By the end of this week, the House will have taken up the three combined omnibus bills in floor discussions. On Monday, they passed HF2749 - the education and higher education bill. On Wednesday, they passed HF3931 - the agriculture, environment and natural resources and job growth and energy affordability bill. Today, they will take up HF3467 - the Health and Human Services, State Government, and Public Safety and Crime Prevention Finance bill.  

The Senate took up both omnibus bills related to education and higher education this week. On Tuesday, SF3028 - the higher education technical and policy bill passed. This bill includes the following provisions:

• State college or university must not require an individual to take a remedial, noncredit course in a subject area if the individual received a college-ready MCA benchmark in that subject area.
  
• Sen. Clausen (DFL-Apple Valley) introduced an amendment which passed that would require state colleges and universities to consider an individual's scores on the high school Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs), in addition to other factors, when admitting or enrolling.
• Expansion of child care grant to include students in graduate or professional degree programs,.
• Promotion of loan forgiveness programs, including federal and teacher loan forgiveness programs
• Requires OHE to share information about dual credit acceptance policies of each MN, WI, SD, and ND public and private college and university on their website.
• MnSCU must adopt policies that give full value to all credits obtained for use in satisfying credit requirements. In addition, adoption of policies that provide for consistency among course offerings of the same course.
• Ability for students enrolled in an approved comprehensive transition and post-secondary program to access the MN State Grant.
• Require MnSCU colleges and universities to launch for the 2017-2018 academic year, four pilot programs to serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at locations with residential facilities. 
• MnSCU must apply agricultural science education credits in calculating a student's completion of the MN transfer curriculum natural science requirement. In addition, a report must be completed by February 2017 concerning the MN transfer curriculum and the board's policy with respect to accepting courses with an occupational component to satisfy transfer curriculum requirements.
• By June 15, 2016, MnSCU must report on their policies regarding the privacy of employee-owned cell phones, computers, and other similar electronic devices that are used to perform work duties.
• Deletes the provision that allows the cap for the State Grant to be raised if there is a surplus.
  

On Wednesday, the Senate took up and passed SF2744 - the bill on early childhood and education. The archieved video can be found HERE.

Governor Dayton revised his supplemental budget to address the $53 million that is now available due to a provision that allows school districts to repay high-interest state loans early. 

The Governor proposes that $13.1 million would be available as a matching grant program to increase the number of licensed counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and chemical dependency counselors available in schools.

The remaining $40.249 million would be invested in a prekindergarten facilities matching grant program.

The Governor's letter to leadership can be found HERE.

Thursday, April 28  

8:00 a.m.
Senate Capital Investment
Room: 1200 Minnesota Senate Building
Chair: Sen. LeRoy A. Stumpf
Agenda: S.F. 3415-Stumpf: Omnibus bonding bill.
Overview of Article 2  

8:15 a.m.
House State Government Finance
Room: Basement hearing room
Chair: Rep. Sarah Anderson
Agenda:  HF3585 (Drazkowski): Labor agreements and compensation plans ratified, authority of exclusive representatives to charge fair share fees and for dues deductions repealed, affirmative approval before interim implementation of state employee collective bargaining agreements required, and legislative approval of political subdivision compensation waivers required.

8:30 a.m.
Senate in Session
SENATE SPECIAL ORDERS:
S.F. 3262--Westrom: Staff Sergeant Kevin Witte memorial highway designation
S.F. 3162--Koenen: Propane education research council assessment amount modification
H.F. 2749-Cohen: Supplemental Budget Bill  

9:00 a.m.
House in Session
CALENDAR FOR THE DAY
HF3467 (Dean) Omnibus Health and Human Services, State Government, and Public Safety and Crime Prevention Finance bill    

Friday, April 29   8:15 a.m. *Continuation of agenda from previous day, if necessary*
House State Government Finance
Room: Basement hearing room
Chair: Rep. Sarah Anderson
Agenda:  HF3585 (Drazkowski): Labor agreements and compensation plans ratified, authority of exclusive representatives to charge fair share fees and for dues deductions repealed, affirmative approval before interim implementation of state employee collective bargaining agreements required, and legislative approval of political subdivision compensation waivers required.  

11:00 a.m.
Office of the Legislative Auditor
Room 300N State Office Building
Agenda: Roundtable discussion on an evaluation of Standardized Student Testing