1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a planning process 
  1.3             for a state-of-the-art vocational high school; 
  1.4             appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [STATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL PLANNING PROCESS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [PLANNING COMMITTEE.] A planning committee 
  1.8   is established to develop a preliminary plan for a 
  1.9   state-of-the-art vocational high school in Minnesota to serve 
  1.10  the needs of students with special vocational interests and 
  1.11  talents, and to serve as a demonstration site for vocational 
  1.12  education.  The committee shall consist of 21 members.  The 
  1.13  governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and the 
  1.14  majority leader of the senate shall each appoint seven members.  
  1.15  The governor's appointments must include the commissioners of 
  1.16  education and human services or their designees.  Members also 
  1.17  must include potential students and their parents, imaginative 
  1.18  practicing teachers, high school administrators, representatives 
  1.19  of business and labor, and community representatives.  The 
  1.20  committee is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 15.059. 
  1.21     Subd. 2.  [PURPOSES.] The purposes of the planning 
  1.22  committee are to: 
  1.23     (1) evaluate the need for a vocational high school, 
  1.24  including the needs of Minnesota students for vocational 
  1.25  training and the needs of private sector employers for skilled, 
  2.1   vocationally trained employees; 
  2.2      (2) determine the capacity of Minnesota's secondary schools 
  2.3   to meet this need; 
  2.4      (3) identify the challenges and opportunities for 
  2.5   vocational education; 
  2.6      (4) develop a preliminary plan for a vocational high school 
  2.7   to meet the identified needs; 
  2.8      (5) develop a learning signature for a vocational high 
  2.9   school based on its focus, including educational goals, learning 
  2.10  organization, anticipated learner results, and staffing and 
  2.11  staff development; 
  2.12     (6) describe the anticipated partnerships of the vocational 
  2.13  school with other secondary educational institutions, 
  2.14  post-secondary institutions, business and labor, community 
  2.15  organizations, and students' families; 
  2.16     (7) develop a technology and equipment plan for the 
  2.17  proposed school; 
  2.18     (8) develop preliminary cost estimates for a vocational 
  2.19  school. 
  2.20     Subd. 3.  [APPOINTMENTS; MEETINGS.] The planning committee 
  2.21  must be appointed by June 1, 1995.  The committee must begin 
  2.22  meeting in June 1995.  At least some of the committee meetings 
  2.23  must be held outside the metropolitan area as defined in 
  2.24  Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 2. 
  2.25     Subd. 4.  [REPORT.] The planning committee shall make a 
  2.26  report of its work to the education committee of the legislature 
  2.27  in February 1996. 
  2.28     Subd. 5.  [STAFF; OFFICE SPACE.] The planning committee may 
  2.29  appoint staff as necessary to assist in its work.  The staff are 
  2.30  members of the unclassified service of the state.  The 
  2.31  commissioner of education shall provide office space for the 
  2.32  committee staff. 
  2.33     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  2.34     $120,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 1996 from the 
  2.35  general fund to the commissioner of education for staff and 
  2.36  related expenses of the planning committee in section 1. 
  3.1      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.2      Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day after final 
  3.3   enactment.