As most Minnesota students wring the last bit of freedom out of their summer break, a few of their peers are already catching the bus, pulling out fresh school supplies and settling into their classrooms.
Though the vast majority of the state’s schools won’t be back in session until after Labor Day — a requirement under state law — a few districts granted special waivers are getting a head start on the new school year. First up: the Southland School District, near the Iowa border in southeast Minnesota, where some students started Monday with learning conferences and all students were back in class on Wednesday. This week, students in a dozen more school districts, most of them in southern or west-central Minnesota, will join them.
By the time most schools open on Sept. 3, 26 districts around the state already will have their school year well underway. Unlike in recent years, however, few students in the metro area will be back early; Minneapolis Public Schools are returning to a post-Labor Day start for the first time in six years, and just one suburban district, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, is sending some of its students back early to accommodate construction in the spring and summer.
Overall, the number of districts that sought early start waivers dipped slightly this year, and many granted a waiver still opted for a typical September start. But the perennial discussion about flexibility in school calendars has showed little sign of disappearing.
After the past school year, in which a particularly cold and snowy winter threatened districts’ ability to get in enough instructional days, some lawmakers and school leaders say they expect the debate over starting before or after Labor Day will continue into next year’s legislative session.
“That’s an interest that has never waned, never gone away,” said Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association. “Local governments, local school boards who set the [school] calendar feel they should have the authority to set the start and end dates of the calendar year.”
Changing traditions?
Minnesota is one of only a few states that require schools to start after Labor Day.
The law was drafted with the input of resort owners and others, who said a shorter summer for students would shrink a needed labor force and reduce attendance at the State Fair. It has only a few exceptions, including for districts accommodating a construction or remodeling project that costs at least $400,000, or for districts along the state line that want to match their schedules with those of schools in neighboring states. Occasionally, there are other special situations, like when the Eastern Carver County School District modified its school year in 2016 to accommodate the Ryder Cup golf tournament.
Minneapolis schools, meanwhile, attempted a multiyear experiment to see if an earlier start and longer school year would help shore up the district’s budget and raise student achievement. (The schedule change had minimal impact on either goal, and an overwhelming majority of parents surveyed wanted to return to a post-Labor Day start.)
This year, state lawmakers proposed two separate bills — neither of them ultimately successful — that would have allowed more districts to start before Labor Day. Some were particularly interested in helping schools prepare for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, in which Labor Day will fall later than usual.
Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, said she introduced a bill giving all schools the flexibility to start before Labor Day to ensure districts don’t end up scrambling to make up snow days at the end of the year — and that the Legislature doesn’t end up having to sort out a last-minute plan to forgive missed days, like it did this year.
“I think we definitely have to seriously look at the 2020-2021 school year, because I don’t want to have to go through another snow days bill,” she said.
Lobbying for later start
Youakim said she expects another debate in the 2020 session but believes changing state law will be an uphill battle. Leaders in the hospitality, grocery and gas station industries, along with representatives from the State Fair, have lobbied against pushing back the start of the school year. In addition to fears about shrinking the youthful summer labor force or threatening fair traditions, parents and families have also voiced concerns about changing holiday and vacation plans.
In the Southland district, attended by about 450 students, middle school and high school Principal Scott Hall said there was some consternation about this year’s early start. (Voters in the district passed a bond referendum last fall, and a major construction project will be underway this year and next summer.) There were worries about vacations and State Fair entries, but Hall said school leaders are trying to work with families and students.
“As a district we’re being as flexible and understanding as we possibly can,” he said.
Working around fair, MEA
Elsewhere, however, early start has become a regular transition. Springfield Public Schools, about an hour’s drive west of Mankato, have started in August for a decade, and this year classes will begin Monday.
Superintendent Keith Kottke said the district seeks the annual waiver based on academic benefits of an altered school calendar; the district avoids major interruptions to curriculum by being able to end the first quarter of classes just before the annual October break for the Minnesota Educator Academy teachers’ conference and ends the first semester before the winter holiday break.
Kottke said the district starts the year with two four-day weeks to accommodate students who participate in the State Fair and runs into few attendance problems.
Plus, he said, operating under a different calendar from most schools in the state means Springfield can nab top speakers and trainers for teachers before they’re already booked elsewhere.
