Session Update - Week of April 22, 2024 Happy Friday!
Please see below the most recent legislative update prepared by MASA Lobbyist Valerie Dosland. The work at the legislature continues with interesting twists and turns. We continue to lobby and advocate daily on your behalf and appreciate your advocacy efforts, as well.
We hope you have had a good week and have fun plans for the weekend!
Valiere & Deb LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Each session something comes up causing me to think “I never imagined that happening” and this session is no different. The recent arrest of a Senator Mitchell early Monday has caused some havoc on how the Senate will function over the next three weeks as well as how bills will advance amidst this controversy. We are monitoring what this means and will be navigating the political environment as best we can to ensure our education priorities continue to advance.
House and Senate Supplemental Education Budget Bills Advance With the last bill deadline past, all attention at the Legislature is now focused on advancing the various supplemental budget bills. Both the House and Senate supplemental education budget bills have passed the remaining committees having oversight over the state budget and will next be voted on by both bodies, likely next week. Then, a conference committee will need to work out the differences and agree to a final bill to send to the Governor.
Education Policy Conference Committee Makes Progress The conference committee on the Education Policy bill met this week and made some progress. The committee adopted many of the non-controversial provisions that are the same in both bills and agreed to a few provisions that were not in the Senate bill. They include:
Directs MDE to establish clear criteria for evaluating a district’s application for a four-day week and allows a district’s approved plan to be in place for six years.
Directs districts to adopt a cell phone possession and use policy by March 2025. It also requires the Elementary and Secondary Principal Associations to develop best practices and resources to schools.
The conference committee has more work to do but it is possible they could wrap up next week. Stay tuned!
Bill clarifying Paid Family Medical Leave Advances (PFML) Legislation making technical and clarifying change to the PFML law passed last session is advancing in both the House and Senate. Based on feedback from MSBA, here are some areas of concern:
Removes language requiring the Minnesota Department of Employment Economic Development (DEED) to notify an applicant and employer when an application is submitted, and financial eligibility is determined.
Removes the 480-hour cap on intermittent leave within a 12-month period.
Changes dates to November 15 each year by which the commissioner must adjust the annual premium rates.
We will continue to follow and as we can highlight concerns in these key areas. Please don't hesitate to contact either of us if you have any questions-valerie@ewald.com or deb.henton@mnasa.org
2024 SESSION BEGINS (FEB. 19, 2024) The 2024 legislative session convened on Monday, February 12. Legislators have until Monday, May 20, 2024, to finish their work. Because the legislature passed, and the Governor signed, a two-year budget during the 2023 legislative session, the focus will be on a capital investment bill, policy issues, technical fixes to last year's budget bills, and potentially a supplemental budget bill. Note: Minnesota does not have to pass a supplemental budget. Budget Forecast In December 2023, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the November forecast that projected a $2.4 billion surplus for FY24-25 but showed a structural imbalance in future fiscal years. However, monthly budget projections indicate an additional $384 million in higher-than-expected revenues for FY24. MMB will release an updated budget forecast February 28. This will give the Governor and Legislature updated budget projections and is key to whether supplemental budget proposals will advance. Note: Minnesota is not required to pass a supplemental budget. Clarification on school resource officer law kicks off the 2024 session Legislation to clarify the 2023 law that led to uncertainty for school resource officers began to advance this week in both the House and Senate. HF3489 (Fraizer)/SF3534 (Westlin) clarifies the use of prone restraint for school resource officers (SROs), establishes training requirements for SROs, policy requirements for law enforcement agencies, and contract requirements for agreements between schools district and law enforcement agencies for providing SROs. The House Education Policy Committee heard the bill the first day of the session and advanced it to the House Public Safety Committee. The House Public Safety committee heard the bill but laid it over for further consideration. The Senate Education Policy Committee also heard and passed the bill. It is scheduled for a hearing next in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. Committee hearings – week of 2/12/2024 As noted above, the House and Senate Education Policy Committees heard the SRO bill to clarify the use of prone restraint for school resource officers. The House Education Policy Committee also heard legislation to require a minimum of 15 minutes for students to eat school lunch, and legislation making changes to the PSEO. The House Education Finance Committee heard an update from the MN Department of Education on the implementation of the 2023 legislative changes. The Senate Education Finance Committee did not meet. Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines The House and Senate have adopted two committee deadlines for the 2024 session: oFriday, March 22: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on bills that are not major appropriation or finance bills. oFriday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. Legislative Recesses oEaster recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon oEid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon oPassover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon Adjournment: oMonday, May 20 Helpful Resources oTo find your legislators visit Who Represents Me oFor updates on House of Representatives activities visit the House Session Daily website oFor updates on Senate activities visit Senate Media Services oFor House Committee and Floor Session Video visit the House of Representatives YouTube Channel oFor Senate Committee and Floor Session Video visit the Senate YouTube Channel Bill introductions of note – week of 2/12/2024 **This is not intended to be a complete list of all bills introduced each week but rather a list of bills that are aligned with priorities or include significant policy changes. HF3363, Modifying hours of instruction requirements. HF3370, Modifying English learner programs and alternative education programs. HF3373, Requiring a first aid plan in schools. HF3401, Providing for student teaching grants; appropriating money. HF3424, Requiring schools to adopt a major food allergen policy. HF3472, Authorizing free school milk during the lunch meal for students who bring a lunch from home on that day. HF3476, Modifying the short-call substitute teacher pilot program. HF3489, Modifying the grounds for the use of reasonable force in schools; defining duties and establishing minimum training requirements for school resource officers; requiring the development of a school resource officer model policy. HF3492, Establishing a computer science education advancement program; authorizing rulemaking; appropriating money. HF3542, Requiring a district to adopt a policy allowing space for mental health care. HF3544, Increasing the general education basic formula allowance. HF3546, Modifying sexually transmitted infections and diseases program requirements. HF3556, Requiring a minimum time for school lunch. HF3558, Authorizing roof projects as part of the long-term facilities maintenance program; HF3595, Modifying the special education aid for unreimbursed costs to resident school districts. HF3635, Increasing special education and English learner cross subsidy aid by the increase in the Consumer Price Index. HF3682, Requiring state academic standards in health education; requiring rulemaking; appropriating money. HF3742, Requiring mental health screening for students; creating student mental health support revenue; appropriating money. HF3744/SF3698 Amending the Read Act; requiring a report; appropriating money. HF3755, Requiring physical and sexual abuse education. HF3780, Special education; modifying requirements for developmental adapted physical education assessments; requiring a report. HF3782, MDE policy bill. HF3803, Requiring stipends to be paid to student teachers. Appropriating money. HF3827, Requiring state reporting system on student attendance. HF3863, Requiring schools participating in the state school milk program to provide daily milk to students in kindergarten through grade 12; prohibiting fees for school milk. HF3882, Modifying earned sick and safe time; authorizing rulemaking. SF3476: Providing reimbursements to teachers for evidence-based reading instruction training; appropriating money. SF3478: Providing grants to public schools for capital improvements necessary to remove and replace American Indian mascots; appropriating money. SF3484: Requiring nasal opiate antagonists in certain first aid kits. SF3731: Directing the commissioner of education to amend the state's accountability plan. SF3746: Requiring state academic standards in health education; requiring rulemaking; appropriating money. Questions about the legislative session? Please contact MASA lobbyist, Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org or 651-439-7719.
