Please join us Saturday, February 25 at 10 a.m. at Brooklyn Center High School for a public conversation on well-rounded education with Commissioner Cassellius. Ensuring all students have access to a
well-rounded education is a core principle of the Every Student Succeeds
Act. While the law gives us a starting point, we look forward to
continuing to engage with parents, educators and students as we
shape a vision for what a well-rounded education means in Minnesota. In order to understand what Minnesotans want to see in our schools, we need to hear from you. Please register to attend or see the flier for more details. See you there!
As MDE
staff meet and plan with a wide range of people across the state, we also want
to share some recent activity at the federal level to keep community members
and interested organizations up-to-speed on recent developments. The past month
has brought several changes, including multiple federal actions that have
affected ESSA regulations. These
include:
- On
January 18, the U.S. Department of Education withdrew its proposed supplement-not-supplant
regulations.
- On
January 20, President Trump froze for 60 days several regulations that were set
to go into effect, including final regulations pertaining to accountability,
school improvement and state plans. These regulations are currently being
reviewed and may be retracted or revised.
-
Assessment
regulations are unaffected by the freeze, since they took effect before the
freeze was issued.
- On
February 1, resolutions were introduced in the House of Representatives that
would use the Congressional Review Act to repeal the accountability, school
improvement, and state plan regulations and the Higher Education Title
II teacher preparation regulations. These resolutions have not yet
passed the House, and would also need to pass the Senate and be signed by
the President before taking effect.
Minnesota’s
state plan development will continue with the ESSA statute (which is
unaffected) as its guide.
Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage
Board members from the Council for Minnesotans of African
Heritage invited MDE to present to them on the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Members asked about MDE’s plans for ESSA during a U.S. Department of Education
administrative transition.
Members encouraged MDE to maintain efforts in ESSA to close
achievement gaps for communities of color over time. Members also suggested
MDE make sure the tools used for engagement are accessible and that people are
not excluded from participation by lack of Internet access.
Minneapolis Public Schools - English Learners
MDE staff were invited by community organizers to a
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) hosted meeting with parents and families
involved with English Learner (EL) programs. Parents were provided live translation
of ESSA information from district staff, the Minnesota Education Equity
Partnership, and the Coalition of Asian American Leaders.
Participants broke into small groups to discuss their
recommendations for MDE. Among the ideas shared was a belief that EL students need to experience the same academically rigorous education as their peers.
Parents also stated a desire to ensure children are accurately screened for
services, including in the home language questionnaire. Families also asked
that students be exposed daily to their native language, both in writing and
orally.
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