“We’ve been able to find some great professional development and speakers that are available because we’re not on the same schedule,” he said.
Almost two years ago, a Green Line light-rail train sailed through a red light in St. Paul and smacked into a sedan driven by 29-year-old Nic Westlake, who died within days of the crash.
The tragedy left Westlake’s family and friends struggling to make sense of why a vibrant young life was suddenly and inexplicably cut short. They soon discovered something else: A loophole in state law that prevented the operator of the train from being charged.
The Westlakes and their supporters, as well as two key lawmakers, successfully pushed through legislation at the Capitol this session that holds light-rail operators accountable under the state’s reckless and careless driving laws.
Yet the family says there’s more to be done to make light rail safer — and they hope to do so either through more legislation or through litigation pending against the Metropolitan Council, which operates public transportation in the Twin Cities.
“We’re uniquely positioned to take up this cause,” said Westlake’s mother, Lisa Westlake, of Rapid City, S.D. “We care about [safety] a lot. This shouldn’t happen. These are solvable problems.”
Because the Westlake lawsuit is pending in Ramsey County District Court, Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said “there is little we can say on the remaining issues, but it is absolutely true that we are saddened anytime someone is harmed on our system. We take seriously our commitment and responsibility of providing a safe and secure transit system.”
A jury trial is scheduled for this fall.
“The whole issue is the problem with how the Green Line was put on University Avenue,” said Ryan Timlin, president of Local 1005 of the Amalgamated Transit Workers union, which represents light-rail operators. “We knew it would open up doors for things like this to happen. The trains should have been elevated or underground.”
The operator of the train that hit Nic Westlake’s car, Abdellatif El Maarouf, still works at Metro Transit but doesn’t operate light rail or buses, Padilla said.
Green Line collisions
Gathering at the Dancers Studio in St. Paul recently, the Westlake family exudes a sense of quiet purpose. This is where Nic honed his skills as a world-class ballroom dancer with his partner and fiancée, Neli Petkova, who was injured in the crash. Recently, the grand ballroom at the studio was named in his honor.
A block away, the Green Line rumbled by with a dull clang. Light-rail trains travel regularly from downtown St. Paul to Target Field in Minneapolis, mostly snaking along the busy spine of University Avenue. Because of its inches-away proximity to pedestrians, bikes and all forms of motor vehicles, collisions with light-rail trains along the route are not uncommon.
Since beginning service in 2014, there have been seven fatal crashes involving the Green Line, according to Metro Transit. The Blue Line light rail, which began operating in 2004, counts 14 deaths along its route between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America.
The Westlake family is calling for Metro Transit to install video cameras in LRT operators’ cabs.
“We have no idea why the driver missed that red light in our case,” said Nic Westlake’s older brother Peter. “There are cameras from every other angle [in light-rail trains]. We can’t tell what’s going on, especially with someone operating a huge vehicle that impacts thousands of people every day.”
They’re also pushing for bigger and brighter signs alerting LRT drivers when a traffic light turns red, now indicated by a series of horizontal and vertical bars that the family says are difficult to see. There are 68 of these intersections along the Green Line’s 11-mile route.
The family is also suggesting that the advertising wraps that encapsulate trains don’t cover the front cab, which they say should be brightly painted. The train that killed Nic Westlake was wrapped in a dark purple advertising sheath.
“If Nic had caught something [bright] out of the corner of his eye …” his mom says, her voice trailing off. “I understand the value of advertising, but this advertisement drove into my son.”
The family also believes automatic braking equipment should be installed in light-rail trains, which would head off collisions or runs through a red light.
“If I can go out and buy a brand-new car today and it can stop me from getting into a collision, there’s really no reason why a light-rail train running on rails couldn’t do the same,” Peter Westlake said.
The path forward
Whether more legislation is needed to achieve the Westlake family’s goals is unclear.
“Obviously any legislation needs sponsors and the logical place for a family to start is with their own legislators,” said Eric Janus, a professor at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul.
Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, who co-sponsored the bill at the Capitol, said “in spite of personal pain of loss, the Westlake family worked to produce good by pushing for a much-needed update in our traffic laws.”
The House co-sponsor, Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, said Peter Westlake and brother Seth “were with us every step of the way. They were amazing.” Hearing their story “helped to put a human face on the legislation,” she said.
