Week of April 16th – 20th
Continuing Work on Gun Violence Prevention
Wednesday was Moms Demand Action’s day at the capitol, and they organized another impactful day of advocacy to lobby legislators for sensible gun laws. I was visited by the single largest group of constituents that I have met with during my two years in office. We discussed background checks, gun violence protective orders, and many other ways that we can keep our society safer.
I also attended what has been the fourth major gun violence prevention rally of this legislative session. These tireless citizens are making noise that cannot be ignored.
Additionally, Friday was National School Walkout day, and students from over 40 Minnesota high schools held a demonstration at the capitol to prevent gun violence. We as legislators must listen to what they have to say. Their lives depend on it.
Harmful Education Bills Advance in The Senate
We are now past the third committee deadline in the state legislature, and two incredibly harmful pieces of legislation are headed to the senate floor.
The first of these provisions would require that every school and school district receive a summative Star Rating based on equally weighted factors such as proficiency and growth. Not only is this an over-simplistic and possibly misleading rating system, but it is also nearly impossible for a school to achieve a five star rating. Schools already performing well will be given lower growth scores and vice versa, leaving all schools with low star-ratings. The impacts of this will be far reaching, as property values are likely to decline due to these unfairly low ratings.
The second detrimental piece of legislation would prohibit any teacher from expressing a political opinion in the classroom. As a social studies teacher, I can attest that this is nearly impossible. Students must be exposed to a wide variety of viewpoints in school in order to foster critical thinking skills. This legislation will also likely lead to increased bullying, as it would prevent a teacher from reprimanding a student for harmful or discriminatory behavior.
Bicameral Cooperation to Honor Veterans
This Thursday, Representative Laurie Pryor and I introduced a bill to create specialty license plates for veterans who have received air medals in the line of duty. This bill was brought to us by a constituent, and we are proud to be authoring it on their behalf.
Senate District 48 at The Capitol
On Thursday, a group of Eden Prairie High School foreign exchange students from Germany visited the capitol. I have spent a good deal of time with them over the past two weeks, and it was great to finally show them the center of our state’s government.
I got a surprise visit this week from a former student at Eden Prairie High School who graduated back in 1991! Erik Sandvick and I had an outstanding time catching up.
After winning the state championship last month, the Minnetonka High School boy’s hockey team visited the capitol on Thursday. Senators Jensen, Anderson, Osmek, and myself all took turns reading from a resolution honoring them. Many of the students are seniors, and I made sure to remind them to not count down the days, but rather to cherish each and every one of them.
The Eden Prairie Education Association had their day at the capitol this week. My former colleagues and I had a great discussion about our legislative priorities.
OutFront Minnesota also had their day on the hill this week. I reunited with some former students and had an insightful and informative conversation about their legislative agenda.
Advocating for Later School Start Times
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Policy committee had an informational hearing on legislation that I am authoring on later school start times. It was an incredibly informative discussion with excellent points being made by both sides. I look forward to continued work on this so that we can find an affordable way to make sure our kids are going to school with a full night’s sleep.