In 2009 the Minnesota legislature made it possible for districts to create schools with autonomy and exemption from state regulation reflective of the state's strong chartering sector.
The legislation authorizes creation of a new type of district school called a Site-Governed School. These new public schools are created by teachers, and approved by the local school board. The schools report to the district board. Their teachers remain district employees and members of the union local. Exemptions from the district's master contract may be achieved through agreements between the district board and teachers union.
The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers played a key role in the legislation's passage, providing compelling testimony to lawmakers about its potential to improve the job of teaching. Their advocacy foreshadowed a rapid increase in interest and activity in 2010 by United Teachers Los Angeles, to manage their own schools, too.
Legislation:
A 2010 recommendation, commissioned by the legislature, to form a state-level innovation entity to cultivate and guide efforts at creating schools that are new and also different.
Site-Governed Schools legislation, enacted in 2009.
Resources:
A typology of the three main ways of organizing schools in Minnesota: traditional district schools; site-governed district schools; state-chartered public schools.
An article in the Minnesota School Boards Association magazine on the Site-Governed Schools law.
*Image: Minnesota House Chamber, Michael Mingo
