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. 978 - Education Policy Omnibus Bill; Third Engrossment
 
Author: Senator Patricia Torres Ray
 
Prepared By: Ann Marie Lewis, Senate Counsel (651/296-5301)
Bjorn E. Arneson, Senate Analyst (651/296-3812)
 
Date: April 28, 2013



 

Article 1 - General Education

Section 1.   Minimum Instructional Days.  Requires school calendars to include at least 165 days of instruction.

Section 2.   Postsecondary Enrollment Options Transportation.  Allows districts to use unrestricted general education funds to pay for transportation to PSEO programs.

Section 3.   Definitions.  Allows a district to transport a child that does not have a school of origin to the same school attended by the child’s sibling, if the siblings are homeless.

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

Section 4.   Operating Capital Uses.  Updates the allowable uses of operating capital revenue to include computer hardware, software, and annual licensing fees.

Section 5.   Basic Skills Revenue District Allocation.  Allows a district to allocate up to 15 percent of its total compensatory revenue for programs designed to prepare children and their families for kindergarten.  This amount does not necessarily need to be allocated to the site where the children who generated the revenue are served.

Article 2 - Student Accountability

Section 1.  Definitions.  Creates a statutory definition for “academic standard” and moves the existing definitions of “benchmark,” “credit,” “elective standard,” “required standard,” and “school site” into a new definition section.

Section 2.  Required Academic Standards.  Strikes obsolete language related to the implementation of the graduation requirements.

Section 3.  Benchmarks.  Strikes obsolete language related to prior year standards revision cycles.  Reorganizes benchmark language.  Removes academic standards expectations from the section.

Section 4.   Credits.  Joins individual credit requirements with the corresponding academic standards.  Removes content areas from the credit requirements.  Clarifies credit equivalencies for career and technical education courses.

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

Section 5.   Gifted and Talented Students Program.  Expands the guidance to districts for gifted and talented programs to include groups traditionally underrepresented in the gifted and talented student population.  Directs school districts to adopt procedures for early admission to kindergarten or first grade. 

Section 6.   Educational Accountability and Public Reporting.  Removes a cross-reference that becomes obsolete with the reorganization of the language relating to academic standards and required credits for graduation.

Section 7.   Revisor’s Instruction.  Moves the revision schedule of the academic standards from the “Benchmark” statute, section 120B.023 to the “Required academic standards” statute, section 120B.021.

Section 8.   Repealer.  (a)  Repeals obsolete rules governing academic standards for English language arts in grades kindergarten through 12 after adoption of the revised rules in 2012 effective for the 2014-2025 school year and later.

Article 3 - Education Excellence

Section 1.  Classroom Placement; Teacher Rating.  Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, prohibits an administrator from placing a student for consecutive school years in the classroom of a teacher who received the lowest evaluation rating, unless there isn’t another teacher at that grade level or subject.

Section 2.   Mental Health Education.  Permits school districts and charter schools to provide mental health instruction for students in grades 6 through 12.  The instruction must be aligned with local health and physical education standards and integrated into existing programs.  The Commissioner must provide school districts and charter schools with age-appropriate model learning activities and a directory of resources.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 3.  School Counselors.  Directs school counselors to assist students in meeting the high school graduation requirements, college and career exploration and selection, college affordability planning, and successful transitions to postsecondary education or training.

Section 4.  License and Rules.  (b)  Allows the board of teaching to issue a one-year teaching licenses to a candidate that has not passed the skills exam.  Allows a person who is a nonnative English language speaker to take the skills exam up to 36 months after being otherwise eligible for an initial teaching license and hold a temporary license during that time.

(n) Allows teachers who are renewing their continuing license to first include understanding key warning signs of early-onset mental illness in children and adolescents and then, during subsequent renewal periods, to include more in-depth understanding of students’ mental illness, trauma, accommodations for students’ mental illness, parents’ role in addressing students’ mental illness, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, autism, the requirements regarding restrictive procedures, and de-escalation methods.

