Capitol Update 10 2015

Senate File 97 Teacher Seniority

One of the most talked about bills that I am carrying this Session is the initiative to place performance
ahead of seniority in determining teacher layoff decisions. I have discussed this at length in past Updates,
but the bill received a hearing in the E-12 Committee this week so I am providing a status update.
The committee room was packed with people supporting and opposing the bill who came to make their
voices heard. There was strong testimony on both sides including statements from parents, teachers,
interest groups and even an expert in from New York who shared about the neurological response to being
evaluated. Personally, I was touched by the words of former Minneapolis City Council Member and current
School Board Member, Don Samuels. He set the stage perfectly by discussing the wide variety of issues
facing our low-income and minority communities. There is a natural redistribution of resources that occur
in these communities, he said, which organically move people, professions and wealth away from the less
fortunate. He pointed to the Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) policy in particular as just one of many factors that
aggravate this issue. As we have heard from a California court case in which a group of students sued the
State (and won) over this same policy, LIFO can have the effect of placing less effective teachers in
classrooms that need the very best. Students are short-changed, education is diminished and our society
suffers. We know that a similar court case will be brought up in Minnesota if legislators do not act. I implore
my colleagues to step up to the plate and address this, rather than wait for the courts.
As an aside, I had a personal conversation last night with a teacher from Hopkins. When I shared the facts
about the bill that it simply directed the district to use their own negotiated evaluation system to identify
those in the least effective category to be laid off before others she was surprised. She had no issue with
that. Yet, based on what she had been told previously, she had assumed this proposal was much more
onerous. This reinforced how important it is to clearly communicate the intentions of the proposal.
The bill was ultimately laid over for possible inclusion in the E-12 Policy Omnibus bill, which will be rolled
out next week. You can watch the full committee hearing here:
http://www.senate.mn/media/media_video_popup.php?flv=cmte_educ_031215.flv.

House File 8 Child Protection Recommendations:

This past fall, we learned of the tragic case of Eric Dean, a child who died after severe abuse. The tragedy
was not only his death at four years old, but the failure of the State and County to respond after reports of
serious abuse. In response to this awful situation, the Governor put together a Child Protection Taskforce to
study what went wrong and to recommend policy changes to make sure that nothing like this ever happens
again.
On Thursday, the Senate took up HF 8, which contained the initial recommendations of the Governors
Taskforce. The goal of the legislation is to re-examine our child protection services to make sure that the
focus is on the needs of the child first. The bill passed off of the Senate floor with a unanimous, bi-partisan
vote. We will see more pieces of legislation come forward from the taskforce recommendations. This
conversation is not over.

Senate File 106 World Languages for 9th and 10th Graders
On Wednesday, I was pleased to be joined at the Capitol by the Superintendent of Hopkins Public Schools,
John Schultz, as well as the Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Diane Schimelpfenig. Together,
we presented legislation to the E-12 Committee that would allow 9th and 10th grade students to take
Concurrent Enrollment language courses without having to wait for available slots left by 11 th and 12th
graders.

Our districts have a strong focus on educating our students to attain bilingual proficiency. More and more
kids are enrolling in immersion programs at a young age. By the time these kids reach High School, many of
them have surpassed the highest level that they can take in secondary school. Rather than having these
students drop the language altogether, we would like to encourage them to continue their learning by
enrolling in post-secondary concurrent enrollment courses. This bill would allow them to do so.
The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the E-12 Policy Omnibus bill. I expect it to be included.

Senator Bonoff sits with Superintendent John Schultz to present Senate File 106