1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 04/03/2013 08:32am
A bill for an act
relating to education; establishing a student services personnel team staffing
grant; appropriating money.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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This act may be cited as the "Student Services Personnel Team Assurance Act."
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A grant program is established to assist
school districts with caseloads above the established and recognized recommendations
or guidelines of the student service personnel professions in licensed school counseling,
school psychology, school nursing, school social work, and chemical dependency
counseling. Grants must be used to create or increase student service personnel teams to
address the academic, career, personal, social, and early-onset mental health needs of the
students within that district and assist students in meeting the requirements for high school
graduation, college and career exploration and selection, college affordability planning,
and successful transitions into postsecondary education or training.
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"Student services personnel team" means a licensed school
counselor, school psychologist, school nurse, school social worker, and chemical
dependency counselor licensed by the Board of Teaching to provide such services.
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The commissioner of education shall develop the form
and method for applying for the grants. The commissioner shall develop criteria for
determining the allocation of the grants. This criteria must include priority funding
directed to school districts in which student service personnel teams either (1) do not exist,
(2) need missing or additional positions of a specific student service personnel team to
complete the team, (3) are not normally funded or reimbursed by other sources, or (4) have
caseloads among specific team members in excess of 150 percent of the established and
recognized recommendations or guidelines of the profession.
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To qualify for a grant, each student services personnel
team member must serve within the scope and practice of the established and recognized
capacity of their respective professions and as defined by the Board of Teaching. Grants
for the student services personnel team shall be used to lower the caseloads for specific
team member areas in order to more effectively provide direct services to kindergarten
through grade 12 students. Grant funding under this section must be matched by new
funding for the student services personnel team from the school district. The school
district must provide the additional funding for a two-year period or repay the grant to the
Department of Education.
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School districts that receive grant funds shall report to the
commissioner of education no later than July 31 of each year regarding the impact of the
student services personnel team on the academic, career, personal, social, and early-onset
mental health needs of the students served by the team during the previous academic year.
The Department of Education shall develop the criteria necessary for the reports.
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The sums indicated in this section are
appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years
designated.
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For student services personnel team staffing
grants under section 2:
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$ new text end |
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20,000,000 new text end |
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..... new text end |
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2014 new text end |
|
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$ new text end |
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20,000,000 new text end |
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..... new text end |
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2015 new text end |
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Any balance in the first year does not cancel, but is available in the second year.
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