Senate Counsel, Research
and Fiscal Analysis
Minnesota Senate Bldg.
95 University Avenue W. Suite 3300
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-4791
Alexis C. Stangl
Director
   Senate   
State of Minnesota
 
 
 
 
 
S.F. No. 453 - Omnibus Early Childhood through Grade 12 Education Budget Bill, First Engrossment
 
Author: Senator Charles W. Wiger
 
Prepared By: Ann Marie Lewis, Senate Counsel (651/296-5301)
Bjorn E. Arneson, Senate Analyst (651/296-3812)
 
Date: April 17, 2013



 

ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION

Sections 1 and 9.  Early admission to kindergarten. Requires that board-adopted policies for early admission be based on a comprehensive evaluation to determine the child’s ability to meet kindergarten expectations and progress to first grade in the subsequent year.

Section 2.  Length of school year; hours of instruction.  Specifies that an all day kindergarten calendar must include at least 850 hours of instruction.

Sections 3-5.  Pupil accounting cross references.  Replaces references to resident marginal cost pupil units with references to adjusted pupil units in school district reorganization statutes, to align with pupil accounting changes made in other sections of the bill.

Section 6.  Pupil counts related to all day kindergarten.  Clarifies pupil counts in relation to the all day kindergarten changes.

Sections 7-8.  Inflation adjustment for nonpublic pupil aids.  Technical change related to calculating inflation adjustments for nonpublic pupil aid and nonpublic pupil transportation aid for FY 2015 and FY 2016; neutralizes the impact of pupil unit weighting changes taking effect in FY 2015.

Section 10.  Pupil unit weights.  Changes pupil unit weights from 1.25 for prekindergarten disabled, .612 for kindergarten, 1.115 for grades 1-3, 1.06 for grades 4-6 and 1.3 for grades 7-12 to 1.0 for prekindergarten disabled, .55 for part-time kindergarten, 1.0 for all day every day kindergarten, 1.0 for grades 1-6 and 1.2 for grades 7-12, beginning in FY 2015.  To qualify for the higher all-day every day kindergarten weight, a pupil must be enrolled in a free all-day every day kindergarten program that is available to all kindergarten students at the pupil’s school.

Sections 11, 12 and 18.  Declining enrollment revenue.  Beginning in FY 2015, establishes a new component of general education revenue, “declining enrollment revenue,” to replace funding previously provided to districts with declining enrollment through marginal cost pupil units.  Sets declining enrollment revenue equal to the decline in adjusted pupil units between the prior year and the current year times 28 percent of the formula allowance.  Strikes definitions of adjusted marginal cost pupil units and resident marginal cost pupil units.

Section 13.  Learning year pupil units; all day kindergarten.  Technical changes relating to the pupil weighting in section 10.

Section 14.  General education revenue.  In fiscal year 2015, alternative teacher compensation is rolled out of general education revenue. Declining enrollment revenue, basic supplemental revenue, pension adjustment revenue, and safe schools revenue are rolled into general education revenue.

Section 15.  Basic revenue.  Increases the formula allowance by $52 (1 percent), from $5,224 to $5,276 for FY 2014.  Beginning in FY 2015, calculates basic revenue using adjusted pupil units rather than adjusted marginal cost pupil units. Sets the formula allowance for FY 2015 and later at $5,687.  Due to changes in pupil unit weights and other structural changes, the $5,687 formula allowance for FY 2015 is equivalent to the $5,276 for FY 2014.

Section 16.  Extended time revenue.  Technical change related to formula allowance adjustment in section 15.

Section 17.  Small schools revenue.  Formula simplification and technical change to account for the removal of marginal cost pupil unit accounting.

Section 19.  Basic supplemental revenue.  Beginning in fiscal year 2015, basic supplemental revenue equals $56 multiplied by adjusted pupil units.

Sections 20-21.  Safe schools.  Beginning in 2015, safe schools revenue is a component of general revenue. An additional $2 is added to the original formula.  Creates an additional use of school revenue: up to $2 per pupil may be reserved for laminated glass.

