Thissen’s “Student Bill of Rights” Executive Summary

The Minnesota Student Bill of Rights – Highlights

Overview:

Minnesota has a long tradition of excellent public schools.  Despite underfunding, a governor whose only definition of reform is “spend less money,” and increasing mandates and pressures, our schools are still producing amazing successes.

However, we face significant educational challenges.  ALL of our children deserve the best possible education that will allow them to compete and be engaged citizens in the 21^st century.  The achievement gap in Minnesota is embarrassing and inexcusable.  Burgeoning class sizes are making it difficult for our schools to serve as anything but warehouses.  Our curriculum is being squeezed by government mandates that erode local and teacher control.

We cannot simply tinker around the edges – adopting quick-fixes instead of a real investment in great teachers, manipulating the funding formula, or giving small nudges to early childhood education.  It is time to act on a bold new vision for our children.  They deserve the same opportunity to succeed that we had.  As a result, I am proposing a reinvention of and reinvestment in our children’s future that maintains the best of what we are doing now and encourages educational innovation.

The Minnesota Student Bill of Rights:

1.  Every child in Minnesota will receive a high-quality, 21st century education, regardless of where they live, what race they are, or how much money their family has.

2.  The State of Minnesota will fulfill its Constitutional obligation to fully and fairly fund public education from early childhood through college.

3.  Every child in Minnesota has the right to the early care and learning opportunities necessary to start school successfully.

4.  Our children will have access to high quality after-school and summer programming that promotes their success in school.

5.  Every Minnesota student will have access to, and be prepared for, higher education that meets his or her learning and career preparation needs.

6. Our schools will offer a broad curriculum that includes core competencies in math, science, reading and writing, but also emphasizes the arts, citizenship, technology, physical health and foreign languages.

7.  Every Minnesota child will be taught by high-quality, dynamic teachers who are well-trained, certified, and supported.

8.  Class sizes in Minnesota will be reasonable so that our children, and their parents, can build personal relationships with teachers who know them and understand their individual strengths and learning styles.

9.  School Boards, school administrators and teachers will be given local control to make decisions that best protect the children in their communities.

10.  Parents and the broader community will be invested and involved in Minnesota’s schools.

Key elements of the plan

Close the Achievement Gap:

The achievement gap is a complex problem that cannot be solved with simple, silver-bullet proposals.  Instead, it is time to take a comprehensive approach to tackle social, cultural, and institutional forces behind the achievement gap.  That means moving beyond the blame-the-schools game while recognizing that our schools do need to greatly improve their ability to reach and teach diverse students.

Targeting comprehensive, early childhood and family education (element 3) by improving both the readiness and health of children and families will give our children the skills they need to start school on a level playing field.

Providing after school activities (element 4), parental involvement, and an engaging curriculum (element 6) to classes that are reasonably sized so that teachers can form personal relationships with students (elements 8 and 7) is also critical to closing this gap.

Minnesotans have a proud educational tradition that is being marred by the racial achievement gap.  We owe our children more than a legacy of educational inequity.  It’s time to take on the achievement gap as a state.

Make a real investment in our future:

We’ve been expecting more and paying less for education in Minnesota.  Despite claims on both sides of the aisle that education will be “held harmless,” funding for our schools has only kept pace with inflation once in the past decade.

Our children deserve better than hollow promises.  They deserve a real investment in their and our future (element 2).

While we have to be realistic about budget constraints, a 5 year, phased-investment in our children benefits all of us.  Funding a quality education at all levels – early childhood, K-12, and higher education will build the intellectual capital or our state (elements 2, 3, and 5).

In conjunction with local control (element 9) and fewer mandates, our schools will be given the support they need to succeed.

A comprehensive, community-based approach:

We know that our children succeed when they live in safe, stable communities and have parents who are involved in their schooling (elements 9, 10).  Instead of focusing exclusively on school outcomes, let’s also take responsibility for what we’re putting into our schools.  It is time for all of us to make a personal commitment to our children’s success.

A broad, 21^st century curriculum:

Growing mandates, testing regimes, and inadequate funding have put pressure on schools to reduce course offerings.  We need rigorous offerings in the basics, but we also know that our children need to be equipped with dynamic, diverse, and adaptable skills to compete in a global economy (element 6).  Our schools are preparing them for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet. Let’s inspire our children with a broad curriculum that prepares them for a successful future.

You can access the full plan here.