1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for a basic level of 
  1.3             competency in reading and mathematics; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.35. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.35, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      120B.35 [STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS.] 
  1.9      (a) Each school year, a school district must determine if 
  1.10  the student achievement levels at each school site meet state 
  1.11  expectations.  If student achievement levels at a school site do 
  1.12  not meet state expectations for two out of three consecutive 
  1.13  school years, beginning with the 1999-2000 school year, the 
  1.14  district must work with the school site to adopt a plan to raise 
  1.15  student achievement levels to state expectations.  The 
  1.16  legislature will determine state expectations after receiving a 
  1.17  recommendation from the commissioner of children, families, and 
  1.18  learning.  The commissioner must submit its recommendations to 
  1.19  the legislature by December 15, 1998. The state expects school 
  1.20  sites to work toward having all students attain a basic level of 
  1.21  competency in the core academic areas of reading and math and to 
  1.22  show long-term improvement in students' performance level and 
  1.23  rate of academic growth over time by using continuous 
  1.24  improvement strategies and best educational practices. 
  1.25     (b) Beginning with the 2000-2001 school year and later, 
  2.1   state expectations require at a minimum:  
  2.2      (1) a 90 percent student attendance rate at the school; and 
  2.3      (2) that 70 percent of the tenth grade students enrolled in 
  2.4   the school receive a passing score on the state's basic skills 
  2.5   tests in reading and math.  
  2.6      (c) In addition, the commissioner, in consultation with the 
  2.7   office of educational accountability and others, including 
  2.8   parents, teachers, representatives of communities of color, and 
  2.9   employers, must establish benchmark scores on the third and 
  2.10  fifth grade Minnesota comprehensive assessments.  
  2.11     (d) Each school year, a school district must determine if 
  2.12  the student achievement levels at each school site meet state 
  2.13  expectations.  A district must examine student scores within 
  2.14  each quartile of students enrolled in a school site.  A school 
  2.15  site must also show an improvement in student performance for 
  2.16  the lowest quartile of students at least comparable to the 
  2.17  performance gain of all other students enrolled at the site.  
  2.18  School sites that do not achieve the state expectations or the 
  2.19  scores established by the commissioner under paragraphs (b) and 
  2.20  (c) on the third and fifth grade Minnesota comprehensive 
  2.21  assessments must adopt or revise a plan to improve achievement.  
  2.22  The department must assist the district and the school site upon 
  2.23  request in developing a plan to improve student achievement.  
  2.24  The plan must include parental involvement components in both 
  2.25  its development and implementation.  The district must work with 
  2.26  school sites that score below the expected score to raise 
  2.27  student achievement levels to meet state expectations.  
  2.28     (e) The commissioner must examine longitudinal data from 
  2.29  the schools that score substantially above the minimum 
  2.30  competency score to determine whether instructional or other 
  2.31  educational practices at the school site can be implemented at 
  2.32  other school sites. 
  2.33     (f) Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year on an annual 
  2.34  basis, the commissioner shall reestablish the state expectations 
  2.35  according to paragraphs (b) and (c).