A bipartisan majority voted to send the bill to conference committee. Teachers have blasted the bill as an attack on tenure.

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Terri Bonoff predicted Friday that the bill -- which has drawn the ire of teachers and some DFLers -- would pass and head to the governor's desk.

The House moved to eliminate state law that directs school districts to terminate teachers with the least seniority during rounds of teacher layoffs.

Last year the House Republican majority introduced wide-ranging and comprehensive proposals to overhaul the teaching profession and diminish the power of teachers unions to set education policy.

In the always contentious arena of K-12 education policy, the movement to create a new teacher evaluation system in Minnesota finds Republicans and Democrats, business and labor groups agreeing that changes are needed.

In the wake of passing alternative teacher licensing earlier this year, Republicans have teed up more policy reforms to the K-12 education system in their omnibus school finance bill.

Gov. Mark Dayton says he will sign a bill into law that opens up alternative pathways to teacher licensure. In a letter addressed to Education Senate and House Committee chairs, Rep. Pat Garofalo and Sen. Gen Olson, Dayton said he and Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius do not agree with every provision in the legislation, but have worked out a bill he is willing to sign in hopes to close the achievement gap.

A copy of an e-mail from Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher to local union presidents was accidentally attached to the back of a packet in Monday's Health and Human Services Committee. It shows the union trying to reach out to its Republican members.

Sen. Dave Thompson has long been a believer in the principle of local control. During his years as a conservative talk radio host, the freshman Republican legislator frequently espoused his belief in the capacity of local residents to solve their own problems.

The public introduction of Senate File 1 by Republicans was mostly about symbolism, and GOP Sen. Geoff Michel did not seem to hide it.