Janus said it’s not unusual for a family or an individual to push for change in the law after experiencing a tragedy, but more typically that occurs at the behest of lobbyists, nonprofit organizations and other organized entities, or the lawmakers themselves. Still, he said “people pay attention to the vivid images they have of particular stories or situations.”
Peter Westlake testified at the Legislature about his brother, and the law’s loophole. “It’s nice to see some small change; hopefully some life we’ll never meet will be saved,” he said.
“I think Nic would be really proud to know that he helped make the LRT safer,” he said.
A politically neutral pandemic played a big part in plenty being left unfinished when the 2020 legislative session concluded early Monday morning.
Yet, hope remains things can still get done.
As the clock counted down to the midnight deadline to pass legislation, it became more apparent with each tick that partisan politics would again prove too much to overcome for many issues, meaning legislators left the State Capitol with lots still on the plate, including bonding, oversight of federal coronavirus relief funds, housing assistance and tax changes.
The coronavirus changed things in a way nobody had experienced.
“The pandemic kind of reached in and grabbed the heart of the legislative session out,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) said at a media availability. “While we did some really good work to address COVID-19, the regular work of this session, a bonding bill, didn’t get done in time.”
Now what?
“The question before us is whether our political system in Minnesota can rally, come together again as it did for a few weeks this session, and begin to address the long-term economic consequences and health consequences of COVID-19,” said House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley). “What we’ve seen in the waning days of the legislative session can’t continue.”
Everything seemed normal early in a session in which little had to get done. Committees and divisions met in person to discuss and create proposals members hoped could eventually reach the desk of Gov. Tim Walz.
Little did anyone know that would soon turn, forcing the House to dramatically change how it operates. The State Office Building and State Capitol became eerily silent. Remote hearings via Zoom replaced face-to-face interaction, social distancing become a mandate and members in the House Chamber often wore masks while others fulfilled their role from locations all around the state.
A nearly $50 billion biennial state budget was put together last year, so members could — and, with so many unknowns, largely did — put off any action on that issue. That left a bonding bill as the golden item sought in 2020, as is tradition in the second year of a biennium.
The House unveiled a $2.5 billion capital investment package — $2.03 billion in general obligation bonds — with about a week to go in the session; the Senate put forth a package that included $998 million package Saturday. Both failed to reach the three-fifths threshold for passage in each body. Three Senate DFLers were the only people in either body to cross party lines.
House Republicans said HF2529 was too big in today’s economic climate; many Senate DFLers said SF3463 bill was too small and too partisan. House DFLers noted the state’s growing list of needs — more than $5 billion was requested — lower interest rates and a chance to put people back to work among reasons for support.
Everyone ended up with zero. So far.
Gazelka said agreement was reached on a final number. He would not divulge the sum, but hinted it’s in the $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion range.
A deal could be acted upon next month.
If Walz opts to extend his emergency powers next month, it would trigger a special session, which many members anticipate would be June 12. In a post-session statement, House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) urged unity.
“The coming weeks will give us further clarity on our state’s financial situation, time to evaluate our response to the pandemic, and time to make better decisions. We did our best work this session when all four caucuses worked together closely with the governor, and I look forward to doing exactly that between now and June 12.”
“We’re already close on many things,” Gazelka said.
“Minnesotans want us to work together,” Walz said. “… These issues that keep coming up will demand that we work together.”
The omnibus education policy bill formally described as “slim” only got thinner with the adoption of a delete all amendment on the House Floor Sunday.
Sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins), HF163, as amended, was passed 77-56 by the House in the session’s final seconds. Because the Senate adjourned sine die, the bill is dead.
“HF163 became my attempt to find bills that had general agreement among stakeholders, would grant schools some needed flexibility, and it would have assisted students, teachers, school nurses and administrators as school began again in the fall,” Youakim said. “What made it through negotiations with the Senate fell woefully short, but there are some bright spots and provisions.”
The trimmed down bill includes measures that would support special education students by offering access to alternative delivery of specialized instruction services, and require teachers to have mental health and suicide prevention training before they’re relicensed.
It would also require schools to adopt and provide evidence-based vaping prevention curriculum at least once to students in grades six through eight, and would encourage districts to provide delivery of this curriculum to high school students.
