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Update for June 29, 2009 — From Mary Cecconi, Executive Director ♦ Further Analysis of the 2009 Legislative Session ♦
What Happened at the Capitol during Session 2009 and how will it affect my school come September? There are a fair number of provisions in this year’s Omnibus bill that will affect our schools in the next two years, so instead of simply listing them we decided to use updates throughout the summer months to share more information and analysis about their impact on our schools. FYI: An official bill summary is available, but if you have questions about specific provisions that you have been tracking, please email me. The Governor signed HF 2 on May 16. Article 2 – HF 2, Education Excellence: Just FYI, there are 68 sections in this one Article! In this update, I am focusing on three of those that have drawn a great deal of debate. 1. Section 8 — GRAD (Graduation Required Assessment for Diploma) This was a highly publicized provision. No one knew how our kids would do on the GRAD. There was a great deal of concern among school folks that a great many of the students might fail it. This opened the door for opponents of the provision to declare that the state would be “lowering the standards.” Others argued that denying a diploma based on one test condemned an 18-year-old to a life without a high school diploma. Here’s the deal: the GRAD is aligned with the state math standards, yet this year’s high school juniors--who would have been required to pass the GRAD--have NOT been privy to those standards for much of their school careers. Many argued that this provision is needed until a transition can be negotiated. In late May, the Minnesota Legislature passed and Governor Pawlenty signed a law authorizing the creation of a task force to develop recommendations for the next generation of Minnesota’s high school assessment and accountability system. This task force is inviting interested individuals to share their thoughts on some of the key the issues the task force will address over the next seven months:
2. Section 12 — Student Academic Achievement and Growth This was another hard fought provision. In years past, using the one indicator of the MCA II, schools only reported the percentage of students who were proficient. Under this new provision, proficiency will be reported along with growth. Reported will be the percentage of students in a school having “less than expected growth,” “expected growth” and “greater than expected growth.” This information can be tracked year-to-year and school-to-school. 3. Section 14 — Comprehensive scientifically-based reading instruction This was another very hard fought provision. The Board of Teaching approves universities and colleges in the state of Minnesota that train our teachers. Therefore, they have a great deal of say in what is taught. This provision is focused on colleges and universities to increase the instruction they provide pre-licensed teachers in comprehensive scientifically-based reading instruction. What Can I Do? Check out all the News and Hot Topics at our website! “Childhood has no rewind: Our children cannot go back to grade school and get another education when times are better and we all have more to give. When the playground is empty and the children are gone, either we will have sacrificed for them, or we won’t." Questions? Email Mary Cecconi | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Helping parents have a voice at the places where school policy and funding decisions are made. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||