Greetings from the Capitol,
Sen. Westrom, Rep. Anderson, and I were visited by 6th graders from Minnewaska on Wednesday and by 6th graders from Starbuck on Friday who were touring the Capitol.
On Tuesday, I attended the 57th Annual Minnesota Prayer Breakfast.
Budget Negotiations:
End-of-session negotiations continued this week and progress is being made. We will work through the weekend to finalize the budget and complete the work of the people.
REAL ID:
On Wednesday, the House and Senate both passed the conference committee report of House File 3, making Minnesota REAL ID compliant; the Governor signed the bill into law Thursday morning.
In case you may have forgotten: REAL ID was passed by the U.S. Congress in 2005 with the intention of making it more difficult for potential terrorists to falsify an identification card. According to the federal law, all 50 states need to be in compliance before January 22, 2018.
Due to the passage of this bill, Minnesotans will be able to continue to board airplanes, as well as visit military bases and federal facilities while using the appropriate identification. The differences between the new REAL ID and a current driver's license are minimal. The REAL ID verifies the license holder’s legal status within the United States and ensures residence of only one state. In order to address some people’s concerns about privacy, the bill that has passed allows for a dual-track system. Minnesotans will be able to either apply to get a REAL ID, or use their current state driver's license and a passport as their form of identification.
Teacher Licensure Reform Veto:
Last year, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) put forward recommendations based on an audit that found that Minnesota’s teacher licensure structure is in need of significant reform. Since the release of the audit, the chairs of the education committees in the legislature, as well as other representatives, senators, and stakeholders, have been working diligently to come to a conscientious on what reforms need to occur. A task force was established by the House and the Senate that worked a total of 1000 hours over a span of 25 meetings, developing 45 different iterations on how to reform the teacher licensure process. A bipartisan/nonpartisan solution was developed in the form of House File 140.
House File 140 addresses the recommendations by the OLA through:
- Establishing a tiered licensure framework (Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board) that ensures high standards, clear expectations, consistency, transparency, and identifies several accessible and affordable pathways for teacher licensure.
- Incorporating the unique and valuable skill-set of CTE (career and technical education) instructors within the tiered framework, including recognition of industry-related professional credentials and verifiable work experience.
- Adopting technical and clarifying recommendations from non-partisan offices to provide increased comprehension of teacher licensure provisions in state statutes and rule.
I am very disappointed by the Governor’s veto due to the bipartisan efforts that went in to getting this bill to his desk. Greater Minnesota has a teacher shortage and we need to do all that we can to ensure that the best and brightest teachers are in our children’s classrooms; this cannot happen without seriously reforming the licensure process.
Staying in Touch:
Please be sure to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government. I can be reached by phone at either 651-296-4929, 701-361-1909, or via email at rep.jeff.backer@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