Section 22.  Compensatory revenue.  Adjusts the compensatory revenue formula for fiscal year 2015 and later to neutralize the impact of the change in pupil unit weights in section 9.

Sections 23-24 and 28-29.  Sparsity revenue.  Deducts $411 from the formula allowance used in calculating secondary and elementary sparsity revenues for FY 2015 and later to neutralize the impact of pupil unit weighting changes taking effect in FY 2015. With this adjustment, the formula allowance used for these calculations is $5,276, the same as the FY 2014 formula allowance.   Technical change to the transportation sparsity program to account for the removal of marginal cost pupil unit accounting and the new pupil weights.

Sections 25-27.  Operating capital.  Beginning in FY 2015, adjusts the allowances used to compute operating capital revenue for the elimination of marginal cost pupil units and the new pupil unit weights.  Beginning in FY 2015, turns operating capital revenue into all-aid program.

Sections 30-32. Equity.  For FY 2015 and later, replaces the current equity revenue formula with a new sliding-scale allowance ranging from $100-$0/pupil as the district’s referendum revenue per pupil unit ranges from $0 to $2,000.

Under the new formula charter schools will receive equity revenue based on the school’s actual alternative attendance adjustment for referendum equalization aid, instead of the state average equity revenue per pupil unit for school districts.

Beginning in FY 2015, adjusts the equalization factor for equity revenue to account for new pupil unit weights and to achieve the desired levy/aid mix.

Sections 33-34. Transition.  Beginning in FY 2015, holds districts and charters harmless against certain changes in revenue calculations in comparison to current law. Beginning in FY 2015, adjusts the equalization factor for transition revenue to account for new pupil unit weights and to achieve the desired levy/aid mix.

Sections 35-37.  Alternative teacher compensation.  Strikes obsolete language.  Beginning in FY15, rolls Alternative Teacher Compensation program out of General Education.

Section 38.  Pension adjustment revenue.  Beginning in FY 2015, establishes a new component of general education revenue for districts with a below average reduction for changes in employer pension contributions under section127A.50 for FY 2014.

Revenue per pupil unit equals the difference between the district’s FY 2014 pension adjustment per pupil unit and the state average FY 2014 aid reduction per pupil unit.

Sections 39-40.  Learning and development revenue.  Beginning in FY 2015, converts the current class size reduction set aside from an amount based on pupil unit weights to an equivalent amount per student in Average Daily Membership (ADM).  Deletes additional revenue use language to account for expansion of all day kindergarten.

Sections 41 and 47.  General education and basic skills revenue usage expansion.  Allows school districts to use general education revenue to meet the needs of three- and four-year olds in the district as long as the district does not have a fee-based full-day kindergarten program.  Allows school districts to use basic skills revenue to prepare early learners for kindergarten.

Sections 42-45.  General education levy.  Establishes a new general education levy imposed on ANTC. All districts may levy up to the general education rate. If a district levies less than the permitted rate, its general education aid is reduced proportionally.

Section 46.  General education revenue usage limitation.  Maintains usage restrictions for operating capital and safe schools as imposed previously.

Section 48.  Referendum revenue.  Converts referendum revenue from a rate per resident marginal cost pupil unit to a rate per adjusted pupil unit. Builds the alternative attendance adjustment into the rate per pupil rather than calculating a separate adjustment.  The new rate per pupil unit will generate the same revenue for each district for FY 2015 as the sum of the old rate per pupil unit and the old alternative attendance adjustment.

