New rules about what kids need to know in math, reading and English should be ready for schools this fall, according to a fast-track plan announced Wednesday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and new education Commissioner Cheri Pierson Yecke .

These new academic standards would replace parts of the Profile of Learning, the complex and embattled set of show-what-you-know learning standards the Legislature is expected to kill this year.

Pawlenty and Yecke said a group of parents, teachers and school administrators called the Minnesota Academic Standards Committee will be formed within a few weeks, come up with new math and English/reading requirements, and have the final product ready for the Legislature's consideration by the end of March.

They invited superintendents and education organizations to submit names for the committee, and encouraged interested citizens to apply. The deadline to apply is Feb. 7.

New standards will be strikingly different from the current Profile standards, Yecke said. They will focus more on what students should know, and have much less to do with the Profile's emphasis on how things should be taught.

New standards in subjects such as social studies and science will follow.

Yecke said she hopes to have the new K-12 standards in teachers' hands by summer so they can begin implementing them in their schools at the start of the 2003-04 school year.

Pawlenty made it plain that members of the new standards committee will have to hew to his agenda to devise something completely different from the Profile of Learning.

Asked what will happen if the committee comes up with standards he doesn't like, Pawlenty said: "Well, I'm governor."

And Yecke said she is looking for committee members who show "strong content knowledge" and a solid academic background.

Schools face change

The fast pace of change proposed by the administration worries some school officials.

"The [text]books are all aligned [to the current standards], the report cards are aligned, so is every parent expectation," said Janet Pladson , the Bloomington schools' assistant superintendent. "If [the new standards are] dramatically different, then we'll have much more work to do."

"To do a change that affects 900,000 kids by Sept. 1, 2003, will be very difficult if not impossible," said John Regan , superintendent of South Washington County schools. Regan added, however, that his district already plans to come up with names of prospective committee members.

Sen. Steve Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, chairman of the Senate's Education Policy Committee, was also concerned about the quick turnaround expected for the new standards.

"My concern is I don't see how in six weeks we're going to come up with a ground-up replacement for the Profile," he said. "We've been working on these [Profile] standards for six years in Minnesota."

Profile imperiled

As for the fate of the Profile of Learning, Pawlenty was careful to note that it's not yet kaput. But signs point to a quick demise. The Senate, which has fended off efforts by the House to kill the Profile over the past few years, probably will let it die this year, although Kelley stressed the need to have good replacement standards to take its place.

"[The Senate] can't save it," said Sen. Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, who helped fight repeal moves during the Profile's first two years of implementation. "There's no votes."

In addition, the Senate used to have an ally in former Gov. Jesse Ventura, who held firm in opposing repeal. No more. This year, for the first time since the Profile's inception, there's a governor in office who wants it gone. On Wednesday, Pawlenty and Yecke once again attacked the Profile as a well-meaning effort to improve student achievement that they say fell flat on its face.

"The goal was good, but it got botched in the implementation," Pawlenty said. "It wandered, it got mushy, it was not rigorous."

The Profile has come under fire from teachers for its cumbersome record-keeping, from parents for its seeming lack of academic rigor and from political activists for what is seen as government intrusion.

A Profile repeal is expected to get its first legislative hearing next Thursday, said Rep. Barb Sykora, R-Excelsior, chairwoman of the House Education Policy Committee, who hopes a vote can be taken then.

The outcome is in little doubt. The Republican-led House has voted overwhelmingly to kill or replace the Profile in each of the past four years, and has made repeal a priority this session.

It was the second House bill introduced in 2003.

In his bill, Rep. Tony Kielkucki, R-Lester Prairie, a longtime Profile foe, directed the commissioner to propose by April 15 a set of standards covering language arts, math, science, history and geography.

For Pogemiller, who headed the Senate Education Committee as the Profile was developed and during its first two years, protecting it was always about retaining high standards in Minnesota schools.

The movement to develop standards, he added, had been led by a Republican governor, Arne Carlson, and by DFLers -- a true "change coalition."

Pogemiller said that while he believes the timetable to develop standards is "ludicrous," he hopes Pawlenty's plan succeeds, adding, "The worst thing would be to lose this last decade of system change."

-- Those wishing to be considered for the state committee that will devise new academic standards for reading, English and math should call 651-582-1598 or sign up at the Department of Children, Families and Learning Web site, http://cfl.state.mn.us/ . The deadline is Feb. 7, and there are choices of several subcommittees to serve on.

-- The writers are at ndraper@startribune.com and alonetree@startribune.com .