Education Policy Breakfast

I had a great time hearing from principals across the state at the education policy breakfast at the University of Minnesota this week! It was great to hear directly from those leading our schools about how the laws passed this last session are affecting students, teachers, and staff. I've said over and over that we should be listening to those who are actually in schools rather than imposing top-down policies written by politicians. Thank you to all the principals who shared their experiences with us!

SMEC Conversations

Since the last session, I've stopped by many of our local schools to talk to teachers and administrators about what they're experiencing and how they're dealing with the new laws passed last session. This week, I took some time to go to SMEC, a school that is often overlooked, to hear about some of the successes and challenges they have. One of the biggest frustrations is the DFL change in the law that removes the ability to use seclusion as discipline for students who are posing a threat to the safety of other students and teachers.

The School Resource Officer issue is also a major concern for SMEC. Their insurance claims have gone up by $10,000 in the last few years, because of a 25-30% increase in staff injuries in the last few years. When legislators make top-down mandates without consulting schools, they?re not taking into account the needs of our different kinds of schools.

I also had the opportunity to talk to them about the special education pipeline bill that I've worked on with Rep. Bennett, which aims to get more people to become special ed teachers. It would also change how the state funds co-ops so those schools could get reimbursed faster.

LAC Auction

I'm looking forward to tonight's Lyle Area Cancer Auction where I will be helping to announce some of the auction items. This group has raised so much money for cancer research, and I'm proud to be involved with such a great cause!