  • Recalculates the standard and grandfather referendum caps to reflect the pupil unit weighting changes and conversion to a rate per adjusted pupil unit.  The new standard cap is $1,845 per new pupil unit for FY 2015, and is adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index in later years.
  • Adjusts the grandfather cap for pupil unit weighting changes and conversion to a rate per adjusted pupil unit, and further guarantees that a district’s cap will not be less than the amount needed to ensure that a district will not receive less referendum revenue for FY 2015 after the conversion than under current law. 
  • Sets the upper limit for Tier 2 referendum equalization at 25 percent of the formula allowance and adjusts referendum equalization factors for the pupil unit weighting change. Uses resident pupil units rather than RMCPU for purposes of calculating district property value per pupil for referendum equalization purposes. 
  • Guarantees that a district’s referendum equalization aid for FY 2015 will not be less than the sum of the referendum equalization aid and the alternative attendance adjustment the district would have received for FY 2015 under current law.  For FY 2016 and later, adjusts the referendum equalization aid guarantee for any future reductions in a district’s referendum allowance and for change in referendum market value.
  • Allows a board-approved extension of referendum revenue under certain conditions.
  • Changes the basis for new referendum elections from a rate per RMCPU to a rate per adjusted pupil unit.

Section 49.  Compensatory supplemental formula aid.  Directs revenue to a district that is among the largest 20 by pupil count in the prior year. The aid allowance is based on the fraction of the district’s enrollment that is eligible for free or reduced lunch and the compensatory revenue otherwise received by the district.

Sections 50 and 61.  Early graduation scholarships and military service awards.  Repeals early graduation scholarships and military service awards beginning in FY 2014, and removes these programs from the general education appropriation.

Sections 51-52. Building Lease Levy.  Changes the maximum rate for the building lease levy from $150 to $162 per pupil unit for districts and from $43 to $46 for intermediate district members to adjust for the pupil unit weighting changes.

Reinstates authority for an additional lease levy for school integration purposes.  Limits any new levy authority for Minneapolis, St Paul, Duluth and Rochester to amounts needed for the acquisition of property that is determined by the commissioner to contribute to the implementation of district’s desegregation plan.  Limits any new levy authority for other districts eligible for integration revenue to amounts needed for the acquisition of property used primarily for the joint program for interdistrict desegregation.

Section 53.  Safe schools supplemental levy.  Retains levy authority for school districts that are members of intermediate school districts.

Sections 54. Alternative Attendance Adjustments.  Beginning in FY 2015, strikes language related to alternative attendance adjustments for referendum revenue, which are rolled into referendum allowances.  Beginning in FY 2015, requires the serving district or charter school to cover 10 percent of unfunded special education costs, reducing the amount borne by the resident district from 100 percent to 90 percent.  Adjusts the transportation adjustment for charter schools for the pupil unit calculation changes.

Section 55.  General education aid for charter schools.  Adjusts for pupil unit calculation and weight changes.

Section 56.  Statewide Average Revenue.  Adjusts for pupil unit calculation changes, deletes obsolete language and corrects cross references.

Sections 57-58.  Board approved bonding authorization.  Extends the current authority for Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts to bond without voter approval until 2026.

Section 59. School District levy Adjustments.  Neutralizes property tax base changes on the equalizing formulas.

Section 60.  Appropriations.  See tracking spreadsheet.

Section 61.  Repealer.  Repeals early graduation scholarships and military service awards beginning in FY 2014.  Repeals the following effective for FY 2015: definitions for operating capital levy; certain provisions related to equity revenue and transition revenue (replaced with new formulas); referendum conversion allowance (obsolete); alternative teacher compensation (relaunched outside general education); aid reduction for changes in employer retirement contribution rates.

ARTICLE  2 – STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY

Section 1.  Educational Expectations and Graduation Requirements for Minnesota’s Students.  Establishes the state’s graduation requirements as satisfactorily completing the credit requirements under section 120B.024 and the attainment of academic standards and career and college readiness benchmarks on a nationally normed college entrance exam under section 120B.30.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective August 1, 2013 and applicable to students entering 9thgrade in the 2013-2014 school year and later.

