2010 legislative priorities

Education funding

E-12 education

• No further cuts or unallotments to E-12 education funding.
• Begin planning for a per-pupil funding increase to cover, at a minimum, the true cost of inflation for school districts for the coming biennium.
• Reform Minnesota’s tax policy to fund our schools’ funding system to make it:
  equitable — all students should have access to quality programs.
• sustainable — revenue sources should be stable enough to withstand economic downturns.
• predictable — school districts should be able to plan for their revenues and expenditures.
• sufficient — the state must provide enough money to meet its expectations for schools.

Pension benefits

• Stable pensions, equitable contributions and competitive benefits are critical in attracting and retaining quality teachers for our students.
• All educators should be entitled to the Rule of 90 or comparable benefits, so an educator’s monthly pension is substantially the same whether he or she was hired before or after June 30, 1989.

Higher education

• No further cuts or unallotments to higher education funding.
• Abide by the Legislature’s commitment to provide 67 percent of instructional funding to keep tuition affordable.
• Increase base funding each year of the biennium at least to cover inflation and provide competitive faculty salaries.
• Pass bonding requests from the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Health insurance

• Education Minnesota’s statewide school employee health insurance bill will provide relief from unpredictable cost spikes and offer school employees benefits comparable to those that state employees now receive.
• We continue to work on a comprehensive long-term health care solution for all Minnesotans, in coalition with other unions and organizations such as Take Action Minnesota.
• The statewide health insurance plan can exist side-by-side with a health plan passed by the federal government.

Student achievement

The achievement gap

• Provide state funding to limit class sizes to 18 students per classroom teacher in schools where the achievement gap is a recurring issue.
• Fund a loan forgiveness program to encourage teachers to commit to teaching in schools where the achievement gap is a recurring issue.
• Fund training for all educators to ensure they have the tools to work effectively with all students.
• Remove the permissive statutory language allowing school districts to opt out of the 2 percent revenue set-aside for staff development. Professional development is essential for teachers to be successful in raising student achievement.

Teacher quality

• Provide state funding for a mandatory, high-quality teacher induction program for all provisionally licensed teachers, to be collaboratively developed and supervised by highly skilled teachers.
• Maintain consistently high licensing standards for all teacher candidates, regardless of their preparation route. Before becoming teachers of record, candidates must demonstrate:
• Thorough preparation in and knowledge of the core subjects to be taught, instructional skills, and student learning.
• Participation in varied, supervised clinical practice.
• Increase efforts at the state level to recruit and prepare teachers from diverse populations.
• Recommit to permanent state funding for high-quality, ongoing professional development.
• Provide state funding for participation in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process.
   

February 04, 2010