The proposed rules of the Minnesota Department of Education relating to Social Studies Academic Standards have been assigned to Administrative Law Judge Barbara L. Neilson. As part of the rulemaking process, a hearing was held on December 20, 2012, in St. Paul. During the hearing, a twenty-calendar-day period was set for the receipt of initial written comments regarding the proposed rules. Thus, the initial deadline for the submission of written comments in this rulemaking proceeding is 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2013. After the initial period for submission of written comments ends, state law provides the Department and all interested persons an additional period of five working days for filing a written response to any comments which were submitted during the initial comment period. New matters may not be introduced or raised during this five-day rebuttal period. The five-day rebuttal period will expire at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 16, 2013.
Interested members of the public can e-mail, mail, fax, or deliver comments to Judge Neilson concerning the proposed rules. Her address is as follows:
Hon. Barbara L. Neilson
Administrative Law Judge
600 North Robert Street
P.O. Box 64620
St. Paul, MN 55164-0620
Fax: 651-361-7936
Please be sure to reference OAH Docket No. 11-1300-30011 in your comments. The Chief Administrative Law Judge has granted an extension of the report deadline to March 22, 2013.
Administrative Law Judge Barbara Neilson has issued her Rule Report and it can be viewed at: Rule-Report-of-ALJ-11-1300-30011.pdf.
The Proposed Rules, Notice of Hearing, Statement of Need and Reasonableness, and Agency Exhibits relating to the proposed rules are now available on the website of the Department of Education. That website may be found at the following link: http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Welcome/Rule/ActiveRule/SocStudies/index.html.
Public Exhibits, Public Comments, and Agency Comments relating to the Proposed Rules are posted below. Additional Public and Agency Comments that are received by Judge Neilson will be posted on an on-going basis.
· Pre-Hearing Public Comments (received prior to the Dec. 20, 2012, hearing)
· Public Exhibits 1-9 (received into the record during the Dec. 20, 2012, hearing)
· Post-Hearing Public Comments (received during the initial comment period and the five-day rebuttal period following the Dec. 20, 2012, hearing)
· Post-Hearing Agency Comments (received during the initial comment period and the five-day rebuttal period)
Agency Response - January 9, 2013
Agency Response - January 16, 2013