Section 2.  Planning for Student’s Successful Transition to Postsecondary Education and Employment; Involuntary Career Tracking Prohibited.  (a)Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, requires school districts to assist all students to explore college and career interests and develop a transition plan to postsecondary education or employment.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 3.  Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) Program Allows students enrolled in grade 8 through the 2013-2014 school year who have not demonstrated proficiency on the MCAs, the GRAD tests, or the basic skills tests to satisfy the graduation requirements by taking the WorkKeys job skills assessment, a computer-adaptive college placement test, or the ACT test for college admission.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately and applicable through the 2013-2014 school year.

Section 4.  Statewide Testing.  (a) Strikes obsolete language related to the basic skills tests.  Directs the Commissioner to make computer adaptive reading and math assessments for students in grades 3 through 7.  Establishes the graduation requirements for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 through 2012-2013 school years.

(c) Provides that students in grade 8 in the 2012-2013 school year and later are subject to state graduation requirements based on a longitudinal systematic approach to student education and career planning, assessment, instructional support, and evaluation.  Strikes language requiring students to demonstrate proficiency on state reading, math and writing tests in order to graduate from high school.

Sets the graduation requirements as the following:

  1. Attain required academic standards and career and college readiness benchmarks as demonstrated on a nationally normed college entrance exam;
  2. Take achievement and career and college readiness tests in mathematics, reading, and writing; and
  3. Engage in age-appropriate exploration and planning activities and career assessments.

Requires the expectations of school, districts, and the state for career or college readiness to be comparable in rigor, clarity of purpose, and rates of student completion.  Requires a student to receive targeted, relevant, academically rigorous, and resourced instruction, which may include a targeted instruction and intervention plan focused on improving the student’s knowledge and skills in core subjects.

(d)  directs the Commissioner, after consulting with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor, using a request for proposals process to contract for a series of assessments that are aligned with state academic standards and include career and college readiness benchmarks.  Requires the Commissioner and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor to collaborate on aligning instruction and assessments for adult basic education students to provide them with diagnostic information about any needed targeted interventions in order to seek postsecondary education or employment without a need for remediation.

  1. Requires districts and schools to use the career exploration elements of these assessments to help students, no later than grade 9, and their families explore and plan for postsecondary education or careers.  Requires districts and schools to use timely regional labor market information and partnerships to help students and their families to develop, pursue, review, and revise an individualized plan for postsecondary education or a career.
  2. Requires students whose growth in academic achievement between grades 8 and 10 shows adequate progress toward meeting state career and college readiness be given the college entrance exam in grade 11 as part of these assessments.  A student under this clause is encouraged to participate in courses and programs awarding college credit to high school students.
  3. A grade 11 student not subject to clause (2) must be given the college placement diagnostic exam so that the results may be used to diagnose areas for targeted instruction intervention, or remediation and improve student knowledge and skills in core subjects sufficient for the student to graduate and have a chance to succeed in a career or college without remediation.  A student under this clause must be given the college entrance exam part of these assessments in grade 12.
  4. A student subject to clause (3) who demonstrates (i) attainment of required state academic standards, (ii) attainment of career and college readiness benchmarks on the college placement diagnostic part of these assessments, and (iii) where applicable, successfully completes targeted instruction, intervention, or remediation approved by the Commissioner and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor is ready for a career or college and is encouraged to participate in courses and programs awarding college credit to high school students.
  5. Directs the Commissioner to determine the alignment between these assessments and state academic standards.  Where alignment exists, the Commissioner must seek federal approval to replace the federally required assessments with the assessments under this paragraph.

(e) Requires schools, districts, and the state to have a continuum of empirically derived, clearly defined benchmarks focused on students’ attainment of knowledge and skills so students, their parents, and teachers know how well students must perform to have a reasonable chance to succeed in a career or college without need for postsecondary remediation.

(f) Requires a school, district, or charter school to record a high school student’s progress toward career and college readiness on their transcript.

