Minnesota lawmakers on the Legislature’s Education Policy and Education Finance committees would be required to observe a teacher or school administrator if a bipartisan bill introduced Thursday passes.
To fulfill their obligation, lawmakers would need to spend at least 12 hours observing a K-12 teacher or administrator every two years and make a publicly accessible report outlining which schools, people and grades they observed.
Chief bill author Rep. Andrew Myers, R-Tonka Bay, said ensuring lawmakers spend time seeing the day-to-day lives of educators in the classroom will help them make better decisions in the Capitol.
“They’re going to see the good and bad. They’re going to have those direct experiences with those educators that haven’t been able to get to the Capitol to testify,” he said.
Those 12 hours could be split between observing different teachers, principals or school superintendents, Myers said.
The bill, HF 412, is a learning opportunity for legislators to observe the impact of school mandates on educators and hear from those who have not testified at the Capitol, according to Myers.
“Success to me is (legislators) being able to bring those stories back from their districts or their schools and share what they learned,” he said. “I think we see a lot of activists down at the Capitol, but we need to see some new advocates, and those people that are in those classrooms every day, they’re advocating for kids.”
Several school district leaders spoke to a state Senate panel in January about the major funding issues their school districts are facing, in part due to costs associated with paid family leave and the READ Act, which adjusts schools’ teaching policies on reading.
“We’re all behind better literacy outcomes for every student, yet we need to make sure we have the funding to train our staff and provide the materials we need,” said Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent Cory McIntyre. “The ask for more money is hard. Everything is just costing more.”
The bill, co-authored by Rep. Alex Falconer, DFL-Eden Prairie, is awaiting a hearing in the State Government Finance and Policy Committee.
It will soon have a companion bill in the Senate that will have a DFL chief author, Myers said.
Myers also introduced a pair of similar bills requiring members of the Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee to observe child care facilities as well as requiring members of the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee to do ride-alongs with law enforcement or firefighters.
Related Articles
Minnesota Republicans push fraud to center stage at state Capitol
U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer won’t run for governor or U.S. Senate
U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber won’t run for governor or U.S. Senate
Minnesota House Republicans seek to ban transgender students from sports, locker rooms, restrooms
Ellison: Trump order on transgender athletes violates Minnesota law
Leave a Reply