Rep. Kurt Bills Waves Homework During Education Bill Debate (Video)

Debate in the Minnesota House over the Omnibus Education Finance bill was frequently heated throughout Tuesday and one of the more memorable exchanges was during the debate over an effort to strip vouchers from the bill.

The education bill included a provision that allows students who attend persistently low-performing schools to enroll in non-public schools.  The net effect would be to encourage students in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth to enroll at private schools.

Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL-Fridley) offered an amendment to delete that portion of the bill, which lead to several speeches from legislators supporting public school teachers and warning about the potential pitfalls of using state education funds to support private schools.

Rep. Kurt Bills (R-Rosemount) spoke in favor of the bill, at one point waving a stack of papers over his head. The papers were homework lessons he had been grading earlier in the day. Bills is an economics teacher at Rosemount High School.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated the bill would have the net effect of encouraging students to enroll at charter schools. While the omnibus education finance bill does have provisions in it that would aid charter schools, this particular amendment is focused more on encouraging students to enroll in private schools. I have changed the wording of the story to reflect that difference.