The committee has shared some resources for faculty related to issues of racial equity and diversity. This information is available on the committee's page at www.mscfmn.org . It includes a link to the works of Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D. who founded and serves as executive director of the Center for the Study of Race & Equity in Education.
He studies topics pertaining to race and gender in education and social
contexts, equity trends and climate issues on college campuses, Black
and Latino male student success in high school and higher education,
college student engagement, and intercollegiate athletics. His research
has been cited in nearly 5,000 published studies.
There is also a link to the Center for the Study of Race & Equity in Education that unites
University of Pennsylvania scholars who do research on race, racism,
racial climates, and important topics pertaining to equity in education.
Center staff and affiliates collaborate on funded research projects,
environmental assessment activities, and the production of timely
research reports.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Judge dismisses lawsuit challenging teachers' due process rights
ST. PAUL, Minn. Oct. 26, 2016 – Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan dismissed on Wednesday a
lawsuit intended to strip teachers of their rights to due process and
deny local districts the ability to determine their own layoff policies.
“Students
benefit when their teachers have the freedom to speak out about
conditions in their schools without the fear of arbitrary firing, so
it’s no surprise this lawsuit was dismissed,” said Denise Specht,
president of Education Minnesota. “We thought this ruling was possible when the California Appeals Court dismissed the Vergara lawsuit, on which this complaint was clearly based.”
Judge Marrinan ruled
the plaintiffs could draw no connections between low academic
achievement and Minnesota's due process laws for teachers. Judge Marrinan also noted the state Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the legitimacy of the state's tenure laws, in one case calling them, "wise legislation, promotive of the best interests, not only of teachers affected, but of the schools as well."
Specht said she hoped the ruling would lead to a renewed focus on more important education issues.
“One of the biggest threats to the quality of education in Minnesota schools is the shortage of experienced, fully licensed teachers,” Specht said. “We hope today’s ruling will let Minnesota move beyond these insinuations about the quality of its teachers toward developing new strategies for recruiting and retaining great educators.”
Minnesota's laws on due process for teachers are often described incorrectly. Here are three facts:
1. Minnesota statutes already say teachers may be fired for “failure to teach” and “inefficiency in teaching."
2. State law already prohibits students from being repeatedly assigned to an “ineffective” teacher. In 2015, the Legislature passed an amendment barring administrators from assigning a student to a teacher on an improvement plan two years in a row. Education Minnesota supported the change.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Update from TRA
During
a special meeting on Mon., Oct. 24, to address funding issues, the
Teachers Retirement Association Board of Trustees opted to hold off on
any decision regarding the details of retiree cost-of-living reductions
and contribution increases until the board’s Nov. 16 meeting. The
delay allows time for groups representing retirees, active teachers and
school districts to review and weigh in on revised funding options.
The
revised funding options under consideration propose to reduce the
retiree COLA to 1 percent for five years and 1.5 percent thereafter. The
proposal also includes a 2.5 percent employer contribution rate
increase phased in incrementally over several years and offset by
earmarking state aid for pensions so as to hold E-12 education funding
harmless. Also under consideration is an increase in the active-teacher
contribution rate of 0.5 percent, phased in over several years
incrementally.
The
board plans to finalize details of a 2017 legislative proposal at its
Nov. 16 meeting so that any state aid request can be submitted to Gov.
Dayton for possible inclusion in his proposed biennial budget.
The
TRA board is considering revisions to its proposals because of pressure
to lower the fund’s assumed rate of return on investments. Lowering
this assumption has the effect of worsening TRA’s funded status and
prompting the need for lower benefits and higher contributions.
At
its Oct. 24 meeting, the board discussed the investment return
assumption, which is used to project TRA’s long-term financial trends. Lowering TRA’s investment assumption from 8 percent to 7.5 percent would increase liabilities and decrease TRA’s funded ratio.
The
TRA board has expressed a preference for conducting a formal study and
gathering data from reputable sources before changing the assumption.
Included in such a study would be a review of alternative methodologies
for changing the assumption as well as a review of alternative
governance structures for setting this assumption. Minnesota is one of
only three states whose investment return assumption is determined by
legislature.
Minnesota
State Board of Investment (SBI) director Mansco Perry has expressed
caution about continuing to use 8 percent as an assumed rate of return
since it may be optimistic in the short term. Minnesota Management and
Budget officials have expressed a preference for the 7.5 percent
investment return assumption and for the rate to be consistent among all
four retirement systems.