(o) Directs the Board of Teaching to establish an appeals process for nonnative English language candidates who have not received a passing score on the skill exam.

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

Section 5.  Teacher and Support Personnel Qualifications.  (b)  Allows the board of teaching to issue a one-year teaching licenses to a candidate that has not passed the skills exam at the time they successfully complete an approved teacher preparation program.  Allows the board to issue up to three one-year temporary licenses to a person who is a nonnative English language speaker and instructs in that other language.  Permits school districts to make remedial assistance available to those persons employed by the school district who did not achieve a qualifying score on the skills exam.  Allows a person who has completed a teacher preparation program to obtain a temporary one-year teaching license to renew that license up to two times if the licensee: (1) provides evidence of participating in a remedial assistance program; (2) attempts to pass the skills exam during the one-year period; and (3) the employing school district requests that the licensee continue to teach for that district.

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 6.  Applicants Licensed in Other States.  Allows the board of teaching to issue a temporary one-year teaching licenses to an applicant that was licensed in another state and who has not passed the skills exam. 

Effective Date.  Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 7.  K-12 License to Teach Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students; Relicensure. (b) Requires a teacher under this section to complete 30 continuing education clock hours on hearing loss topics for every 120 continuing education clock hours the teacher must complete for licensure renewal.

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

Section 8.   Establishment of Flexible Learning Year Program.  Allows a consortium of school districts to use a single application and evaluation process when applying to the Commissioner for permission to enter into a flexible learning year program.

Section 9.   Community Involvement.  Requires the Commissioner to annually hold a field hearing on Indian education.

Section 10.   Consultation with the Tribal Nations Education Committee.  Requires the Commissioner to consult with the Tribal Nations Education Committee on all issues related to American Indian education.

Section 11.   Indian Education Director.  Requires the Department of Education to hire a full-time Indian Education Director.

Section 12.   Career and Technical Education Advisory Task Force.  Establishes a career and technical education advisory task force to make recommendations to the Legislature. 

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 13.  Teacher Licensure Advisory Task Force.  Establishes a teacher licensure advisory task force to make recommendations to the Board of Teaching, the Commissioner, and the Legislature on requirements for: teacher applicants to demonstrate mastery of college-level reading, writing, and mathematics skills and an alternative licensure pathway for nonnative English speakers seeking licensure to teach in a language immersion program.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 14.  Student Support Services; Team Staffing Approach.  Directs the Commissioner to develop recommendations for providing access to licensed student supports services using a multidisciplinary team staffing structure. 

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Article 4 - Charter Schools

Section 1.   Charter Schools.  Subdivision 1.  Purposes.   Establishes the primary purpose of charter schools as improving pupil learning and student achievement.

Subdivision 3.   Authorizer.  Clarifies that the applications approved by authorizers are charter school applications.  Removes obsolete language relating to 2009 authorizer approval.

Subdivision 4.   Formation of school.   Removes a redundant reference to posting information about a charter school’s authorizer.  Clarifies that charter school board elections must not be held on a day when the school is on break.  Clarifies that the teacher representative on the charter school board must actually provide instruction at the charter school.  Removes the term “lease” from the list of items that must be disclosed to the Commissioner, accepted through an open bidding process, and separate from the charter contract.  Leases are dealt with in subdivision 17.

Subdivision 4a.  Conflict of Interest.   Clarifies that the conflict of interest provisions do not apply to charter board members that are teachers providing instruction at the charter school.

Subdivision 6.   Charter Contract.   Requires charter contracts to state that the primary purpose of the charter school is to improve pupil learning and student achievement.  Clarifies that authorizer monitoring and evaluation of charters must be consistent with subdivision 15 on review and comment.  Clarifies requirements in the charter contract on plans for charter school closing. 

Subdivision 6a.   Audit Report.   Requires charter schools to submit supplemental information with their independent audit, including agreements with administrative, financial, and staffing services.  Includes audited financial data of affiliated building corporations or other component units in the audit report.

