1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for high school 
  1.3             reform; providing for an educational planning and 
  1.4             assessment program, advanced placement and 
  1.5             international baccalaureate examination fees and 
  1.6             teacher stipends, and a college-level examination 
  1.7             program; replacing the basic skills tests with the 
  1.8             Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments; appropriating 
  1.9             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 
  1.10            120B.02; 120B.13, subdivisions 1, 3, by adding 
  1.11            subdivisions; 120B.30, subdivisions 1, 1a; 124D.66, 
  1.12            subdivision 3; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.13            Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.02, is 
  1.16  amended to read: 
  1.17     120B.02 [EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS FOR MINNESOTA'S 
  1.18  STUDENTS.] 
  1.19     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing rigorous 
  1.20  academic standards for Minnesota's public school students.  To 
  1.21  that end, the commissioner shall adopt in rule statewide 
  1.22  academic standards.  The commissioner shall not prescribe in 
  1.23  rule or otherwise the delivery system, classroom assessments, or 
  1.24  form of instruction that school sites must use.  For purposes of 
  1.25  this chapter, a school site is a separate facility, or a 
  1.26  separate program within a facility that a local school board 
  1.27  recognizes as a school site for funding purposes.  
  1.28     (b) All commissioner actions regarding the rule must be 
  1.29  premised on the following:  
  2.1      (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  2.2   students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.3      (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.4   consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  2.5      (3) the Department of Education, with the assistance of 
  2.6   school districts, must make available information about all 
  2.7   state initiatives related to the rule to students and parents, 
  2.8   teachers, and the general public in a timely format that is 
  2.9   appropriate, comprehensive, and readily understandable. 
  2.10     (c) When fully implemented, the requirements for high 
  2.11  school graduation in Minnesota must require students to ~~pass the~~ 
  2.12  ~~basic skills test requirements and~~ satisfactorily complete, as 
  2.13  determined by the school district, the course credit 
  2.14  requirements under section 120B.024 and: 
  2.15     (1) for students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 
  2.16  school year, to pass the basic skills test requirements; and 
  2.17     (2) for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 
  2.18  school year and later, to pass the Minnesota Comprehensive 
  2.19  Assessments Second Edition (MCA-IIs). 
  2.20     (d) The commissioner shall periodically review and report 
  2.21  on the state's assessment process. 
  2.22     (e) School districts are not required to adopt specific 
  2.23  provisions of ~~the Goals 2000 and~~ the federal School-to-Work 
  2.24  programs. 
  2.25     Sec. 2.  [120B.128] [EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT 
  2.26  SYSTEM (EPAS) PROGRAM.] 
  2.27     (a) School districts and charter schools may elect to 
  2.28  participate in the Educational Planning and Assessment System 
  2.29  (EPAS) program offered by ACT, Inc. to provide a longitudinal, 
  2.30  systematic approach to student educational and career planning, 
  2.31  assessment, instructional support, and evaluation.  The EPAS 
  2.32  achievement tests include English, reading, mathematics, 
  2.33  science, and components on planning for high school and 
  2.34  postsecondary education, interest inventory, needs assessments, 
  2.35  and student education plans.  These tests are linked to the ACT 
  2.36  assessment for college admission and allow students, parents, 
  3.1   teachers, and schools to determine the student's college 
  3.2   readiness before grades 11 and 12. 
  3.3      (b) The commissioner of education shall provide ACT Explore 
  3.4   tests for students in grade 8 and the ACT Plan test for students 
  3.5   in grade 10 to assess individual student academic strengths and 
  3.6   weaknesses, academic achievement and progress, higher order 
  3.7   thinking skills, and college readiness.  The state shall pay the 
  3.8   test costs for school districts and charter schools that choose 
  3.9   to participate in the EPAS program.  The commissioner shall 
  3.10  establish an application procedure and a process for state 
  3.11  payment of costs. 
  3.12     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.13, 
  3.13  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.14     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM STRUCTURE; TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR 
  3.15  TEACHERS.] (a) The advanced placement and international 
  3.16  baccalaureate programs are well-established academic programs 
  3.17  for mature, academically directed high school students.  These 
  3.18  programs, in addition to providing academic rigor, offer sound 
  3.19  curricular design, accountability, comprehensive external 
  3.20  assessment, feedback to students and teachers, and the 
  3.21  opportunity for high school students to compete academically on 
  3.22  a global level.  Advanced placement and international 
  3.23  baccalaureate programs allow students to leave high school with 
  3.24  the academic skills and self-confidence to succeed in college 
  3.25  and beyond.  The advanced placement and international 
  3.26  baccalaureate programs help provide Minnesota students with 
  3.27  world-class educational opportunity. 
