Thanks to your good efforts and partially in response to the heavy bureaucratic hand of the federal government and their new proposed regulations released on April 22nd, (details to follow soon), the Minnesota House of Representatives in a very refreshingly bipartisan move on April 28th voted to withdraw from No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
Rep. Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) offered his very good amendment again during House floor debate on the omnibus education policy bill just as he did during committee action on the education finance bill. He explained the situation of federal control very well and also mentioned the new proposed regulations, rightly saying that regardless of whether these regulations were good or bad for Minnesota, they were continuing to take away Minnesota's state and local control over education.
This time a roll call was requested and although 14 Democrats joined ALL of the Republicans in opposing the Kalin amendment, it did go on by a 69-62 vote, gutting the Garofalo language. The watered down Garofalo language then passed by a wide margin.
Here are the 14 courageous Democrats that joined the strong and unified Republican caucus in opposing the freedom robbing Kalin amendment:
Anzelc, Atkins, Benson, Brown, Faust, Hansen, Juhnke, Koenen, Laine, Moe, Pelowski, Poppe, Rukavina, Tschumper
Fortunately, that was not the end of the matter. Rep. Carolyn Laine (D-Columbia Heights) later offered language similar to what Rep. Mark Olson (R-Big Lake) offered during debate on the finance bill. This amendment had very strong bipartisan support. It was co-authored by Republican Representatives Olson, Erickson, Heidgerken, Cornish, Drazkowski, Bruce Anderson, and Shimanski. Democrats Pelowski, Benson, Tillberry, Slocum, Masin, Bly, Kranz, and Tschumper joined Rep. Laine in co-authoring this amendment.
The amendment is quite strong and relieves the worries about losing federal funds. It reads as follows:
Sec. 49. NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT; WAIVER FROM FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS.
(a) The commissioner of education must immediately petition the federal Department of Education to allow Minnesota schools to continue to receive federal funds under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for state educational services without the restrictions in federal regulations. The commissioner must include in the petition information to demonstrate the long history of Minnesota's educational efficacy and how flexibility related to expending such federal funds will enhance the state education system.
(b) The commissioner must not enforce the educational assessment and accountability provisions in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B, related to implementing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 after the 2008-2009 school year. A school board may file a written resolution with the state auditor under Minnesota Statutes, section 6.79, recommending how the legislature should reform the educational assessment and accountability provisions in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B, absent the federal mandates. The commissioner may report proposals and requests to the educational committees of the legislature by January 1, 2009."
The amendment was argued well by Representative Laine, who discussed the many flaws of NCLB and also mentioned that other states like Virginia and Arizona are also rebelling against the heavy hand of the federal government in NCLB. Representative Heidgerken also argued well by discussing the new proposed regulatory mandates just released last week by the federal Department of Education. The Laine amendment then went on to pass 128-0!! (Find the link to the April 28th debate here starting at 7:01:41 and see the roll call here on page 10824)
The fate of this wonderful amendment is now in the hands of a conference committee, which has to reconcile the House and Senate version of this entire large policy bill that contains several controversial provisions such as comprehensive sex education and the growth-based value added system that we have previously discussed. Sadly, both the Governor and the Senate oppose it.
This language will be dropped unless we continue to make it an issue.
TALKING POINTS:
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The federal bureaucracy is circumventing Congress by imposing more costly mandates on school districts and states via rules.
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Staying in NCLB is costing more than districts are receiving while putting the federal government in charge of local and state educational policy.
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Academic achievement, especially for poor and minority students is not improving under NCLB, and all the resources are being focused on the lowest achievers instead of helping all students.
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Vague, complicated, and costly report cards and growth models with invasive surveys will do nothing to relieve the burden and will create more hoops through which already overburdened districts will have to jump, besides hiding real academic achievement data.
SF 3001 Conference Committee Members:
Rep. Carlos Mariani (D-St. Paul, chairman): 651-296-9174 rep.carlos.mariani@house.mn
Rep. Kathy Brynaert (D-Mankato): 651-296-3248 rep.kathy.brynaert@house.mn
Rep. John Ward (D-Brainerd): 651-296-4333 rep.john.ward@house.mn
Rep. Linda Slocum (D-Richfield): 651-296-7158 rep.linda.slocum@house.mn
Rep. Dean Urdahl (R-Grove City): 651-296-5183 rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn
Senator Chuck Wiger (D-Maplewood, chairman): 651-296-6820 sen.chuck.wiger@senate.mn
Senator Kathy Saltzman (D-Woodbury): 651-296-4166 sen.kathy.saltzman@senate.mn
Senator Kevin Dahle (D-Northfield): 651-296-1279 sen.kevin.dahle@senate.mn
Senator Sandy Rummel (D-White Bear Lake): 651-296-1253
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Senator Gen Olson (R-Minnetrista): 651-296-1282 sen.gen.olson@senate.mn
Leadership:
Speaker of House Margaret Anderson Kelliher: 651-296-0171 rep.margaret.kelliher@house.mn
House Minority Leader Marty Seifert: 651-296-5374 rep.marty.seifert@house.mn
Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller: 651-296-7809
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Senate Minority Leader David Senjem: 651-297-3803 sen.david.senjem@house.mn
Governor Tim Pawlenty: 651-296-3391 tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