Subdivision 8.  Federal, State, and Local Requirements.   Clarifies that charter school pupils are subject to truancy provisions.

Subdivision 9.  Admission Requirements.  Clarifies that a charter lottery policy must be published on the school’s website.  Allows charter schools to develop policies for early kindergarten entrance. 

Subdivision 11.   Employment and Other Operating Matters.   Clarifies that a board of directors in responsible for administrative decisions at the school, including budgeting, curriculum, and other operating procedures. 

Subdivision 14.   Annual Public Reports.   Requires charter school annual reports to be posted on the charter school’s website.   Eliminates the requirement that annual reports be submitted to the Commissioner.  

Subdivision 15.   Review and Comment.   Clarifies language related to payment of authorizer fees.  Removes obsolete language from the scale up of the authorizer fee factor.  Clarifies that authorizer preoperational fees may only be assessed after the school is chartered.  Requires an authorizer to include income as well as expenditures in its annual submission to the Commissioner.

Subdivision 17.   Leased Space.   Removes the limitation that charter schools may lease space from a school board only if the board is eligible to be an authorizer.  Requires a lease to be submitted to the department no later than July 1.

Subdivision 17a.   Affiliated Nonprofit Building Corporation.   Clarifies that an authorizer must submit an affidavit to the Commissioner for approval for an expansion of an existing building. 

Subdivision 17b.   Positive Review and Comment.   Moves the positive review and comment requirement to its own subdivision.

Subdivision 19.  Disseminate Information.   Removes the requirement that charter school operators disseminate information on how to form a charter school.

Subdivision 23.  Causes for Nonrenewal or Termination of Charter School Contract.  Allows an authorizer to terminate a contract for the school’s failure to demonstrate satisfactory academic achievement for all groups of students.  At the end of a school year, an authorizer may terminate an existing contract, if in each of the previous three consecutive schools years the performance of the school based on federal school accountability measures and on state measure of student performance and growth would place the school in the bottom quartile of all public schools as determined by the Commissioner

Subdivision 25.  Extent of Specific Legal Authority.  Removes the requirement that a charter school board submit a copy of the charter school’s insurance policy to the Commissioner or to report changes to the policy to the Commissioner.

Effective Date.   Makes subdivision 23 effective July 1, 2013.

Sections 2 to 5.  Truancy.  Clarifies that charter school pupils are subject to the truancy provisions of Chapter 260A.

Article 5 - Special Programs

Section 1.   Continuation Dependent on Federal Law.   Includes the Interagency Coordinating Council in the list of councils that continue until federal law does not require them.

Section 2.   Definitions.  Excludes from the definition of “emergency” circumstances such as a child not responding to a request and hiding or placing their head on a desk;  a child not responding to a request unless failing to respond would result in physical injury to the child or others; or an emergency that has already occurred and no threat of physical injury exists.  Prohibits restrictive procedures from being used to punish or otherwise discipline a child.  Allows egress to be barred by an adult locking or closing the door or preventing a child from leaving the room.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective immediately.

Section 3.   Standards for Restrictive Procedures.  Subdivision 1.   Restrictive Procedures Plan.   Directs  a school to include a description of how the school will implement a range of positive behavior strategies in its restrictive procedures plan.  Requires the oversight committee to review, on a quarterly basis, the use of restrictive procedures based on patterns or problems.  The oversight committee must include a mental health professional, school psychologist, or school social worker; an expert in positive behavioral strategies; a special education administrator; and a general education administrator.

Subdivision 2.   Restrictive Procedures.   Requires a district to hold a meeting of the child’s individualized education program (IEP) team either within ten calendar days after district staff has used restrictive procedures on two separate school days within 30 calendar days, or at the request of the parents after restrictive procedures are used.  If the IEP team determines that existing interventions and supports are ineffective in reducing the use of restrictive procedures, the team must either consult with other professionals and experts or consider whether to reevaluate the child.

