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November 3, 2023
Updates in this email:
The READ Act has different timelines for Phase 1 and Phase 2 educators. For a summary of the READ Act Professional Development requirements, please review the READ Act FAQ.
Districts and/or teachers who completed the third edition LETRS or CORE professional development before the READ Act training being offered do not need to retake the course if they submit a certification of completion with a passing score (80% for LETRS and 85% for CORE).
Commissioner Willie Jett will hold Minnesota Department of Education’s annual American Indian Education Field Hearing, 10 a.m.–Noon, Nov. 6 at Cedar Lakes Casino Event Center, 6268 Upper Cass Frontage Road, Cass Lake.
The field hearing is an opportunity for Commissioner Jett and agency staff to gather input from American Indian educators, parents and students on the state of American Indian Education in Minnesota. The agency will develop a report from the field hearing for Minnesota's 11 Tribal Nations for review and comment.
Attendees will have the opportunity to speak during the hearing and individuals can also view the hearing remotely via Zoom, with the Zoom room opening half an hour before the start of the meeting. Comments can be submitted at mde.input-indian-education@state.mn.us. Share this American Indian Education Field Hearing digital flyer or American Indian Education Field Hearing print flyer with American Indian educators, parents and students.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families Implementation Office has begun sending a monthly newsletter with updates on the transition process. We encourage those who are impacted by the transition to sign up for this newsletter and to share with others who may be interested and impacted. Past editions of the newsletter are available on the DCYF Implementation Office webpage.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College encourage Native special education staff, special education staff, administrators, special education directors, special education coordinators, and all others interested to attend a webinar series intended to strengthen community by lifting the voices of Indigenous special education staff.
These focused webinar topics and dialogues emerged through listening sessions with Native special education staff around the state of Minnesota. MDE's Special Education Division and the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College are partnering and using State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) funding to provide these webinars. While intended to serve the needs of and retain Native special education staff, the sessions are expansive enough to be a learning experience for all special education staff, administrators and institutes of higher education. We are hopeful the partnership and the webinars contribute to developing allyship.
The first webinar in the series will be held November 29, 2023:
Facilitator: Ann Mitchell, Principal Leadership Support Specialist, MDE
Time: 3:30-5 p.m.
Location: Zoom
Topic: Navigating Problems of Practice - People before Paper, Paper to serve People: Why Educators Deserve Balance
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be available for both teachers and administrators.
Register for this free event on the Minnesota State website.
Future topics in this series will include:
- Panel of Native Special Education Staff for Administrators
- Mental Health from an Indigenous Perspective
- Positive Behavior Supports: What does this mean for Native children?
- Why culture matters to all children? Inclusion includes access to Indigenous Education.
- Community and Family perspective
- Difference, Disability and Disadvantage
- What does it mean to have access to resources and supplies for individualization? How to make this system work for what we do?
- Indigenous Human Development
For more information on these webinars or the Native special education network, please contact Govinda Budrow.
For more information on the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), please contact Dr. Becky Gerdes.
Mandated Reporting, Non-Exclusionary Discipline, and HEARTS Training – November 9, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
In alignment with the Minnesota Olmstead Plan and efforts in preventing abuse and neglect of individuals with disabilities, the Minnesota Department of Education is offering a three-hour virtual training intended for School Administrators and school employees responsible for the care of students. It will include an overview of mandated reporting related to child maltreatment, a session on Non-Exclusionary Discipline 101, an introduction to the HEARTS (Healthy Environments And Response to Trauma in Schools) Framework and an in-depth dive into one of the HEARTS Framework Core Guiding Principles: Safety & Predictability. The training is free to attend and provided via Zoom.
Please register for the Mandated Reporting, Non-Exclusionary Discipline & HEARTS training. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For questions about training or registration, please contact Jodi Schommer, 651-582-8405
The Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative's (FREC) 2024 Racial Equity Leadership Institute is a six-part, interactive zoom series designed to empower educators to learn and unlearn racism in themselves, their organizations and their communities. Featuring interactive guest presenters and facilitator-led discussions, this series is based on materials from the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture and the Minnesota Historical Society. It begins January 11 and concludes in May. See the The Racial Equity Leadership Institute webpage for more details. Registration is open.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced the final timeline for restarting annual renewals in public health care programs. With Medicaid eligibility newly becoming a part of direct certification, which is currently tied to the compensatory revenue formula, schools could be affected by this change.
Due to the pandemic Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare renewals were paused but are now restarting. More than 1.5 million Minnesotans on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare will need their program eligibility reviewed through a renewal process by May 2024.
Minnesota will restart the renewal processes for Medical Assistance in 2023 beginning with the July renewal cohort. Renewals for MinnesotaCare coverage will restart beginning in October 2023 for coverage effective Jan. 1, 2024. View the full timeline.
Please visit DHS's Renew My Coverage communications toolkit for resources in multiple languages. Please share the messages in this toolkit with your district and school communities.
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