It was one of those votes no one wanted to take. The state’s new maps dropped DFL senators and allies John Marty and Mary Jo McGuire into Senate District 66, forcing activists in the area to pick between them at a recent endorsing convention.

The state House voted by a 68-65 margin this evening to reject an amendment to the K-12 education bill that would have permitted alternative teacher certification. Supporters of the proposal believe it could help close the achievement gap for minority students by allowing non-traditional licensing programs such as Teach for America into the state's public schools.

The bill addresses questionable uses of state money and allows charter schools to own buildings. But the state's charter school association opposes some parts of the bill.