Subdivision 3.   Physical Holding or Seclusion.   Clarifies that physical holding or seclusion must not be used to discipline a noncompliant child.  Directs stakeholders to recommend to the Commissioner specific and measurable implementation and outcome goals for reducing the use of restrictive procedures.  Requires school districts to annually report summary data on their use of restrictive procedures to the department. 

Subdivision 5.   Training for Staff.   Adds training on district policies and procedures for timely reporting and documentation of each incident involving use of a restricted procedure and schoolwide programs on positive behavior strategies for staff that use restrictive procedures.  Directs the Commissioner to maintain a list of experts to help IEP teams reduce the use of restrictive procedures.

Effective Date.   Makes the section effective the day following final enactment.

Sections 4 to 6.  Eligibility for Part C.  Modifies the definitions of “eligibility for Part C,”  “Interagency child find systems,” and “parent” to conform with federal regulations.

Section 7.   State Interagency Coordinating Council.   Modifies the membership of the Interagency Coordinating Council.  Requires the council to submit an annual report to the Governor and the U.S. Department of Education.  Allows the council to continue until federal law no longer requires the existence of the council.

Section 8.   Responsibilities of County Boards and School Boards.   Makes changes to conform to federal requirements by adding sign language and cued speech to appropriate early interventions and distinguishing between assistive technology devices and assistive technology service.

Section 9.   Interagency Early Intervention Committees.   Removes the requirement that local early intervention committees review and comment on school district total special education systems.

Section 10.   Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).   Adds a federal regulation citation to the definition of “parent.”

Section 11.   Service Coordination.   Clarifies the required contents of the IFSP.

Section 12.   Lead Agency; Allocation of Resources.   Changes a citation to a federal regulation and minor changes in wording to reflect state practice on distribution of funds.

Section 13.   Payment for Services.   Removes language regarding an application for available resources to conform to state practice.

Section 14.   Mediation Procedure.   Clarifies that the mediation timeline begins within 30 calendar days of the date the Department of Education receives a parent’s written request for mediation, unless the district declines mediation.  Makes the resolution of the mediation binding on both parties.

Section 15.  Rulemaking Authority.  Directs the Commissioner to amend rules related to the provision of special education under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to conform to the new federal regulations.

Section 16.  Report on Homeless Children Served.  Directs the Commissioner to collect statistics on the number of homeless children who have received Part C services, and report those results to the Legislature.

Section 17.  Repealer.   Repeals section 125A.35, subdivisions 4 (expenditures; early intervention services) and 5 (increased costs.)

Article 6 - Facilities and Technology

Section 1. Online and Digital Learning Advisory Council.  Adds two members to the council.  Adds digital learning matters to the responsibilities of the council.  Extends the sunset of the council by three years to June 30, 2016.

Section 2.  School Facilities Financing Work Group.  Directs the Commissioner to convene a working group to develop recommendations for reforming the financing of prekindergarten through grade 12 education facilities to create adequate, equitable, and sustainable financing of public school facilities.

Article 7 - Libraries

Sections 1 to 13.  Regional Library Basic System Support Aid.  Changes the regional library basic system support grant program to an aid program.

Section 14.   Revisor’s Instruction.   Directs the Revisor to change all references in statute from “Library Development Services,” “Office of Library Development and Services,” and “LDS” to “State Library Services” or “Division of State Library Services.”

Article 8 - Early Childhood Education, Self-Sufficiency, and Lifelong Learning

Section 1.   Standard High School Diploma for Adults.   Directs the Commissioner to adopt rules for providing a standard high school diploma. 

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

Section 2.   Early Childhood Education Scholarships.   Clarifies that the early childhood education scholarships do not count as a family’s earned income for the purposes of qualifying for MinnesotaCare, Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and Head Start.

Section 3.  Standard Adult High School Diploma Advisory Task Force.  Establishes a nine-member task force to make recommendations to the Commissioner on the programmatic requirements for adult basic education programs of instruction leading to a standard adult high school diploma.

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

AMB/BA/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: 04/28/2013
 
If you see any errors on this page, please e-mail us at webmaster@senate.mn