Second week of the Legislative Session Update (Feb. 23, 2024)
Activity is starting to pick up the second week of the session as more bills are introduced and committees begin to hear bills to meet the first bill deadline, March 22. However, the first part of this week will be quiet as the legislature pauses to allow members to be home in the districts for precinct caucuses on February 27. On February 28, Minnesota Management and Budget will release an updated budget forecast. This will give the Governor and Legislature updated budget projections and is key to whether supplemental budget proposals advance this session. Clarification on school resource officer law continues to advance Legislation to clarify the 2023 law that led to uncertainty for school resource officers continues to advance in both the House and Senate. This week it passed out of the Senate Judiciary and House Public Safety Committees and is scheduled for its next committee stop in each body for next week. Committee hearings – week of 2/19/2024 The House Education Policy Committee heard legislation to allow districts to award credit based on a student’s mastery of a subject rather than the number of hours of instruction the student has received. The committee also heard legislation to authorize a school to implement four-day school week programs without approval by the commissioner of education. The committee laid both bills over for further consideration. The House Education Finance Committee heard presentations from school districts about the implementation of the various proposals passed during the 2023 legislation session. Topics included per pupil formula funding and tying the formula to inflation, universal school meals, student mental health supports, and career pathways. The Senate Education Policy Committee spent time hearing from students and their educational experiences. The committee also reviewed the MDE policy bill and laid it over for further consideration. The House Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee heard a bill proposing changes to the earned safe and sick time law that includes a provision impacting already agreed to contracts. Bill introductions of note – week of 2/19/2024 **This is not intended to be a complete list of all bills introduced each week but rather a list of bills that align with priorities or include significant policy changes. HF3972, Modifying the early retirement reduction factors for annuity commencement before normal retirement age; increasing employer contributions; increasing pension adjustment revenue for school districts. HF3983, Modifying uses of the special education teacher pipeline grant. HF4008, Requiring cardiac emergency response plans. HF4117, Modifying local optional revenue; including revenue for unemployment costs and family paid medical leave in local optional revenue; simplifying referendum revenue; increasing equalization aid; appropriating money SF3804: Waiving the per-credit cost of tuition for student teachers; appropriating money. SF3924: Establishing a working group on special education licensure reciprocity. SF3960: Amending ballot language relating to school district referenda. SF3974: Providing for parental notice of a student pulled out of the classroom. SF4105: Prohibiting construction of schools near former landfills; requiring notice by schools located near former landfills. SF4107: Strengthening the Increase Teachers of Color Act; making permanent a pilot scholarship program for aspiring teachers of color; establishing a special revenue fund account; appropriating money. Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines The House and Senate have adopted two committee deadlines for the 2024 session: oFriday, March 22: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on bills that are not major appropriation or finance bills. oFriday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. Legislative Recesses oEaster recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon oEid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon oPassover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon Adjournment: oMonday, May 20 Questions about the legislative session? Please contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org or 651-439-7719
Session update - week of February 26, 2024
SESSION UPDATE - WEEK OF FEBRUARY 26, 2024 Updated budget forecast On Thursday, the Office of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released the February Forecast. This updated budget forecast shows a projected $3.7 billion surplus for the FY24-25 biennium, an increase of $1.3 billion from November. This increase is the result of higher-than-expected consumer spending and corporate tax receipts. However, there is a projected structural imbalance in FY26-27 of $1.4 billion. While the news about the surplus was encouraging, Erin Campbell, MMB Commissioner, cautioned elected officials from enacting ongoing spending this year due to the structural imbalance in FY26-27. Clarification on school resource officer law continues to advance Legislation clarifying the 2023 law that led to uncertainty for school resource officers continues to advance in both the House and Senate. It will be up for a vote in the full House on Monday, March 4. It has one more Senate committee stop (yet to be scheduled) before the Senate takes up the bill. Committee hearings – week of 2/26/2024 The House Education Policy Committee heard an overview of the MDE policy bill. The House Education Finance Committee heard the bill to provide $10 million to the Building Assets, Reducing Risks Center. The committee also heard a bill to provide funding to support a new apprenticeship program established by the Intermediate School Districts. The Senate Education Policy Committee heard a bill establishing a special education licensure reciprocity working group. The committee also heard legislation to prohibit a district from constructing on land within one-quarter mile of a closed landfill or dump site. It also includes a notice provision for existing buildings built on land one-quarter mile from a closed landfill or dump site but does provide exceptions if certain conditions are met. Lastly, the committee heard legislation for school districts to provide space for mental health care if space is available. Bill introductions of note – week of 2/26/2024 **This is not intended to be a complete list of all bills introduced each week but rather a list of bills aligned with priorities or ones that include significant policy changes. SF4184: Modifying local optional revenue; including revenue for unemployment costs and paid family medical leave in local optional revenue; simplifying referendum revenue; increasing equalization aid; appropriating money. SF4188: Modifying hours of instruction requirements; amending the definition of credit; appropriating money. SF4196: Modifying the early retirement reduction factors for annuity commencement before normal retirement age; increasing employer contributions; increasing pension adjustment revenue for school districts. SF4461: Modifying the open meeting law to allow unlimited remote participation. SF4144: Increasing school district local optional revenue; indexing the local optional revenue program to the formula allowance. SF4212: Modifying requirements for developmental adapted physical education assessments; requiring a report. HF4232, Clarifying the distribution of compensatory revenue. HF4287, Modifying the requirements to fill a vacancy in the office of a school board member. HF4361, Modifying provisions for teacher licensure. HF4363, Requiring mental health instruction starting in the 2026-2027 school year. HF4373, Prohibiting book banning by public libraries and school libraries; creating a private right of action and providing for attorney general enforcement. HF4394, Requiring a gender inclusion policy. Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines The House and Senate have adopted two committee deadlines for the 2024 session:
Friday, March 22: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on bills that are not major appropriation or finance bills.
Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
Legislative Recesses
Easter recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon
Eid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon
Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon
Adjournment:
Monday, May 20
Questions about the legislative session? Please contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org, or 651-439-7719.
Session update - week of March 4, 2024
SESSION UPDATE - WEEK OF MARCH 4, 2024 With the fourth week of the session wrapping up, it was a busy week of committee hearings. The House and Senate education policy committees have been especially busy as they try to hear their priority bills by the March 22 deadline. The Senate Education Policy Committee has one more week of bill hearings. The committee will release its omnibus policy bill the week of March 18 and pass it out of the committee later that week. The House Education Policy Committee has not given a timeline on its omnibus policy bill, but I believe it is similar to the Senate. Clarification on school resource officer law passes House Legislation to clarify the 2023 law that led to uncertainty for school resource officers continues to advance. The House passed the bill on March 4 with no amendments and broad bi-partisan support (124-8). In the Senate, the bill had its last committee stop and is headed for a vote in the Senate soon. Committee hearings – week of 2/26/2024 The House Education Policy Committee heard many bills this week. The first, referred to as Read Act 2.0, passed out of committee and will be heard next in the House Education Finance Committee. The bill makes changes, including adding a mid-year screener, expanding the use of literacy incentive aid, providing some flexibility to the hours of instruction requirement for professional development during the school year, and appropriating $100 million for implementation. We continue to communicate with the authors about the need for flexible funding so districts can implement the READ Act based on local district needs. The committee also heard legislation establishing a special education licensure reciprocity working group, a bill to reduce special education paperwork by allowing a stand-alone developmental adapted physical education assessment, and a PELSB bill regarding teacher licensure. The committee also heard several bills the education organizations weighed in on with concerns. They include a bill to add performance measures to WBWF, one to require districts to report specific data on student attendance, and legislation to encourage a 250:1 student-counselor ratio. This week, the House Education Finance Committee heard from students about their educational experiences and received an overview of the career and technical education consortium grants. The committee also heard bills to expand the allowable uses of LTFMR to include roof repair and replacement for those districts that do not qualify for alternative facilities revenue, expand LTFMR and the capital loan program for energy efficiency projects, and allow the special education teacher pipeline grant to help a teacher with a Tier 3 or Tier 4 license to add a field license in special education, while still prioritizing Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers. The Senate Education Policy Committee heard legislation to allow smudging in schools, provide for mental health screening, establish state health academic standards, and the PELSB bill regarding teacher licensure. The Senate Education Finance Committee heard a presentation from the BARR Center and an overview of Long-Term Facilities Maintenance Revenue. The committee also heard legislation to provide reimbursement to school districts for lunchtime milk served to student grades K-5 who bring their lunch from home. Bill introductions – week of 3/4/2024 Bill introductions will begin to dwindle as their prospect of advancing are diminished due to the deadlines. We are on track for a record-setting number of bill introductions this biennial cycle - 4,763 bills have been introduced in the House and 4,863 bills have been introduced in the Senate to date. So far, 1,421 bills have been introduced in the House and 1501 bills in the Senate in the past month. This results in a lot of bill tracking and many hearing requests from legislators! Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines
Friday, March 22: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on bills that are not major appropriation or finance bills.
Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
Legislative Recesses
Easter recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon
Eid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon
Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon
Adjournment:
Monday, May 20
Questions about the legislative session? Contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org, or 651-439-7719
Session update - week of March 18, 2024
Session Update - Week of March 18, 2024 On Monday, March 18, Governor Walz released his supplemental budget recommendations. The last few months, the governor has expressed caution over concerns about future budget challenges and his budget recommendations reflect that. In his remarks this week, the governor said the focus this year is not on a budget — which was passed last year — but on a bonding bill. Overall, his recommendations totaled just $226 million over the next four years and included no additional increases to the E12 budget. He proposes to recapture some funding that was set-aside for VPK and recommends some budget neutral policy changes including several of note: 1) allowing school districts to retain unspent student support personnel aid in a restricted fund balance for use in subsequent fiscal years; and 2) expanding the Special Education Teacher Pipeline Program to include those teachers with a Tier 3 or Tier 4 license and adding Tribal contract schools to the list of eligible grantees. Omnibus Education Policy Bills advance This week both the House and Senate Education Policy Committees passed their respective policy bills (SF3567 and HF3782). I will provide a more detailed summary of these bills next week. Committee hearings – week of 3/18/2024 The House Education Finance Committee heard two bills to provide funding for student teachers (HF3803 and HF3401). The committee also heard a bill related to special education tuition expenses and continued the discussion on the READ Act. Rep. Edelson offered an amendment which made changes including extending the training timeline from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026. The Senate Education Finance Committee heard legislation to continue the hold-harmless for compensatory aid. The Pension Commission heard legislation to extend the earnings limitationfor retired teachers who return to work for three more years The House and Senate Elections Committees advanced their policy bills this week. Both bills include a provision amending the process for filling a school board vacancy. The provision states that an appointment to fill a vacancy that occurs less than two years prior to the expiration of the term is valid for the remainder of the unexpired term, and no special election is required. It further provides that a school board may, but is not required to, fill a vacancy that occurs less than 90 days prior to the expiration of the term. Several bills were heard in the Senate State and Local Government Committee addressing the Open Meeting Law. The first modifies the law governing virtual meetings and states that if a public body allows monitoring from a remote location, the entire meeting, including the public comment period, must be available that way. The second bill adds additional penalties for violation of open meeting requirements and requires closed meetings to be recorded. Legislation is also advancing in both the House and Senate making changes to the Public Employee Insurance Program (PEIP). Changes include allowing groups to leave PEIP if they receive a 20+ increase for renewal, an increasing the number of years to participate from two to four. Bill introductions – week of 3/18/2024 SF4995: Establishing school district seasonal tax base replacement aid SF5067: Prohibiting a school district from using a collections agency to collect unpaid school meals debt; canceling student unpaid school meals SF5094: Authorizing school district levies to pay the costs of American Indian mascot removal and replacement. SF5152: Creating a pilot project to provide school meals to students attending online school programs; SF5169: Amending requirements for a school board to publish its proceedings Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. Legislative Recesses Easter recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon Eid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon Adjournment: Monday, May 20 Questions about the legislative session? Contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org, or 651-439-7719.
