Details for Dec. 20th Social Studies Standards Hearing

Thank you again to all who submitted a hearing request on the Minnesota Social Studies Standards.  Below is the detailed information for either appearing at the hearing and or submitting written testimony. Final details on big areas of concern will follow in the next emails.  Please consider choosing one or two areas of interest or concern as your time allows during this busy time of year.  Thank you for caring about the future of Minnesota’s children!

The following information is quoted from the Dual Notice, the hearing notice, or phone calls or emails to the judge’s office or the Department of Education.  The standards alone are available here. The standards with the benchmarks are available here. The Department of Education’s justification for the standards is here (SONAR).

Reasons to oppose them are available at the following links and more details on specific standards will follow in the next email:

Social Studies Hearing Request of Dr. Ryan MacPherson

Celebrate Thanksgiving by Preserving Good Social Studies Standards – Request a Hearing! 

Please Help Change Minnesota’s Social Studies Standards for the Good 

Comments Submitted for Final Draft of Minnesota Social Studies Standards  

Comments on US History Standards from an Attorney and Teacher of the Constitution 

National Association of Scholars Review of MN Social Studies Standards

John Fonte Review of Minnesota Social Studies Standards 

Southern Poverty Law Center Review 

Please Comment!! Social Studies Standards Continue Disastrous Course in Final Draft!  

Alert! New PC Social Studies Standards are a Disaster!! 

ORAL TESTIMONY – Those that wish to and are able to appear at the hearing may do so as follows:

Come as close as possible to 9 AM on December 20th to room CC-15, Minnesota Department of Education, 1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113. Although you do not need to be there immediately at 9:00, the judge will only stay as long as there are people signed up to testify. If you want to give testimony, but do not think that you can be there in the morning, then we would recommend submitting written testimony (see below). The judge will have a sign-in sheet for those that wish to speak and will divide the time among those that want to give oral comments, so we cannot predict how long each person will be able to speak. Although each speaker may be given a longer time to speak, and if there are many people there, it is possible that less time will be given, five to seven minutes is a good rule of thumb. If you have complex information, please summarize it in your oral presentation and then bring the details in written form (again, see below). The hearing may go as long as 4:00, but it truly depends on how many people can attend.

WRITTEN TESTIMONY – For those that are unable to attend the hearing or who wish to revise and extend their oral testimony, you may submit written testimony as follows:

There is no page limit, but all evidence presented must pertain to the proposed rules. Interested parties will have at least five working days to submit comments, which depending on whether or not December 24th and 31st are considered working days, comments would be due at 4:30 PM on December 28th or 31st, 2012, or January 2nd, 2013. In addition, at her discretion, Judge Barbara Neilson, may at the hearing, order for the comment period to be extended up 20 calendar days or to January 9th, 2013. Following the comment period, there is a five-working-day rebuttal period when the agency and any interested person may respond in writing to any new information submitted. No one may submit additional evidence during the five-day rebuttal period.

Written comments MUST be received by 4:30 PM on whatever due date is decided by the judge. They may be sent to:

Judge Barbara Nielson

EMAIL: rulecomments@state.mn.us with OAH 11-1300-30011 – Rules-Social Studies Academic Standards in the subject line

 OR US MAIL:

Office of Administrative Hearings

600 North Robert Street P.O. Box 64620

St. Paul, MN 55164-0620

OR FAX: 651-361-7936

Judge Nielson may be reached at 651-361-7845 if you have any questions. You do not have to be a Minnesota resident to submit written testimony.

If at all possible, please send copies of your written comments to office@edlibertywatch.org either by BLIND COPY or as a FORWARD after you have submitted them. Thank you very much.

The agency requests that any person submitting written views or data to the Administrative Law Judge before the hearing or during the comment or rebuttal period also submit a copy of the written views or data to the agency contact person at the address stated above.  [Kerstin Forsythe Hahn at the Department of Education, 1500 Highway 36 West, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113, phone: 651-582-8583, email: Kerstin.forsythe@state.mn.us. TTY users may call the Department of Education at 651-582-8201.]