(h) Requires the Commissioner to establish empirically derived benchmarks on adaptive assessments in grades 3 through 7 that reveal a trajectory toward career and college readiness.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately and applicable to the 2013-2014 school year and later, except for paragraph (a), that applies immediately and the requirements for using computer-adaptive math and reading assessments for grades 3 through 7 that apply in the 2015-2016 school year and later.

Section 5.  Statewide and Local Assessments; Results.  (a) For the purposes of administering computer-adaptive assessments in reading and math to students in grades 3 through 7 beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, defines computer-adaptive assessments, fully-adaptive assessments, on-grade level, above-grade level, and below-grade level.

(b) Directs the Commissioner to use fully adaptive math and reading assessments for grades 3 through 7 beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.

(d) Directs the Commissioner to ensure that:

  1. Individual student performance data and achievement reports are available within three school days of when a student takes an assessment;
  2. Growth information is available for each student from their first assessment to each proximate assessment using a constant measurement scale;
  3. Parents, teachers, and school administrators are able to use elementary and middle school student performance data to project a student’s secondary and postsecondary achievement; and
  4. Useful diagnostic information about areas of a student’s academic strengths and weaknesses is available to teachers and school administrators for improving student instruction and indicating the specific skills and concepts that should be introduced and developed for students at given performance levels, organized by strands within subject areas, and aligned to state academic standards.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective for the 2013-2014 school year and later except for the requirements for using computer-adaptive math and reading assessments for grades 3 through 7 apply in the 2015-2016 school year and later.

Section 6.  School Performance Reports.  Adds the percentage of students whose progress and performance levels are meeting career and college readiness benchmarks to the academic performance data the Commissioner must report publicly. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective for the 2013-2014 school year and later.

Section 7.  Statewide Assessment and Accountability; Transition.  Allows students enrolled in eighth grade in the 2005-2006 through 2012-2013 school years to be assessed under the amended testing law or under the Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) Program in section 120B.128.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 8.  Career Pathways Advisory Task Force.  Subd. 1.  Recommendations.  (a) Establishes the task force to recommend to the legislature how to structurally redesign secondary and postsecondary education to:

  1. Improve outcomes for students and adult learners;
  2. Align secondary and postsecondary education programs;
  3. Align secondary and postsecondary programs and Minnesota’s workforce needs; and
  4. Measure and evaluate the combined efficacy of Minnesota’s public kindergarten through grade 12 and postsecondary education programs

(b) Directs the task force members to consider how to:

  1. Better inform students about career options and educational paths leading to viable careers and reduce the gap between the demand for and preparation of a skilled workforce;
  2. Develop and adapt an education and work plan for each student;
  3. Improve monitoring  of high school students’ progress with targeted interventions and remove the need for remedial instruction;
  4. Increase opportunities for secondary school students to earn postsecondary credits;
  5. Better align high school courses and postsecondary credit-bearing courses;
  6. Better align high school standards and assessments, postsecondary readiness measures and entrance requirements, and the expectations of employers;
  7. Increase postsecondary certificate, industry license or degree completion rates; and
  8. Provide graduates of two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions with the skills needed for civic engagement, ongoing employment and continuous learning.

Subd. 2.  Membership.  Lists the 15 members of the task force all of whom must be appointed by July 15th.

Subd. 3.  Terms.  A member serves until the task force sunsets.

Subd. 4.  First Meeting; Acting Chair; Chair.  Direct the Commissioner to convene the first meeting and act as chair until the members elect a chair at the first meeting.

Subd. 5.  Compensation.  Task force members are not compensated or reimbursed for expenses.

Subd. 6.  Staff; Technical Assistance.  Directs the Commissioner to provide technical assistance and staffing for the task force.

Subd. 7.  Report.  Directs the task force to submit a written report with its recommendations to the legislature by February 15, 2014.

Subd. 8.  Sunset.  The task force expires the day after the report is submitted to the legislature.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 9.  Appropriations.  See fiscal tracking sheets.

Section 10.  Repealer.   Immediately repeals Minnesota Rules related to assessments.