The
Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) board recently voted to
recommend the legislature lower that fund’s assumption to 7.5 percent.
TRA and the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) boards
continue to discuss the issue
Monday, October 24, 2016
Just over two weeks left!
Polling Update
We’ve seen the last of the legislative polls. They show much
of what we’ve seen for months. The Senate still looks positive but not nearly
over. The House still looks incredibly close.
On the congressional side we saw polls this week in the CD 2
and CD 3 races. In CD 2 our endorsed candidate, Angie Craig, has a five point
lead and a big cash advantage over Jason Lewis. CD 3 shows Congressman Paulsen
with a large lead over Sen. Terri Bonoff. He has a large cash advantage as
well. We had expected to see a public poll in the CD 8 race this week too but
nothing has been released yet. http://www.twincities.com/2016/10/17/kstp-poll-angie-craig-up-5-points-on-jason-lewis-in-2nd-district/
Election Night
The DFL will hold an election night party at the Minneapolis
Hilton hotel. We’ve decided not to get an Education Minnesota specific room
this year, but there will be plenty of TVs and food and the AFL-CIO will have a
room that we will help to sponsor. I will plan to do a series of email updates
on election night, so if you’re not at the Hilton or a local election night
party you’ll still be able to stay up to speed.
Campaign Opportunities
- Education Minnesota Phone Banks for Endorsed Candidates
- Oct. 26 and 27, 5-8:30
at the Coon Rapids office, contact Duane.anderson@edmn.org to sign
up/with questions
- Oct. 27, 5-8:00 in
Bagley. Contact kevin.young@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 24, 5-8 in
Greenway. Contact greg.miller@edmn.org to
sign up/with questions
- Oct. 26, 5-8 in
International Falls. Contact greg.miller@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 27, 5-8 in Ely.
Contact greg.miller@edmn.org to
sign up/with questions
- Oct. 24, 5-8:00 at the
Southwest Metro office, contact eric.hermann@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 24 and 26,
4:30-8:30 at the Rochester office, contact angel.morales@edmn.org to sign
up/with questions
- Oct. 24, 26 and 27,
5-7:45 at the Apple Valley office, contact Cheryl.rosheim@edmn.org to sign
up/with questions
- Oct. 25 and 26,
5:30-8:30 at the Family Diner in Faribault, contact scott.allen@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 24, 5pm at the
Brainerd EM office, contact doug.nelson@edmn.org to
sign up/with questions
- Oct. 25, 5:30-8 at the
St. Cloud East office, contact todd.pack@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 24, 25 and 27, 5-8
in Willmar, contact libby.erickson@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions (happy to have remote callers from other areas)
- Oct. 25, 5:00-8 at the
Duluth office, contact kathleen.adee@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 25, 5:30-8:30 in
Forest Lake, contact alyssa.mueller@edmn.org
to sign up/with questions
- Oct. 26 and 27 at the Woodbury office, contact tony.vega@edmn.org to sign up/with questions
- Check
out the DFL House and Senate online calendars for additional candidate
campaign
activities all over the state
- Education Minnesota Phone Banks for Hillary: Wed., Oct. 26 and Wed., Nov. 2 at the Sherburne office. Starts at 5pm, let jim.meyer@edmn.org know if you’d like to attend
- Nonpartisan GOTV efforts: www.wevotemn.org/volunteer
- DFL GOTV efforts: www.dfl.org/gotv
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Fall 2016 Transfer Pathway Discipline Stakeholder Meetings Registration and Location Information
Discipline Stakeholder Meetings: Transfer Pathway
Teams are ready to share their proposed Transfer Pathway! The teams
will present their draft at statewide Discipline Stakeholder Meetings in
November. Who’s a discipline stakeholder? Anyone who has an interest
in the associate degree curriculum pathways being developed. Proposed
pathways will be posted here by November 11. All those interested in
one or more pathway should attend to hear from the teams (in person or
via teleconference) about how they developed the pathway and what it
will mean for students, faculty, advisors, and others. It is important
to the teams that they get a chance to answer your questions about the
draft pathways, and to hear your suggestions and ideas for improvement,
as well as for how to ensure successful implementation of the pathways
statewide.
Please register to attend in person or online! Registration is necessary so we can send you materials and track attendance (space is limited). Register here.
Please register to attend in person or online! Registration is necessary so we can send you materials and track attendance (space is limited). Register here.
Fall 2016 DSM Registration and Location Information
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