Ready4K @ the Capitol - April 1, 2011
From Ready 4 K
This Week @ the Capitol
This week at the Capitol saw late nights as the omnibus budget bills made their way off the floors of both bodies. While the proposed cuts were largely left intact, positive and negative action was taken on the Quality Rating and Improvement System in the Education bills of both chambers.
Quality Rating System Experiences Set-Back in House
The House took up its Omnibus Education bill late Tuesday evening, working late into the night to complete its work. Funding and language were included in the bill to move forward the Parent Aware QRIS and early childhood scholarships. An initial amendment from Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan), a long-time opponent of investments in early care and education, attempted to reduce the funding for the scholarships and put the savings into the general education formula. This was soundly rejected by a 112 - 16 vote. Threatening to hold up the Education bill over QRIS and the scholarships, Rep. Buesgens offered another amendment stripping QRIS from the bill and directing the early childhood scholarships to at-risk children, with no requirement that the scholarships be used in quality settings. Despite strong opposition from many members, the amendment was adopted 66-60.
While this is indeed a set-back to the years of work on this proposal, it highlights the degree to which the atmosphere has shifted at the Capitol and the need for continued education of many legislators. Read MinnPost’s story on the vote.
In all likelihood, the Omnibus Education bill will be vetoed by Governor Dayton, as it includes many other provisions that he does not support. We will continue to work with our legislative allies to ensure that the QRIS will move forward by the end of the session. Look for ways to raise your voice in the coming days and weeks.
Senate Moves Forward on Rating System
When the Senate took up their Omnibus Education bill, it did not include any language or funding for either the QRIS or scholarships. We had indications that there would be attempts to amend something into the bill in order to establish a positive Senate position on the QRIS heading into conference committee. Sen. Geoff Michel, the original author of the Parent Aware and scholarship proposal, offered an amendment requiring that increases in state funding to improve school readiness must be made “in research-based programs of known quality” consistent with the QRIS framework already in state statute. The amendment provides that new funding will be tied to the QRIS, but it doesn’t actually fund the QRIS. Sen. Gen Olson, the Education bill’s chief author, supported the amendment as a way to keep the discussion alive, and it was adopted on a voice vote. A similar amendment by Sen. Terri Bonoff, adding the original Parent Aware and scholarship language, was defeated however, as it took funding from the statewide K-12 testing system. Both Education bills now head to conference committee, where the differences will be worked out.
Health and Human Services Bill
Briefly, the Senate HHS bill passed the full Senate this week, with bill author Senator David Hann trying to argue that the massive child care cuts are not actually cuts, but a reduction in growth of the funding. When fewer families will be served, we see this as a cut. We anticipate the House HHS bill to pass out of its last committee and head to a vote by the full House this week.
As mentioned, Ready 4 K has prepared a number of documents to help you track these bills. Check out our side-by-side comparison of the Governor, House and Senate budget recommendations. And of course, our bill tracker is updated weekly. All of these documents can be found on our 2011 Legislative Session page. These proposals are fluid, of course, and as the legislative session progresses, we’ll keep you updated.