Senate passes sweeping education package after hours of amendment votes on discipline, standards and schools' flexibility

The Minnesota Senate passed Senate File 1740, a sweeping education policy bill, after extended floor debate and more than a dozen substantive amendments on topics that included special‑education seclusion rules, charter-school accountability, school start dates, substitute teacher pay, student safety, sex‑education and gender‑identity provisions, and school data and transparency.

Sponsor remarks on the floor framed the bill as the product of months of bipartisan work in committee; the bill’s backers said it would strengthen accountability and student supports across the state. Opponents and some local-school officials urged caution and sought changes on several fronts.

Key floor actions and debates included: - Seclusion and student safety: Senators debated an amendment (A32) that would allow narrowly defined, parent‑ and IEP‑approved use of seclusion spaces for some students up…