SESSION UPDATE - WEEK OF MARCH 25, 2024
Session Update - Week of March 25, 2024 This week, the House, Senate, and Governor agreed to overall budget targets for the various supplemental budget bills that will be advancing later in April. The overall budget agreement totals $477.5 million over current appropriations for FY24-25. The target for K-12 education equals $43 million in FY24-25 and $18 million in FY26-27. Also included in the targets is funding for early education equaling $34.47 million in FY24-25 and $24.7 million in FY26-27. This overall budget agreement comes just after the release of Governor Walz's budget recommendations and is double what he originally proposed. The legislature is on break through noon on Tuesday, April 2 and we expect committees will begin the work of putting together their supplemental budgets shortly after returning from the break. Omnibus Education Policy Bills advance As mentioned last week, the House and Senate Education Policy Committees passed their respective policy bills (SF3567 and HF3782). The next stop will be a vote in the House and Senate, which should happen after the Easter break. Attached is a summary of key provisions in each bill. This may not be the complete picture of proposed policy changes as additional provisions are likely to be included in supplemental budget bills that will advance in the coming weeks. Committee hearings – week of 3/25/2024 The House Education Finance Committee heard legislation to establish seasonal property replacement aid, establish statewide health standards, and a bill to require a district to consult with the paraprofessional union when creating or planning paraprofessional training and requires that school employees must be paid on a day that a school alters its calendar due to a weather event if the school counts that day as an instructional day. The Senate Education Finance Committee heard the bill to establish statewide health standards, addressing changes to the Read Act, a bill advancing some recommendations of the computer science working group, and two bills (SF4106 and SF3742) concerning the permanent school fund. The Pensions Commission heard two proposals addressing teacher retirement. HF3972/SF4196changes the percentages by which a normal retirement benefit is reduced when a member elects an early retirement benefit and pays for the benefit improvement with a state-funded employer contribution increase. HF3808/SF4348 provides an unreduced early retirement annuity to TRA members upon retirement at age 62 with 30 years of service, funded by an increase in employee contributions based on years of service. Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. Legislative Recesses Easter recess: Begins on Wednesday, March 27 at 5:00 pm through Tuesday, April 2 at 12:00 noon Eid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon
Adjournment: Monday, May 20
Questions about the legislative session? Contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org or 651-439-7719.
Session update - week of April 1, 2024
With a shortened week due to the first of three legislative recesses, the Legislature held fewer committee hearings and fewer bills heard. And, as we inch closer to the April 19 budget bill deadline, we are now at the tail end of weeks of hearings. The House and Senate Education Finance Committees will roll out their supplemental budget bills the week of April 15. Senate passes Omnibus Education Policy Bill Early last week, the Senate debated and passed SF3567, the omnibus education policy bill. Several amendments of note were adopted:
Changes to the Read Act including extending the professional development timeline for reading intervention teachers, literacy specialists, etc. to July 1, 2026.
Expanding the allowable uses of student support personnel aid to include maintaining existing positions, even those established before the 2023 school year, not just those funded with ESSR funds.
The House has yet to pass the companion but is scheduled to take it up later this week. Committee hearings – week of 4/1/2024 The House Education Finance Committee heard the Governor’s budget bill. While the Governor did not recommend any new funding, his proposal allocates the $50 million set aside last session for VPK to fund an additional 5200 slots. His proposal also includes good policy provisions including 1) allowing school districts to retain unspent student support personnel aid in a restricted fund balance for use in subsequent fiscal years; and 2) expanding the Special Education Teacher Pipeline Program to include those teachers with a Tier 3 or Tier 4 license and adding Tribal contract schools to the list of eligible grantees. The Senate Education Finance Committee had a full agenda this week and heard bills to increase the per-pupil formula by 2%, increase LOR revenue and expand the eligible uses, establish student-teacher stipends, establish a teacher and paraprofessional working group, expand the eligible uses of the food service fund to include lunchroom furniture, and the bill requiring a $25 minimum wage for hourly employees and expanding from eight to 16 the required hours for paraprofessional training. Funding for the hourly pay is included but it does not recognize other costs associated with increasing the minimum pay.
Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills. Legislative Recesses Eid recess: Begins on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:00 pm through Thursday, April 11 at 12:00 noon Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon Adjournment: Monday, May 20
Questions about the legislative session? Contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org or 651-439-7719.
Session update - week of April 4, 202
The House and Senate Education Finance Committees spent the week hearing the last of their stand-alone bills and now turn their attention to advancing their respective supplemental education finance bills. The House committee meets Monday afternoon to provide committee members an overview of its bill and the Senate committee likely will meet Tuesday to do the same.
As a reminder, the overall budget target for K12 education equals $43 million in FY24-25 and $18 million in FY26-27.
House Passes Omnibus Education Policy Bill On Monday, the House passed the Omnibus Education Policy Bill on a 69-61 vote. Several amendments of note were adopted during the debate on the bill:
Permits a school district or charter school to provide parent access to a student's performance data on the MCAs.
