislative hope into reality; and 
  2.31     The many organizations throughout the country who work 
  2.32  toward education reform to ensure the best possible education 
  2.33  for all children.