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Hello MnSTA Members,
The Senate Omnibus Education policy bill (SF1311) was passed on Monday, April 24 2023 and has been sent to Conference Committee (a joint committee of appointed Representatives and Senators). The House companion bill has also adopted the same language. Agreed upon language in both bodies can be favorable as bills enter conference committees for debate. Here are the proposed language changes in Academic Standards and Graduation Requirements that will be reviewed in Conference Committee (new language, stricken language ):
Lines 3.1 - 3.2
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 120B.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Required academic standards.
(a) The following subject areas are
required for statewide accountability:
(3) science, including earth and space science, life science, and the physical sciences,
including chemistry and physics;
Lines 4.28 - 5.3
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 120B.024, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Graduation requirements.
(a) Students beginning 9th grade in the 2011-2012 school year and later must successfully complete the following high school level
credits for graduation:
(4) (3) three credits of science, including at least one credit of biology, one credit ofchemistry or physics, and one elective credit of science. The combination of credits underthis clause must be sufficient to satisfy (i) all of the academic standards in either chemistryor physics and (ii) all other academic standards in science one credit to satisfy all the earth
and space science standards for grades 9 through 12, one credit to satisfy all the life science
standards for grades 9 through 12, and one credit to satisfy all the chemistry or physics
standards for grades 9 through 12;
At our April 22 2023 meeting, the MnSTA Board voted to sign the, 'The American Commitment to a High-Quality Science Education for Every Student' letter to advocate for federal, state and local support of science education. This letter, written by the STEM Education Coalition, is a statement of principles document calling for policymakers to prioritize science education. As the principles state, a “scientifically literate society is essential to both a healthy democracy and to our future economic prosperity. Unfortunately, our nation is falling behind in science education at a time when its critical importance is rapidly rising. Our policymakers can and must act to elevate the priority of science education in our nation’s federal and state level education laws.” See a copy of the letter here.
Dana Smith
MnSTA Advocacy Committee Chair
Minnesota science teachers should know about:
