A number of education policies and potential changes are expected to be voted on by the House Education Policy Committee in the coming days.
A walkthrough of HF3782, the amended comprehensive education policy bill, was held on Tuesday. Testimony on the bill, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Pryor (DFL-Minnetonka), is scheduled for Wednesday, and amendments are expected to be introduced and voted on in committee Thursday night.
The bill would require school districts and charter schools to adopt policies regarding student possession and use of cell phones in schools by March 15, 2025, and would also require school districts and charter schools to Performance evaluation for the 2025-2026 academic year will be added to the power plan. This includes students participating in honors and gifted programs and students on track to graduate.
multilingual learner
School districts will be allowed to excuse student absences to receive instruction from tribal spiritual or cultural advisors or to participate in activities related to American Indian cultural practices, events, and ceremonies. Become. It would also allow students to earn a seal certifying proficiency in an American Indian language, and remove the requirement for students to demonstrate proficiency in English to earn the seal.
The bill would also:
- To provide English language learner development instruction, including the district's World's Best Workforce Plan, which includes a language access plan to provide effective language support to students and adults who communicate in languages other than English. Require school districts to do so.
- Change the description of the competencies required to obtain the Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificate.and
- Change the deadline for notifying English language learner parents that their student has enrolled in an English language learner instruction program.
special education teacher
To open the door to more special education teachers in Minnesota, this bill would expand the requirements for professional degrees, certifications, and work experience to earn a first- or second-degree special education license. . It also changes the requirements for using the portfolio process to obtain Tier 3 licenses and expands eligibility for Tier 4 licenses.
A Task Force on Special Education Licensing was established “to review and streamline the current legal and regulatory requirements for persons with special education licenses from other states to obtain special education licenses in Minnesota.” “make recommendations regarding statutory or regulatory changes necessary to “for out-of-state applicants.'' ”
Other provisions of the bill include:
- Enable registered nurses and certified assistant nurses to administer epinephrine auto-injectors in school settings according to symptom-specific protocols.
- Prohibits a school from serving a teacher if the teacher is criminally charged with a crime that would require registration as a predatory offender or a crime under similar law in another state or the United States.
- School districts and charter schools may not discipline student journalists for exercising their First Amendment rights and freedoms or retaliate against student media advisors for assisting student journalists in exercising their free speech rights. .
- School districts and charter schools would be required to adopt and publish student journalist policies.
- Beginning October 1, 2024, a school district or charter school must provide access to middle school students during regular school hours, to the extent space is available, and generally if the premises are available to others. require access outside of school hours. Students can use it to receive mental health care through telemedicine from licensed mental health providers.
- Defer the requirement that students complete a government and citizenship course in 11th or 12th grade until the 2025-26 school year.and
- The Metropolitan Library Services Agency may hire an executive director without a master's degree in library science.
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What's on my bill?
Below are selected bills that have been incorporated in part or in whole into the Education Policy Bill.