What's next? Minnesota Health Standards left in limbo after judge's ruling
After a judge’s rejection, Minnesota’s health standards are facing an uncertain future. “I think in essence what we’re hoping is that we can address the delinquencies of what the submission issue was and then. . .
After a judge’s rejection, Minnesota’s health standards are facing an uncertain future. “I think in essence what we’re hoping is that we can address the delinquencies of what the submission issue was and then resubmit this. But as it sits right now, it doesn’t seem like that’s an option,” said Stephen Chapin. A 30 year veteran health teacher, Chapin was one of three dozen Minnesotans who served on theMinnesota Department of Education’s(MDE) committee developing the new statewide health standards originally set to go into your child’s classroom over the next few years. The Rejection“Minnesota is one of only two states in the country that doesn’t have their own set of adopted standards,” Chapin said. The committee spent a good year putting the standards together and had passed every hurdle to make them official, until the last one. An administrative judge had to approve the new standards, which is usually a formality. But this time, the judgerejected them. “The first thing is a question. You know? Where did we go wrong?” Chapin said of his reaction. The judge said MDE had failed to provide enough lawmakers advance notice of a public hearing on the standards. “The failure to provide notice of the rescheduled hearing deprived the legislators of an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the rulemaking process. The Department did not take corrective action to cure the defect. Accordingly, the failure cannot be deemed harmless,” Judge Ann Reilly wrote in her recommendation to the Chief Administrative Law Judge. It wasn’t the only reason Reilly gave, but it was the only one Judge Jessica Palmer-Denig agreed with in making the final ruling. What’s next?The next week, MDE told 5 Eyewitness News it was still trying to figure out what’s next in the process, but that it “remains committed to ensuring all students receive accurate, age appropriate, and equitable health education. ”“A lot of disappointment,” said Tiger Simpson about the ruling. “I was just gutted and devastated,” said Jill Farris. Simpson and Farris are health and wellness experts who worked with Chapin on the standards committee. “Do we need to start over?” asked Farris, director of training and education at the University of Minnesota’s Center forHealthy Youth Development. “We’re not totally sure, to be honest with you. I think that I’m hopeful that, whatever direction we go, we don’t throw out all of the work that this committee has done. ”The NeedSimpson,Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Respectat Macalester College, says the biggest reason Minnesota needs the standards is to make sure all students get the same training. Right now, without statewide standards in place, each district decides what it teaches. “Some of them, best case scenario, have really good support systems and resources in their parents, guardians, family systems, but that’s not the case for everybody, and that even differs further based on where they’re at in this whole wide state,” Simpson said. Chapin added that without statewide standards, many districts turn to standards from national organizations. “I think a lot of districts have adopted theSHAPE America standards, or there’s another set called theNational Health Education Consensus Standards. Every district has their own way of doing it,” he said. “We just want it to be consistent. ”Something that won’t be changing this year or the next with the new standards now in limbo. “Status quo. It’s sticking with what we have,” Simpson said. Which for Chapin means using the new standards in his classroom. “I’ve got a template of what they are, and I’m going to use them in my classroom,” Chapin said. Everyone 5 Eyewitness News spoke with for this story also emphasized that both parents and students had joined the educators on the committee, providing input into what the standards should look like. For Related Stories:EducationHealthMinnesota Department of EducationPilar PedrazaStudents