By: Charlie Kyte
This audioblog is 8 minutes long. The Rumors about Health Insurance begin at 1 3/4 minutes. The House Omnibus Education Bill begins at 3 1/2 minutes.
SENATE EDUCATION FINANCE AND OMNIBUS BILL: This Bill includes $44 million in one time money and $130 million in tax relief via equalized capitol outlay funding and debt redemption aid. This Bill also repeals the Structural Balance reporting, but adds a requirement for 1/2 credit of PE and 1/2 credit of Health as graduation requirements.
RUMORS ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE AMENDMENT: At about 10:00 in the morning we picked up a rumor that an attempt would be made later in the day in the House Ways and Means Committee to insert an amendment that would make the state health insurance mandatory for all districts with fewer than 500 employees. MSBA and MASA put out an alert and by 3:00 the Speaker of the House received many dozens of calls against this idea. The amendment never appeared and your phone calls played a role in this!
HOUSE EDUCATION OMNIBUS BILL: We received this Bill hot off the presses. Here are some of the major provisions:
1) Allows new referendums to increase at the rate of inflation
2) Requires standards for Technology, requires Chemistry or Physics for graduation by 2012, and requires Algebra II for graduation by 20014-15.
3) Provides incentives for districts to begin IB and Adv Placement programs
4) Changes the 9 required fire drills to 5 fire drills and 5 lock-down/ security drills
5) Requires that you report students withdrawing from school in lieu of expulsions
6) Allows the suspension without pay of an employee charged with a felony
7) Allows an election to detatch part of a school district and to form a new school district upon receiving 50 petition signatures
8) Prohibits any school employee from advocating a position in a referendum, an election or for a specific piece of legislation or for a district to use any resources to do so.
9) Strengthens the Structural Balance reporting requirement and charges a $1/ PU penalty if a district doesn't report.
10) Authorizes up to 5 charitable organizations to charter schools
11) Promotes the teaching of Manadarin Chinese as a language in schools
12) Broadens teachers access to new areas of licensure if they pass the Praxis Test in a subject.
13) Requires the MDE to design a consolidated financial statement for the use by school districts
14) Forms committee or task forces to study Emergency/All Hazard Preparedness; Accelerated STEM Courses; and Geographic labor cost differences.
FACT OF THE DAY: There are 33 school districts in Minnesota with over 6000 students in them. Just over 50% of the students in the state attend these 33 districts.
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