Minnesota teachers tasked with learning new ways to teach children to read and write could earn extra pay if they have to spend time outside of school on literacy training.
The education financing bill passed by the House on Tuesday includes about $31.4 million to pay for teacher learning time, and school districts can use that money to pay for teacher training during school hours. The funds can also be used to pay for replacement personnel.
The state's reading law, passed last year, requires school districts to adopt literacy plans from a range of programs that place a greater emphasis on phonics, amid growing concerns about how many students are unable to read at grade level. . While the Reed Act paid for the curriculum, it did not include funding for the time it took for teachers to receive training on new materials.
In floor sessions and press conferences this year, Republican lawmakers have focused attention on what they call unfunded mandates passed last year, including new literacy standards.
Earlier this spring, Republicans raised the question of how long it would take to train teachers on these new curricula, and at a press conference proposed delaying the LEAD Act's implementation for three years.
“There's so much coming up, and our small schools in particular don't have the capacity to respond,” Sen. Jason Rarick, R-Pine City, said last month.
“Even with the additional funding provided by the majority party, it is still not enough to address this fundamental problem,” Rep. Patricia Miller (R-Austin) said on the House floor this week.
Democrats pushed back, saying at a news conference ahead of Tuesday's vote that they wanted to raise standards across the state, even if it meant imposing requirements on school districts.
“Mandatory relief sounds great on a bumper sticker,” Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL Hopkins, the bill's sponsor, said at a news conference Tuesday. “But our children have better rights than bumper sticker politics.”