ARTICLE 3 -EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

Section 1.  Ages and Terms.  Increases the compulsory attendance age to 17 years old.  Allows a student who is eligible for the graduation incentives program to be assigned to an area learning center.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Section 2.  Withdrawal From School.  Amends the age for the process for withdrawal from school to conform with the age increase for compulsory attendance.

Sections 3 and 4.  Assessments of Performance.  Limits assessment and reporting requirements for home school students related to the compulsory attendance age increase to 17.

Effective Date.   Makes the sections effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Sections 5, 6 and 7. Basic Alternative Teacher Compensation Aid.  Establish a formula for basic alternative teacher compensation aid, levy and equalization aid as a result of removing alternative teacher compensation from general education.

Effective Date.   Makes the sections effective for revenue in fiscal year 2015 and later.

Section 8.  Termination of Enrollment.  Allows an enrolling district to terminate the enrollment of a nonresident student over the compulsory instruction age if they are truant.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Section 9.  Commissioner Designation.  Strikes authority for districts and charter schools to be approved to provide additional programming that results in grade level acceleration.

Section 10.  Reading and Math Corps.  Establishes a math corps program. 

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective July 1, 2013.

Section 11.  Career and Technical Revenue.  Makes the career and technical levy a revenue program.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for revenue in fiscal year 2015 and later.

 Section 12.  School District EL Revenue.  Makes technical changes related to the pupil weight change. 

Section 13.  Achievement and Integration for Minnesota.  Subd. 1.  Program to Close the Academic Achievement and Opportunity Gap.  Establishes the “Achievement and Integration for Minnesota” program to promote diversity, pursue racial and economic integration, and increase student academic achievement and equitable educational opportunities.  Directs eligible districts to use their revenue to pursue racial and economic integration through:

  1. in-school educational practices and integrated learning environments; and
  2. corresponding and meaningful policies and curricula and trained instructors, administrators, school counselors, and other advocates who support and enhance in-school practices and learning environments.

Subd. 2.  Plan Components.  Requires an eligible school district to develop a long-term comprehensive plan. The plan may include:  innovative and integrative prekindergarten through grade 12 learning environments that offer school enrollment choices; family engagement initiatives; professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators; increased programmatic opportunities focused on rigor and college and career readiness for underserved students; or recruitment and retention of teachers and administrators with diverse backgrounds.  Requires a district to implement a cost-effective, research-based intervention that includes formative assessment practices.

Subd. 3.  Biennial Progress; Budget Process.  Requires a school board to hold a public hearing to report its progress in realizing the goals identified in the plan.  The board must provide longitudinal data demonstrating progress in reducing the disparity in student academic achievement among all racial and ethnic categories of students.  The board must submit a detailed budget to the Commissioner, who must approve or disapprove the budget by June 1.

Subd. 4.  Evaluation.  Requires the Commissioner to evaluate the efficacy of district plans and report their findings to the legislature every fourth year beginning February 1, 2017.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for fiscal year 2014 and later.

Section 14.  Achievement and Integration Revenue.  Subd. 1. Eligibility.  Allows a district to receive priority for funding if the district’s plan includes methods effective in reducing disparities in student achievement.

Subd. 2. Achievement and Integration Revenue.  Sets the achievement and integration revenue for eligible districts.  Transfers .02 percent of a district’s revenue to the department for oversight and accountability activities.  Allows for a district’s revenue to be reduced by 20 percent if the district’s goals are not met after implementing a two-year improvement plan.

Subd. 3. Achievement and Integration Aid.  Sets a district’s aid under this program.

Subd. 4. Achievement and Integration Levy.  Sets the levy for this program for fiscal year 2014 only.

Subd. 5. Revenue Reserved.  Requires revenue received under this section to be used only for approved programs.

Subd. 6. Revenue Uses.  At least 80 percent of a district’s revenue must be used for innovative and integrated learning environments, family engagement activities, and other approved direct services to students.  No more than 20 percent may be used for professional development activities. 