  3.28     (b) Critical to schools' educational success is ongoing 
  3.29  advanced placement/international baccalaureate-approved teacher 
  3.30  training.  A secondary teacher assigned by a district to teach 
  3.31  an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or 
  3.32  other interested educator may participate in a training program 
  3.33  offered by The College Board or International Baccalaureate 
  3.34  North America, Inc.  The state may pay a portion of the tuition, 
  3.35  room, ~~and~~ board, and out-of-state travel costs a teacher or 
  3.36  other interested educator incurs in participating in a training 
  4.1   program.  The commissioner shall determine application 
  4.2   procedures and deadlines, ~~and~~ select teachers and other 
  4.3   interested educators to participate in the training program, and 
  4.4   determine the payment process and amount of the subsidy.  The 
  4.5   procedures determined by the commissioner shall, to the extent 
  4.6   possible, ensure that advanced placement and international 
  4.7   baccalaureate courses become available in all parts of the state 
  4.8   and that a variety of course offerings are available in school 
  4.9   districts.  This subdivision does not prevent teacher or other 
  4.10  interested educator participation in training programs offered 
  4.11  by The College Board or International Baccalaureate North 
  4.12  America, Inc., when tuition is paid by a source other than the 
  4.13  state. 
  4.14     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.13, 
  4.15  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  4.16     Subd. 3.  [SUBSIDY FOR EXAMINATION FEES.] The state may pay 
  4.17  all or part of the fee for advanced placement or international 
  4.18  baccalaureate examinations ~~for pupils of low-income families in~~ 
  4.19  ~~public and nonpublic schools~~.  The commissioner shall ~~adopt a~~ 
  4.20  ~~schedule for fee subsidies that may allow payment of the entire~~ 
  4.21  ~~fee for~~ pay all examination fees for all public and nonpublic 
  4.22  students of low-income families, as defined by the commissioner, 
  4.23  and to the limit of the available appropriation, shall also pay 
  4.24  a portion or all of the examination fees for other public and 
  4.25  nonpublic students sitting for an advanced placement 
  4.26  examination, international baccalaureate examination, or both.  
  4.27  The commissioner shall determine procedures for state payments 
  4.28  of fees. 
  4.29     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.13, is 
  4.30  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.31     Subd. 3a.  [TEACHER STIPENDS.] A teacher who teaches an 
  4.32  advanced placement or international baccalaureate course shall 
  4.33  receive a stipend for each student in the teacher's course who 
  4.34  receives a three or higher on the advanced placement examination 
  4.35  or a four or higher on the international baccalaureate 
  4.36  examination that covers the subject matter of the course.  The 
  5.1   commissioner shall determine the payment process and the amount 
  5.2   of teacher stipends. 
  5.3      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.13, is 
  5.4   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.5      Subd. 3b.  [COLLEGE CREDIT.] The colleges and universities 
  5.6   of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system must 
  5.7   award, and the University of Minnesota and private postsecondary 
  5.8   institutions are encouraged to award, college credit to high 
  5.9   school students who receive a score of three or higher on an 
  5.10  advanced placement or International Baccalaureate program 
  5.11  examination. 
  5.12     Sec. 7.  [120B.131] [COLLEGE-LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM 
  5.13  (CLEP).] 
  5.14     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM STRUCTURE.] The College-Level 
  5.15  Examination Program (CLEP) offered by The College Board provides 
  5.16  students with the opportunity to demonstrate college-level 
  5.17  achievement and receive college credit or advanced standing 
  5.18  through a program of examinations in undergraduate college 
  5.19  courses.  Schools must provide information about CLEP and the 
  5.20  opportunity to receive college credit from a Minnesota 
  5.21  postsecondary institution to students successfully completing a 
  5.22  college-level course. 
  5.23     Subd. 2.  [REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXAMINATION FEES.] The state 
  5.24  may reimburse CLEP examination fees for a Minnesota public high 
  5.25  school student who has successfully completed one or more 
  5.26  college-level courses in high school and earned a satisfactory 
  5.27  score on one or more CLEP examinations in the following subjects:
  5.28  composition and literature, mathematics and science, social 
  5.29  sciences and history, foreign languages, and business and 
  5.30  humanities.  The state may reimburse each successful student for 
  5.31  up to six examination fees.  The commissioner shall establish 
  5.32  application procedures and a process and schedule for fee 
  5.33  reimbursements.  The commissioner must give priority to 
  5.34  reimburse the CLEP examination fees of students of low-income 
  5.35  families. 