60-day written notices to coaches when a district declines to renew a contract.
An exemption to the newspaper publication requirements for Shakopee, Jordan, Prior Lake, and Eastern Carver County school districts due to the closure of the local newspaper. Note that the Senate policy bill includes a provision to allow all districts to either publish their proceedings in a legal newspaper or on a district's website so this topic will be a discussion in the conference committee.
Due to differences between the House and Senate bills a conference committee will be appointed to work on a final bill to send to the Governor. We expect conferees to be named this week and to begin meeting soon.
Budget survey response Thanks to members who responded to the MASBO budget survey. We received 115 responses, close to 35% of all school districts. Below is a summary of responses.
Budget shortfall Thanks to everyone who responded to the budget survey put together by MASBO. Overall, respondents reported approximately $25 million in budget shortfalls. This is in addition to the AMSD districts that reported $317 million in budget shortfalls.
Uses of school library media aid
91% reported using aid for salaries and benefits for school library media specialists.
3.57% used the aid for electronic and material resources.
3.57% used the aid for furniture, equipment, and supplies.
1.79% used the aid for electronic, computer, and audiovisual equipment.
Uses of student support personnel aid
26.88% used the aid for salaries and benefits for new FTE or part-time licensed school counselors.
20.43% used the aid to backfill expiring ESSER/ARP funds whose positions are ending for licensed school social workers.
19.35% used the aid to backfill expiring ESSER/ARP funds whose positions are ending for licensed school counselors.
17.25% used the aid for salaries and benefits for new FTE or part-time licensed school social workers.
5.38% used the aid for salaries and benefits for new FTE or part-time licensed school psychologists.
4.3% used the aid for salaries and benefits for new FTE or part-time licensed school nurses.
4.3% used the aid to backfill expiring ESSER/ARP funds whose positions are ending for licensed school nurses.
1.08% used the aid to backfill expiring ESSER/ARP funds whose positions are ending for licensed school chemical dependency counselors.
1.08% used the aid to backfill expiring ESSER/ARP funds whose positions are ending for licensed school psychologists.
The most common reason why a district was not able to this funding was 1) the lack of available applicants, and 2) the $40,000 minimum was insufficient.
Omnibus Pensions Bill advances Early last week, the Pension Commission finalized the omnibus pension bill. This bill makes four changes related to teacher pensions:
Moves up the effective date of a change made last session to lower the normal retirement age at which a Tier II member (a member who joined TRA after June 30, 1989) can retire with an unreduced pension from 66 to 65. The current July 1, 2025, effective date is changed to July 1, 2024.
Lowers the employee contribution rate for members of St. Paul Teachers by 0.25% of salary for June 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
Extends by an additional three years the suspension of earnings limitation for retired teachers who return to employment.
Reduces the established date for full funding of TRA from June 30, 2053, to June 30, 2048.
Earned Safe and Sick Time (ESST) Provisions Advance The Senate Labor Committee advanced its omnibus policy and funding bill. Included in the bill are the changes to the ESST provisions we put a call to action out earlier this week. The provision causing us the most concern is to extend the requirements of ESST to locally negotiated leave benefits. We expect the House companion, which comes out this week, to include the same provision.
If you have not had a chance yet, please click here to send a message to your elected officials sharing concerns.
House Passes Omnibus Elections Policy Bill On Monday, the House passed the Omnibus Elections Policy bill which includes a provision regarding school board special elections. This provision allows an appointment to fill a vacancy on a school board that occurs less than two years before the expiration of the term, requiring no special election. There is one exception to require a special election if a vacancy occurs due to the removal of a school board member.
Dates to Remember Committee Deadlines Friday, April 19: Committees in both bodies must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
Legislative Recesses Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon
Adjournment: Monday, May 20 Questions about the legislative session? Contact Valerie Dosland at valeried@ewald.com or 612-490-3052, or Deb Henton at deb.henton@mnasa.org, or 651-439-7719.
Session Update - Week of April 15, 2024
With the Friday, April 19 deadline for budget bills, the committees spent the week moving forward with their respective supplemental budget bills. With the deadline past, the legislature begins the last of its recesses and will be away until noon on April 24. When they return, the House and Senate will focus on passing their respective supplemental budget bills, appointing conference committees to resolve differences to send a final budget package to the Governor.