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for revenue in fiscal year 2014 and later.

Section 15.  Habitual Truant.  Amends the definition of habitual truant to conform with the increase in age for compulsory instruction.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

Sections 16-19.  Effective Date.  Delays the implementation date for the teacher evaluation system for one year to the 2015-2016 school year.

Section 20.  Appropriations.  See fiscal tracking sheets.

ARTICLE 4 - CHARTER SCHOOLS

Section 1. Annual Public Reports.  Directs a charter school authorizer to submit a portfolio report to the Commissioner that includes:

  1. Academic and financial performance of all the schools it oversees;
  2. The status of each charter school in the portfolio;
  3. The authorizing function provided to the charter schools; and
  4. The process for overseeing and evaluating all of the charter schools.

Section 2. Related Party Lease Costs.  Allows a school district to lease a building to a charter school that it authorizes. 

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective for revenue in fiscal year 2013 and later.

Sections 3 and 4. General Education Revenue.  Amends charter school general education revenue to align with the changes to general education revenue and pupil weights.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective for revenue for fiscal year 2015 and later.

Section 5.  Building Lease Aid.  Increases the maximum amount of lease aid per pupil from $1200 to $1314.  Changes the lease aid formula for schools leasing from a related nonprofit organization or parent company, an affiliated building corporation, school district, or other governmental entity that do not carry original debt on the facility to prevent public funds from creating a profit for the lessor.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective July 1, 2014.

Section 6.  Appropriations.  See fiscal tracking sheets.

ARTICLE 5 – SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Sections 1, 2, 4 and 5. Cross references; technical changes.  Updates cross-references and makes other technical changes to reflect changes in special education aid calculations, changes in general education revenue definitions, and changes in general education revenue calculations in articles 1 and 5. Strikes obsolete language.  These sections are effective for revenue in fiscal year 2015 and later.

Section 3.  State total special education aid.  Specifies the state total special education aid entitlement for fiscal years 2013-2017. Strikes obsolete language.  This section is effective July 1, 2013.

Section 6.  AppropriationsSee tracking spreadsheet.

Section 7.  Repealer.  Repeals the requirement for cooperative centers and intermediates to allocate expenditures to participating districts. Aid would be paid directly to cooperative centers and intermediates.  This section is effective July 1, 2013.

ARTICLE 6 - FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY

Sections 1-6.  Technical changes.  Technical adjustments to account for changes in pupil weights.  These sections are effective for revenue in fiscal year 2015 and later.

Section 7Disabled access levy authority; Tracy.  Permits Independent School District No. 2904, Tracy, to levy its remaining disabled access levy authority over two years.  This section is effective for levies certified in 2014 and later.

Section 8Elevator repair levy; Norman County West School District.  Permits Independent School District No. 2527, Norman County West, to levy up to $27,500 in each of two years in order to make repairs to an existing elevator.  This section is effective for taxes payable in 2015 and 2016.

Section 9.  AppropriationsSee tracking spreadsheet.

ARTICLE 7 - NUTRION, LIBRARIES, AND ACCOUNTING

Section 1.  Cross references; technical changes.  Updates cross references. Strikes obsolete language.  This section is effective July 1, 2013.

Sections 2-3.  School lunch aid; inability to pay.  Adds 2 cents to the state payment to participants in the national school lunch program. Prohibits participating schools from denying a lunch to children who qualify for reduced-price meals or if the child’s parent or guardian provides notice of their inability to pay for lunch.  These sections are effective July 1, 2013.

Section 4.  Summer food service replacement aid.  Simplifies the method of disbursement to summer food sponsors.  This section is effective July 1, 2013.

Section 5. Aid payment percentage.  Specifies that the aid payment percentage equals 85.5 percent in fiscal year 2014 and later.  This section is effective July 1, 2013.

