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Important campaign update: last week we celebrated because HF63, a bill that would remove roadblocks for teachers by opening up new paths to teacher certification, passed the House Education Finance committee. This was an important victory, but the fight isn’t over yet. The House could vote on the bill any day now, and in order for it to pass, legislators will need to hear from you, their constituents.
If HF63 is passed into law, great teachers will no longer have to jump through unnecessary hoops before they can start making a difference in our struggling schools. Right now Minnesota law puts up major barriers to bringing in teachers through alternative routes. For example, if mid-career professionals or young people who majored in math or English instead of teaching want to teach public school in Minnesota, they have to go back to college. If an economics or political science major from one of the country’s best universities wanted to teach seventh grade math in Minnesota, she would have to pay to take high-level math classes before setting foot in the door of a struggling school.