  5.36     Subd. 3.  [COLLEGE CREDIT.] The colleges and universities 
  6.1   of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system must 
  6.2   award, and the University of Minnesota and private postsecondary 
  6.3   institutions are encouraged to award, college credit to high 
  6.4   school students who receive a satisfactory score on a CLEP 
  6.5   examination under this section.  The commissioner, in 
  6.6   consultation with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 
  6.7   shall set a passing score for college credits. 
  6.8      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.30, 
  6.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.10     Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] (a) The commissioner, 
  6.11  with advice from experts with appropriate technical 
  6.12  qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with 
  6.13  subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment 
  6.14  system, for each grade level to be tested, state-constructed 
  6.15  tests developed from and aligned with the state's required 
  6.16  academic standards under section 120B.021 and administered 
  6.17  annually to all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high 
  6.18  school level.  A state-developed test in a subject other than 
  6.19  writing, developed after the 2002-2003 school year, must include 
  6.20  both multiple choice and constructed response questions.  The 
  6.21  commissioner shall establish one or more months during which 
  6.22  schools shall administer the tests to students each school 
  6.23  year.  For students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 
  6.24  school year, only Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, 
  6.25  mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills 
  6.26  testing requirements for a passing state notation.  The passing 
  6.27  scores of the state tests in reading and mathematics are the 
  6.28  equivalent of:  
  6.29     (1) 70 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  6.30  1996; and 
  6.31     (2) 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  6.32  1997 and thereafter, as based on the first uniform test 
  6.33  administration of February 1998.  
  6.34     For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school 
  6.35  year and later, only the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments 
  6.36  Second Edition (MCA-IIs) in reading, mathematics, and writing 
  7.1   shall fulfill students' academic standard requirements. 
  7.2      (b) The third through 8th grade and high school level test 
  7.3   results shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes 
  7.4   affecting student learning and district instruction and 
  7.5   curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability.  
  7.6   The commissioner must disseminate to the public the test results 
  7.7   upon receiving those results. 
  7.8      (c) State tests must be constructed and aligned with state 
  7.9   academic standards.  The testing process and the order of 
  7.10  administration shall be determined by the commissioner.  The 
  7.11  statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district 
  7.12  level, consistent with subdivision 1a.  
  7.13     (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
  7.14  under this section, the commissioner shall include the following 
  7.15  components in the statewide public reporting system: 
  7.16     (1) uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 
  7.17  through 8 and at the high school level that provides exemptions, 
  7.18  only with parent or guardian approval, for those very few 
  7.19  students for whom the student's individual education plan team 
  7.20  under sections 125A.05 and 125A.06, determines that the student 
  7.21  is incapable of taking a statewide test, or for a limited 
  7.22  English proficiency student under section 124D.59, subdivision 
  7.23  2, if the student has been in the United States for fewer than 
  7.24  three years; 
  7.25     (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
  7.26  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
  7.27  basis, including average daily attendance, high school 
  7.28  graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and 
  7.29  grade level; 
  7.30     (3) students' scores on the American College Test; and 
  7.31     (4) state results from participation in the National 
  7.32  Assessment of Educational Progress so that the state can 
  7.33  benchmark its performance against the nation and other states, 
  7.34  and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to 
  7.35  the national effort to monitor achievement. 
  7.36     (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
  8.1   clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
  8.2   provided by the commissioner. 
  8.3      Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.30, 
  8.4   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  8.5      Subd. 1a.  [STATEWIDE AND LOCAL ASSESSMENTS; RESULTS.] (a) 
  8.6   The commissioner must develop ~~language arts~~ reading, 
  8.7   mathematics, and science assessments aligned with state academic 
  8.8   standards that districts and sites must use to monitor student 
  8.9   growth toward achieving those standards.  The commissioner must 
  8.10  not develop statewide assessments for academic standards in 
  8.11  social studies and the arts.  The commissioner must require: 
  8.12     (1) annual ~~language arts~~ reading and mathematics 
  8.13  assessments in grades 3 through 8 and at the high school level 
  8.14  for the 2005-2006 school year and later; and 
  8.15     (2) annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 
  8.16  through 5 span, the grades 6 through 9 span, and a life sciences 
  8.17  assessment in the grades 10 through 12 span for the 2007-2008 
  8.18  school year and later. 
  8.19     (b) The commissioner must ensure that all statewide tests 
  8.20  administered to elementary and secondary students measure 
  8.21  students' academic knowledge and skills and not students' 
  8.22  values, attitudes, and beliefs. 