Section 6. Cyrus and Morris school district consolidation.  Permits Independent School District No. 611, Cyrus, to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 in order to demolish the Cyrus school building. The bonded debt would remain payable by the taxable property located within the boundaries of the former Cyrus school district.  This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Section 7.  Reciprocity agreement exemption; Hendricks.  Specifies that Independent School District No. 402, Hendricks, is exempt from the statute governing tuition reciprocity with adjoining states.  This section is effective for the 2013-2014 school year and later.

Section 8.  AppropriationsSee tracking spreadsheet.

ARTICLE 8 - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, AND LIFELONG LEARNING

Section 1.  Early Learning Scholarships.  States that section 124D.143 governs data under the early learning scholarship program.

Section 2.  Early Learning Scholarships.  Subd. 1. Early Learning Scholarships Established. Directs the office of early learning to oversee the scholarship program.

Subd. 2.  Duties.  Directs the office of early learning to establish participation standards for families, develop criteria for qualifying programs, and contract for necessary administrative services.

Subd. 3.  Definitions.  Defines director, eligible program, income, parent, prospective program, and rated program for the purposes of the scholarships.

Subd. 4.  Participant Eligibility.  Allows a parent of child who is at least three years old to apply for a scholarship if the family’s income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level.  A parent under the age of 21 who is pursuing a high school or general education equivalency diploma is eligible for a scholarship if the parent has a child that is 5 years old or younger and meets the income eligibility requirements. 

Subd. 5.  Scholarship Amount.  Requires the director to determine the maximum scholarship amounts.  The director must maintain a statewide annual average scholarship amount of $6,000 per scholarship.

Subd. 6.  Award of Scholarships.  The director is required to establish application timelines and scholarship awards schedules that meet the needs of eligible programs.  A child that receives a scholarship must continue to receive a scholarship until they enroll in kindergarten or turn six years of age.

Subd. 7.  Scholarship Recipient Choice of Programs.  Allows a scholarship recipient to apply to any rated or prospective program for acceptance.  The recipient has 10 months from receipt of the scholarship to enroll in a program before the scholarship cancels and the recipient must reapply to receive another scholarship.

Subd. 8.  Building Quality.  For fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the director must develop a process to encourage eligible programs to enter the rating program.

Subd. 9.  Provider Reimbursement.  Allows the director to make quarterly payments on behalf of the scholarship recipient in advance of services provided to their child or arrange other payment methods for providers.

Subd. 10.  Earned Income Calculation.  Prohibits scholarships paid to providers on behalf of parents from being counted as earned income  for the purposes of medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, Minnesota Family Investment Program, diversionary work program, child care assistance, or Head Start programs. 

Subd. 11.  Student Identification Number.  The director is required to collect certain data from providers regarding the scholarship recipients.  The recipient data are classified as private data on individuals. 

Subd. 12.  Report Required.  The director must consult with the children’s cabinet to develop an outreach program to increase parent awareness of the early learning scholarships.  The director must annually report to the legislature on the outreach efforts.

Section 3.  State Total Adult Basic Education Aid.  Increases the program growth factor from two percent to three percent.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective for revenue for fiscal year 2014 and later.

Section 4.  Early Learning Scholarships; Fiscal Year 2014 Only.  For fiscal year 2014, allows the director to establish an expedited process to award scholarships to accommodate those eligible programs with fall enrollment deadlines. 

Section 5.  Appropriations.  See fiscal tracking sheets.

ARTICLE 9 - STATE AGENCIES

Sections 1, 2, and 3.  Department of EducationSee fiscal tracking sheets.

ARTICLE 10 - FORECAST ADJUSTMENTS

Adjusts appropriations to conform to the February forecast.

AMB/BA/JW/syl

 
Check on the status of this bill
 
Back to Senate Counsel and Research Bill Summaries page
 

 
This page is maintained by the Office of Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis for the Minnesota Senate.
 
Last review or update: 04/17/2013
 
If you see any errors on this page, please e-mail us at webmaster@senate.mn