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MLP-POL-01 • PURPOSE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION • PROPOSED v1.0

Purpose of Public Education

Requirement. Minnesota public education shall have as its primary purpose the development of students who can read with understanding, communicate clearly, use mathematics confidently, reason from evidence, understand scientific and civic institutions, apply practical knowledge, continue learning independently, and function competently as adults.

The state may establish additional educational objectives only when those objectives do not materially displace the time, resources, or instructional priority necessary to achieve foundational academic and practical competencies.

Implementation. State standards, graduation requirements, assessment systems, and statewide instructional mandates shall be reviewed for consistency with this purpose.

MLP-POL-02 • FOUNDATIONAL ACADEMIC PRIORITY • PROPOSED v1.0

Foundational Academic Priority

Requirement. State academic standards shall establish clear, cumulative, grade-appropriate mastery expectations in literacy, writing and communication, mathematics and quantitative reasoning, science and engineering, broad historical and geographic knowledge, and logic, research, and information evaluation.

Foundational deficiencies shall trigger targeted additional instruction. Advancement through grades shall not be treated as evidence of mastery when objective evidence demonstrates that essential prerequisite competencies have not been secured.

Implementation. Minnesota shall establish major mastery gates at the end of Grade 5, before entry into high school, and at graduation.

MLP-POL-03 • STANDARDS AND MASTERY • PROPOSED v1.0

Academic Standards and Mastery

Requirement. State academic standards shall specify measurable knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate. Standards shall distinguish required student outcomes from recommended instructional methods, curriculum materials, pedagogical philosophies, and interpretive frameworks.

Assessment shall evaluate knowledge, skill, application, explanation, reasoning, and creation where appropriate. A student’s academic evaluation shall not depend on agreement with a prescribed political, ideological, philosophical, or moral conclusion except where the task is to accurately describe or analyze that position as an object of study.

Implementation. Standards shall use a stable coding structure of Grade.Strand.Anchor.Benchmark and identify mastery expectations sufficient for statewide comparability.

MLP-POL-04 • DEVELOPMENTAL APPROPRIATENESS • PROPOSED v1.0

Developmental Appropriateness

Requirement. Required instructional content shall be evaluated for developmental complexity, graphic content, emotional intensity, cumulative emotional burden, academic purpose, age relevance, and whether the same educational competency can be taught effectively using substantially more developmentally appropriate material.

Elementary education shall give substantial priority to curiosity, reading enjoyment, imagination, broad knowledge, scientific exploration, accomplishment, creativity, and the development of foundational skills. Difficult historical subjects shall be taught accurately and proportionately as students develop sufficient background knowledge and maturity to understand them.

Implementation. Statewide content mandates shall document the developmental rationale for each affected grade band.

MLP-POL-05 • LOCAL CURRICULUM AUTHORITY • PROPOSED v1.0

Local Curriculum Authority

Requirement. The state shall establish statewide academic competency standards specifying measurable knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate.

Except where expressly authorized by statute, the state shall not require a school district to adopt a specified instructional philosophy, curriculum vendor, literary work, political framework, pedagogical method, or interpretive methodology as a condition of compliance with statewide academic standards.

A school district may select instructional materials, lesson sequences, projects, and methods consistent with locally adopted curriculum policy provided students are afforded instruction sufficient to achieve statewide competency standards.

Implementation. State guidance shall clearly distinguish mandatory student outcomes from optional instructional resources.

MLP-POL-06 • STATEWIDE MANDATE ACCOUNTABILITY • PROPOSED v1.0

Statewide Mandate Accountability

Requirement. A new statewide instructional mandate shall not take effect unless the proposing authority publicly identifies: the student competency the requirement is intended to improve; the evidence supporting the requirement; the grades affected; estimated instructional time; teacher training and administrative requirements; state and local fiscal impact; the method for evaluating outcomes; and the existing instructional activity reasonably expected to be displaced.

A statewide instructional requirement imposing material implementation cost on districts shall include an identified state funding mechanism sufficient to support the required implementation.

Implementation. Each mandate shall receive a periodic continuation review based on measured educational value and opportunity cost.

MLP-POL-07 • GRADUATION COMPETENCY • PROPOSED v1.0

Graduation Competency

Requirement. A Minnesota high-school diploma shall represent demonstrated academic and applied competence in reading, writing, quantitative reasoning, evidence evaluation, science, personal economics, household management, health and emergency readiness, employment preparation, civic navigation, technology, and continued independent learning.

Graduation requirements shall include an applied capstone requiring students to integrate multiple competencies in a realistic adult scenario and revise their plan in response to an unexpected financial, employment, health, housing, transportation, or household event.

Implementation. The Minnesota Learning Project proposes the Run Your Life standard as the model capstone.

MLP-POL-08 • MEASUREMENT AND PUBLIC REPORTING • PROPOSED v1.0

Measurement and Public Reporting

Requirement. Minnesota shall maintain a public education performance system that reports whether students are acquiring the competencies established in state standards and graduation requirements.

Measures shall include, where valid and privacy-protective: literacy; mathematics; writing; science; reasoning and information evaluation; attendance and engagement; applied graduation competence; postsecondary and workforce outcomes; per-pupil expenditures; and instructional-time allocation.

Performance reporting shall distinguish student outcomes from program implementation. Completion of a program, training, curriculum adoption, or compliance activity shall not by itself be reported as evidence of improved student learning.

Implementation. See Measurement & Accountability for the proposed reporting model.