1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; promoting professional teaching 
  1.3             standards; appropriating money; amending Laws 1997, 
  1.4             First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section 22.
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Laws 1997, First Special Session chapter 4, 
  1.7   article 5, section 22, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Sec. 22.  [GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE PROFESSIONAL TEACHING 
  1.9   STANDARDS.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program to promote 
  1.11  professional teaching standards through the national board for 
  1.12  professional teaching standards for fiscal year 1998 is 
  1.13  established to provide eligible teachers with the opportunity to 
  1.14  receive national board for professional teaching standards 
  1.15  certification and to reward teachers who have already received 
  1.16  such certification. 
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant for a grant must be a 
  1.18  licensed K-12 school teacher employed in a state school.  To be 
  1.19  eligible for a grant, the teacher must have been employed as a 
  1.20  teacher for a minimum of five school years and demonstrate 
  1.21  either that the national board for professional teaching 
  1.22  standards has accepted the teacher as a candidate for board 
  1.23  certification or that the teacher already has received board 
  1.24  certification. 
  1.25     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] To obtain a grant to 
  2.1   participate in the national board for professional teaching 
  2.2   standards certification process or to receive a reward for 
  2.3   already completing the board certification process, a teacher 
  2.4   must submit an application to the commissioner of children, 
  2.5   families, and learning in the form and manner the commissioner 
  2.6   establishes.  The applicant must demonstrate either that the 
  2.7   national board for professional teaching standards has accepted 
  2.8   the teacher as a candidate for board certification or that the 
  2.9   teacher already has received board certification.  The 
  2.10  commissioner shall consult with the state board of teaching when 
  2.11  reviewing the applications. 
  2.12     Subd. 4.  [GRANT AWARDS; PROCEEDS.] (a) The commissioner 
  2.13  may award matching grants of $1,000 each to for eligible 
  2.14  teachers who provide a matching amount through collaboration 
  2.15  with either a school district, professional organization, or 
  2.16  both and are accepted as candidates for national board for 
  2.17  professional teaching standards certification.  Grant recipients 
  2.18  shall use the grant to participate in the certification 
  2.19  process.  The grant award shall be paid to the national board 
  2.20  for professional teaching standards in the teacher's name.  
  2.21  Within 24 months of receiving certification, a grant recipient 
  2.22  must satisfactorily complete one year of teaching service in a 
  2.23  state school the certification process or repay the state the 
  2.24  amount of the grant, except if the commissioner determines that 
  2.25  death or disability prevents the grant recipient from providing 
  2.26  the one year of teaching service. 
  2.27     (b) The commissioner may award grants to eligible teachers 
  2.28  who have earned national board for professional teaching 
  2.29  standards certification.  The amount of each grant shall not 
  2.30  exceed $1,000 and the commissioner shall establish criteria to 
  2.31  determine the actual amount of each grant.  Grant recipients 
  2.32  shall use the grant proceeds for educational purposes, including 
  2.33  purchasing instructional materials, equipment, or supplies and 
  2.34  realizing professional development opportunities.  
  2.35     Subd. 5.  [REGIONAL COORDINATORS.] The state shall provide 
  2.36  for four full-time regional coordinators with two located in the 
  3.1   seven-county metropolitan area and two located in greater 
  3.2   Minnesota.  $25,000 per year, for the first two years only, 
  3.3   shall be provided to cover expenses of the regional coordinators 
  3.4   including, but not limited to, travel, meetings, web page 
  3.5   maintenance, and cost related to supporting candidate's 
  3.6   expenses.  After the first two years, individual school 
  3.7   districts must negotiate with the exclusive representative of 
  3.8   the teachers in the district for coordinator positions. 
  3.9      Subd. 6.  [SALARY INCENTIVE.] A national board certified 
  3.10  teacher currently teaching in a state school must receive a 
  3.11  $2,000 per year salary incentive for the life of the 
  3.12  certificate.  The teacher must continue to provide direct 
  3.13  instruction to students in the classroom at least 65 percent of 
  3.14  their time to retain the salary incentive. 
  3.15     Subd. 7.  [MENTORING INCENTIVE.] (a) A national board 
  3.16  certified teacher currently teaching in a state school must 
  3.17  receive a $1,500 per year mentoring incentive, if the board 
  3.18  certified teacher is trained and acts as a mentor for other 
  3.19  national board certification candidates. 
  3.20     (b) A school district must receive $5,000 per year for each 
  3.21  board certified teacher, if the school district uses a national 
  3.22  board certified teacher as a mentor to induct new teachers to 
  3.23  provide high quality professional development for career 
  3.24  teachers or to help low-achieving schools with school 
  3.25  improvement plans and professional development.  The $5,000 must 
  3.26  be set aside in a separate account for the specified uses.  Of 
  3.27  the $5,000, the district must pay $2,000 per year to the board 
  3.28  certified teacher acting as a mentor, in addition to the salary 
  3.29  incentive received under subdivision 6. 
  3.30     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.31     Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  3.32  LEARNING.] The following sum is appropriated from the general 
  3.33  fund to the department of children, families, and learning in 
  3.34  the fiscal year indicated. 
  3.35     Subd. 2.  [PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS.] For grants to 
  3.36  promote and reward high professional teaching standards: 
  4.1        $2,100,000     .....     2000
  4.2      This appropriation is available until June 30, 2001.  Of 
  4.3   this amount, $300,000 is for grants to teachers applying for 
  4.4   certification, $550,000 is for regional coordinators, $600,000 
  4.5   is for salary incentives, $150,000 is for mentor incentives, and 
  4.6   $500,000 is for school district incentives for using national 
  4.7   board certified teachers as a mentor. 
  4.8      All school district incentives from this appropriation 
  4.9   shall be set aside in a separate fund for the induction of new 
  4.10  teachers, high quality professional development, school 
  4.11  improvement plans, and professional development for staff in 
  4.12  low-achieving schools.