Early childhood provisions would limit the circumstances under which a school could expel or suspend a child from a school-based prekindergarten program, and establish a developmentally appropriate screening timeline for recipients of early learning scholarships. It would also change the deadline by which child care providers would be required to receive a three- or four-star Parent Aware rating in order to be eligible to receive early learning scholarship funds.
“Unfortunately, there were many important provisions that fell victim to the negotiation process with the other body’s chair,” Youakim said. “Provisions that would have made differences for our students who are frequently left behind.”
Previously considered provisions that were not included would have set a statewide goal for increasing teachers of color and American Indian teachers by at least 2% per year; required districts to develop and post a school meal policy that outlines how they will handle lunch debt; and required education records to include pupil withdrawal agreements when a student transfers to a new school.
Several amendments were unsuccessfully offered, including a proposal from Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) that generated a lot of discussion. The proposal would have given school districts permission to hold in-person graduation ceremonies in accordance with social distancing guidelines.
“Have we gotten so far astray in this world that we won’t even allow local people to find ways to celebrate milestones,” Kresha said. “If we truly are the land of rocks and cows up here then we have plenty of space … we can be far enough away that we don’t spread a virus, but yet close enough to know we’re still neighbors, family members, friends and more importantly that we’re still alive.”
Three months ago, if Minnesota nurses used personal protective equipment the way they have been instructed to use it today — in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic — they could have been fired or lost their licenses.
“This is totally foreign to what we were taught in nursing school,” said Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association and a registered nurse in an intensive care unit. “To be practicing the way we are now supposed to be practicing … is totally unacceptable.”
Many of the nurses expressed concern about the inherent contradiction of rationing PPE while they supposedly have enough, especially given the high volume of gloves, gowns, and masks needed when treating patients with COVID-19.
“We need transparency and truthfulness and not gaslighting,” said Tonya Moss.
House Select Committee on Minnesota’s Pandemic Response and Rebuilding (Remote Hearing) 5/19/20
Current guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control – which shape hospital policies – have been lowered, so that they are no longer based on best infectious disease practices, but on PPE availability, said Ericka Helling.
Practices vary from hospital to hospital, but some nurses are using surgical masks while working with COVID-19 patients, even though they do not offer sufficient protection; re-using N95 masks when they are available; and using cloth gowns instead of disposable paper gowns, the nurses said.
They are also sometimes doing lab work and day-to-day cleaning so hospitals can limit the amount of PPE that needs to be used, Helling said.
Mary Krinkie, vice president of government relations for the Minnesota Hospital Association, said PPE availability has improved significantly over the past month, but supply chain issues remain a concern.
“It is always changing,” she said. “If there’s a spike, you can go through PPE perhaps much faster than you thought you were going to.”
Some supplies purchased by the state may also not arrive when expected, or be diverted to another location, she said.
“This is not about the money, this is about being able to physically get our hands on this personal protective equipment,” she said.
If needed to address PPE shortages, the Minnesota Hospital Association would support a reversion to the governor’s previous peacetime emergency executive order limiting elective procedures as a way to conserve supplies, Krinkie said.
The resumption of elective procedures is “very alarming,” given the already limited supplies of PPE and the measures hospitals have taken to conserve their supplies, Turner said.
It took no action, but intends to continue discussions about how state appropriations are being used to address PPE shortages and Department of Health standards. Other House committees may hold interim hearings, as well.
The pandemic has not only caused a public health emergency, but also a “policy challenge unlike any we have seen in my lifetime,” Hortman said.
“There’s a lot of follow up that will come out of this,” she said.
We have known our state Rep. Cheryl Youakim for many years. She has worked hard to serve our communities as both a city council member and a legislator. She stays connected to the residents of Hopkins and St. Louis Park. Her work in public schools has given her a special understanding of the challenges facing kids and their parents. She fights for solutions in education, health care and transportation that are right for us and our neighbors because she has spent the time to listen.
No incumbent politician is entitled to reelection. But Cheryl has earned our support through her diligence, creativity, thoughtfulness and her deep connection to the people of her district. The residents of District 46B will be better off if Cheryl Youakim is representing us again. We urge you to join us in voting for her Tuesday, Nov. 6.
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