Senate saves PSEO and alternative teacher pathways. Will the victory hold?
On a bipartisan vote, the Minnesota Senate has protected an alternative pathway to teacher licensure and stopped a change to the state’s postsecondary enrollment options (PSEO) program that would have made faith-based institutions ineligible for participation.
As I wrote here, an early version of the omnibus education policy bill included provisions that would reinstate licensure barriers and prevent colleges or universities that require a statement of faith in their student process from PSEO eligibility.
But two amendments to the Senate version (S.F. 1311), one introduced by Sen. Jim Abeler and the other by Sen. Julia Coleman, resulted in bipartisan votes that saved the pathway for experienced educators to obtain a permanent teaching license and protected religious freedom.
This is great news from the Senate, but the House version still contains both of these harmful provisions, so work remains in conference committee.
