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House repeals Profile of LearningBy T.W. Budig The Minnesota House of Representatives April 18, effectively repealed the Profile of Learning, voting by a wide margin to strike the implementation rules for the performanced-based curriculum. But some lawmakers depicted the vote as an exercise in gubernatorial politics. ěSometimes we get so carried away with gubernatorial politics it comes out onto the House floor,î said Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL, Roseville. Greilingís comment was directed towards to the Profile amendment author, House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty, R, Eagan, a gubernatorial candidate whose opponent, Republican businessman Brian Sullivan, opposes the hotbutton education initiative. On the House floor, Pawlenty said a number of outside, reputable education groups have criticized the profile of learning. ěEducation Weeklyî gave the profile a D-, he said. ěSo those warning lights have been going off on the dashboard for a long time,î said Pawlenty, adding any school district wishing to remain with the Profile could do so under the provision. A number of House DFLers spoke on behalf of the amendment, and DFL objections to it was lukewarm. Rep. Gene Pelowski Jr., DFL, Winona, called the profile the most top-down, bureaucratic attempt at educational reform seen in the United States. It has provoked teachers to leave the profession, he explained. Rep. Sondra Erickson, R, Princeton, said excellent teachers will continue to ignore the Profile. The amendment, which was cobbled onto an indoor clean air bill only after House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R, Kenyon, ruled that House Minority Leader Tom Pugh, DFL, South St. Paul, procedural objection was not germane. Pugh argued the amendment had nothing to do with the bill. The amendment passed the House on a 109 to 22 vote. Different people interpreted the House vote differently. ěOne is always suspect at this time of year,î said John Wodele, Ventura administration spokesman. Politicians like to put emotional issues before voters right before an election. Whether the amendment is pinned to gubernatorial politics, ěI donít know,î he said. Someone would have to get into the head of Pawlenty to know for sure, Wodele explained. Sutton charged that Pawlenty had voted against repealing the profile in the past. Thatís true, Pawlenty explained. In 1998, he voted against an amendment that not only would have repealed the profile but also the graduation standard and basic skills testing. He does not support repealing the latter two provisions, Pawlenty explained. ěI have a consistent voting record against the Profile of Learning,î he said. ěThe allegation that I been a supporter of the Profile of Learning is really shameless,î he said. Pawlenty dismissed the notion that the gubernatorial politics drove the profile vote. Look at the bipartisan support it received, he said. Butr Greiling called the amendment a dead end, saying it would go nowhere in the Senate. ©ECM Post Review |