Supplemental Education Funding Bills Advance Attached is a summary of the key provisions of the House and Senate supplemental spending bills. The bills have more committee stops before the full House and Senate take them up. And, because differences will need to be resolved, a conference committee will also have to be appointed to come to a final agreement to send to the Governor in the coming weeks.
Education Policy Bills Head to Conference Committee The policy conference committee will begin meeting on April 24. Conference committee appointees are Rep. Laurie Pryor, Rep. Josiah Hill, and Rep. Peggy Bennett for the House and Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, Sen. Erin Maye Quade, and Sen. Jim Abeler for the Senate.
Senate Passes Omnibus Elections Policy Bill On Monday, the Senate passed the Omnibus Elections Policy bill that includes the provision to allow an appointment to fill a vacancy on a school board that occurs less than two years before the expiration of the term, requiring no special election. There is one exception to require a special election if a vacancy occurs due to the removal of a school board member. Because the House and Senate bills are different, a conference committee will begin meeting soon to reach a final agreement.
Earned Safe and Sick Time (ESST) Provisions Advance As mentioned in last week’s update, the Senate Labor Committee advanced its omnibus policy and funding bill that included the changes to the ESST provisions we put a call to action out earlier. The provision causing us the most concern is to extend the requirements of ESST to locally negotiated leave benefits. The House omnibus policy and labor bill did not include the ESST provisions. Instead, a stand-alone bill is awaiting a vote in the full House. If you have not had a chance yet, please click here to send a message to your elected officials sharing concerns.
Dates to Remember Passover recess: Monday, April 22 through Wednesday, April 24 at 12:00 noon Adjournment:Monday, May 20
Session Update - Week of APril 22, 2024
Happy Friday!
Please see below the most recent legislative update prepared by MASA Lobbyist Valerie Dosland. The work at the legislature continues with interesting twists and turns. We continue to lobby and advocate daily on your behalf and appreciate your advocacy efforts, as well.
We hope you have had a good week and have fun plans for the weekend!
Valiere & Deb LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Each session something comes up causing me to think “I never imagined that happening” and this session is no different. The recent arrest of a Senator Mitchell early Monday has caused some havoc on how the Senate will function over the next three weeks as well as how bills will advance amidst this controversy. We are monitoring what this means and will be navigating the political environment as best we can to ensure our education priorities continue to advance.
House and Senate Supplemental Education Budget Bills Advance With the last bill deadline past, all attention at the Legislature is now focused on advancing the various supplemental budget bills. Both the House and Senate supplemental education budget bills have passed the remaining committees having oversight over the state budget and will next be voted on by both bodies, likely next week. Then, a conference committee will need to work out the differences and agree to a final bill to send to the Governor.
Education Policy Conference Committee Makes Progress The conference committee on the Education Policy bill met this week and made some progress. The committee adopted many of the non-controversial provisions that are the same in both bills and agreed to a few provisions that were not in the Senate bill. They include:
Directs MDE to establish clear criteria for evaluating a district’s application for a four-day week and allows a district’s approved plan to be in place for six years.
Directs districts to adopt a cell phone possession and use policy by March 2025. It also requires the Elementary and Secondary Principal Associations to develop best practices and resources to schools.
The conference committee has more work to do but it is possible they could wrap up next week. Stay tuned!
Bill clarifying Paid Family Medical Leave Advances (PFML) Legislation making technical and clarifying change to the PFML law passed last session is advancing in both the House and Senate. Based on feedback from MSBA, here are some areas of concern:
Removes language requiring the Minnesota Department of Employment Economic Development (DEED) to notify an applicant and employer when an application is submitted, and financial eligibility is determined.
Removes the 480-hour cap on intermittent leave within a 12-month period.
Changes dates to November 15 each year by which the commissioner must adjust the annual premium rates.
We will continue to follow and as we can highlight concerns in these key areas. Please don't hesitate to contact either of us if you have any questions-valerie@ewald.com or deb.henton@mnasa.org