  8.23     (c) Reporting of assessment results must: 
  8.24     (1) provide timely, useful, and understandable information 
  8.25  on the performance of individual students, schools, school 
  8.26  districts, and the state; 
  8.27     (2) include, by the 2006-2007 school year, a value-added 
  8.28  component to measure student achievement growth over time; and 
  8.29     (3) for students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 
  8.30  school year, determine whether students have met the state's 
  8.31  basic skills requirements; and 
  8.32     (4) for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 
  8.33  school year and later, determine whether students have met the 
  8.34  state's academic standards. 
  8.35     (d) Consistent with applicable federal law and subdivision 
  8.36  1, paragraph (d), clause (1), the commissioner must include 
  9.1   alternative assessments for the very few students with 
  9.2   disabilities for whom statewide assessments are inappropriate 
  9.3   and for students with limited English proficiency. 
  9.4      (e) A school, school district, and charter school must 
  9.5   administer statewide assessments under this section, as the 
  9.6   assessments become available, to evaluate student progress in 
  9.7   achieving the academic standards.  If a state assessment is not 
  9.8   available, a school, school district, and charter school must 
  9.9   determine locally if a student has met the required academic 
  9.10  standards.  A school, school district, or charter school may use 
  9.11  a student's performance on a statewide assessment as one of 
  9.12  multiple criteria to determine grade promotion or retention.  A 
  9.13  school, school district, or charter school may use a high school 
  9.14  student's performance on a statewide assessment as a percentage 
  9.15  of the student's final grade in a course, or place a student's 
  9.16  assessment score on the student's transcript.  
  9.17     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.66, 
  9.18  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  9.19     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE SERVICES.] (a) Assurance of mastery 
  9.20  programs may provide direct instructional services to an 
  9.21  eligible pupil, or a group of eligible pupils, under the 
  9.22  following conditions in paragraphs (b) to (d). 
  9.23     (b) Instruction may be provided at one or more grade levels 
  9.24  from kindergarten to grade 8 and for students in grades 9 
  9.25  through 12 who were enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 
  9.26  school year and have failed the basic skills tests, or were 
  9.27  enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later and 
  9.28  who have failed the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments 
  9.29  (MCA-IIs) in reading, mathematics, or writing as required for 
  9.30  high school graduation under section 120B.02.  If an assessment 
  9.31  of pupils' needs within a district demonstrates that the 
  9.32  eligible pupils in grades kindergarten to grade 8 are being 
  9.33  appropriately served, a district may serve eligible pupils in 
  9.34  grades 9 to 12. 
  9.35     (c) Instruction must be provided under the supervision of 
  9.36  the eligible pupil's regular classroom teacher.  Instruction may 
 10.1   be provided by the eligible pupil's classroom teacher, by 
 10.2   another teacher, by a team of teachers, or by an education 
 10.3   assistant or aide.  A special education teacher may provide 
 10.4   instruction, but instruction that is provided under this section 
 10.5   is not eligible for aid under section 125A.76. 
 10.6      (d) The instruction that is provided must differ from the 
 10.7   initial instruction the pupil received in the regular classroom 
 10.8   setting.  The instruction may differ by presenting different 
 10.9   curriculum than was initially presented in the regular classroom 
 10.10  or by presenting the same curriculum: 
 10.11     (1) at a different rate or in a different sequence than it 
 10.12  was initially presented; 
 10.13     (2) using different teaching methods or techniques than 
 10.14  were used initially; or 
 10.15     (3) using different instructional materials than were used 
 10.16  initially. 
 10.17     Sec. 11.  [MINNESOTA COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTS; RULES.] 
 10.18     The commissioner of education shall adopt rules on or 
 10.19  before January 1, 2006, to implement the Minnesota Comprehensive 
 10.20  Assessments Second Edition (MCA-IIs) in reading, mathematics, 
 10.21  and writing. 
 10.22     Sec. 12.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
 10.23     Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT.] The sums indicated in this 
 10.24  section are appropriated from the general fund to the Department 
 10.25  of Education for the fiscal years designated. 
 10.26     Subd. 2.  [EDUCATION PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.] For 
 10.27  the Educational Planning and Assessment (EPAS) program under 
 10.28  Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.128: 
 10.29       $  829,000     .....     2006 
 10.30       $  829,000     .....     2007 
 10.31     Subd. 3.  [COLLEGE LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP).] For 
 10.32  the College Level Examination program (CLEP) under Minnesota 
 10.33  Statutes, section 120B.131: 
 10.34       $  825,000     .....     2006 
 10.35       $1,650,000     .....     2007 
 10.36     This is a onetime appropriation.