Education policy omnibus bill: phone bans, READ Act, charter school regulations

ST. PAUL — Legislators advanced the education policy omnibus bill, which could require schools to implement a cell phone ban policy, mandate greater transparency for charter schools and amend the READ Act.

The Senate and House passed their versions of the education policy omnibus bill Wednesday with bipartisan support, where it will eventually be heard on the floors of both chambers.

The bill, HF1306 / SF1740 , also allows students to carry opiate antagonists in case of an overdose with parental permission and establishes a process for parents to file a complaint against a school for violating federal education disability laws.

While the bill earned bipartisan support in both chambers, not every legislator was happy with the outcome.

Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said in Wednesday’s Senate committee meeting that he was disappointed by the bill. He added that he wished the bill had altered math standards, recruited more teachers, addressed attendance concerns and made discipline changes at the K-12 level.

“We as a Senate have not done anything,” he said in committee. “The outcome of this is that the status quo is going to continue.”

Under the Senate’s version of the bill, school districts would need to adopt a school phone ban policy. If passed, high school students would be banned from using their cellphones in classrooms while elementary and middle school students’ ban would be for the whole day.

The wording allows for exemptions for electronic devices needed for medical use, devices included in an individualized education program for a student with a disability and any exemption approved by a principal.

Several school districts across the state have already banned students from using their phones during the school day. Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, who introduced a bill to ban phones in schools, said school phone bans have succeeded everywhere they have been introduced.

“Students were participating more in class. The learning environment in the classroom had less distractions. Kids were socializing more face to face,” Mann said in February. “We’ve heard a couple principals say the culture of the entire school changed when cellphones were put away.”

Jack O'Connor / Forum News Service

The school phone ban language was adopted Wednesday in the Senate’s Education Policy Committee. The House’s version of the bill does not have this provision.

The bill also requires charter schools to adopt similar regulations as public schools. Among the regulations include requiring charter school board meetings to be recorded and mandating that charter schools publish their performance evaluations on their websites.

An amendment passed in the Senate committee meeting would ban charter school board members, directors and chief administrators from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, DFL-Eden Prairie, who introduced the amendment, said the amendment is meant to hold charter school board members to the “same standards” as their public school counterparts.

State lawmakers, however, did give charter schools some help, as students enrolled in those schools would be eligible for post-secondary enrollment options where they can take college courses while still in high school under this bill.

An effort to tweak several parts of the READ Act had bipartisan support, with most edits being minor technical changes.

The most significant changes would impact K-3 students undergoing the state’s universal screening tests, which screen young students for dyslexia.

Currently, the universal screening material is only provided in English, meaning students in dual immersion programs do not receive the test in their primary language. The changes in this bill would allow school districts to provide that test in any dual immersion partner language.

Additionally, while the original tests only screen for dyslexia, the bill would have the test assess all reading difficulties.

Training requirements would also change if the bill passes, as teachers new to the state of Minnesota or newly licensed teachers who have not received the Read Act training would need to either receive a waiver or get training in the new methods by July 2027.

Vice Chair of the Senate’s Education Policy Committee Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said in committee that these changes would ensure Minnesota’s future teachers are also familiar with the new standards and not just current educators.

“The question is how can we make sure that this wasn’t just a one- two-year endeavor where the people who are teaching now are getting the training,” she said. “We want to make sure that every teacher, every educator who comes in to our schools at any point in time is either educated in these methods or they receive that training through the district.”

Although Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, said she had no initial issues, she wanted to give stakeholders time to give feedback on these changes.

Any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill will be settled with a conference committee consisting of legislators from both chambers.