Congress

• Provides only about 6 percent of operating revenue for Minnesota’s K-12 schools.
• Passes laws and appropriates funds for special education, No Child Left Behind, Title I (education of disadvantaged children), English Language Learners, Indian education, financial aid for post-secondary education, and other areas of nationwide importance.
• Requires states and school districts to comply with federal laws and mandates to receive federal funding.

U.S. Department of Education

• Administers programs created by Congress, including No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (special education). Establishes regulations and distributes federal funds.
• Interprets the law through policies and guidelines that determine, for example, how much “flexibility” states will receive in implementing NCLB.

Minnesota Legislature

• Responsible for funding prekindergarten through 12th-grade public education under the Minnesota Constitution.
• Sets preK-12 school funding levels, formulas, tax limits and revenue sources – including local property taxes – every two years.
• Appropriates funding for public colleges and universities every two years, and pays for higher education facilities through a bonding bill in even-numbered years.
• Sets statewide academic standards and testing and graduation requirements.
• Debates and enacts laws on many other issues affecting education, including teacher licensure and pay, pensions, statewide health insurance for school employees, student records and discipline, desegregation, school choice programs and more.

Minnesota Department of Education

• Proposes state legislation and implements many laws enacted by the Legislature and Congress.
• Makes rules, as authorized by the Legislature, that local school districts must follow.
• Determines whether schools have made “Adequate Yearly Progress” under the No Child Left Behind Act, and oversees other requirements of the federal law.

Local school districts

• Derive their authority from the Legislature. Districts may spend only what state law provides for, and must adhere to other laws enacted by the Legislature and Congress.
• Authorized to levy local property taxes for particular purposes – some of which require voter approval and some of which do not. (Part of the state funding bill approved by the Legislature every two years actually consists of local property taxes.)
• Negotiate with teachers and other employees over pay, benefits and working conditions.
• Determine staffing levels, curriculum, student assessments, student services and activities, school calendars, school facilities, transportation, and other programs as authorized or required by state law, within the budgetary limits set by the Legislature and local voters.

Minnesota Board of Teaching

• Authorized by the Legislature to make rules governing teacher licensing, including the criteria teachers must meet to become “highly qualified” under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Citizens

• Approve or defeat referendums to raise local property tax revenue for school construction, capital purchases such as technology, or additional operating money for local schools.
• Help determine district funding through family decisions on where to send their children to school. (State funding is based on the number of students in a district.)
• Influence school board decisions by applying pressure for or against district policies or expenditures.
• Serve on budget advisory committees in some districts, or on site committees that determine some school-level expenditures.
• Raise money for sports and other school activities.
• Influence the Legislature’s decisions through individual or group contacts with lawmakers.