1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for a school plan or 
  1.3             school closure to improve student achievement levels 
  1.4             based on minimum state expectations; modifying 
  1.5             unrequested leave of absence provisions for teachers 
  1.6             at a closed school; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
  1.7             section 125.12, subdivision 6b; proposing coding for 
  1.8             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 123. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [123.3517] [STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS; SCHOOL 
  1.11  PLAN AND CLOSURE.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [MINIMUM STATE EXPECTATIONS; PLAN; SCHOOL 
  1.13  CLOSURE.] (a) If a school's student achievement levels fail to 
  1.14  meet minimum state expectations for two out of three consecutive 
  1.15  school years beginning with the 1998-1999 school year, a school 
  1.16  board may work with the school to adopt a plan to raise student 
  1.17  achievement levels to minimum state expectations that may 
  1.18  include closing the school.  "Minimum state expectations" means 
  1.19  the following rates as measured by the department of children, 
  1.20  families, and learning: 
  1.21     (1) at least 65 percent of the students at a given grade 
  1.22  level in a school achieve minimum scores on statewide tests; 
  1.23     (2) regular student attendance at school is at least 90 
  1.24  percent of the students attending the school; 
  1.25     (3) student graduation rate at a school is at least 90 
  1.26  percent; or 
  1.27     (4) the drop-out rate for the school is four percent or 
  2.1   less. 
  2.2      (b) At the request of a school board, the department shall 
  2.3   assist the board and school in developing a plan under this 
  2.4   subdivision. 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [NOTICE.] (a) The school board shall, within 45 
  2.6   days after the board declares that a school's student 
  2.7   achievement levels fail to meet minimum state expectations under 
  2.8   subdivision 1, paragraph (a), give notice of the failure to 
  2.9   parents and guardians of students attending the school.  The 
  2.10  notice shall include: 
  2.11     (1) the minimum state expectations that student achievement 
  2.12  levels failed to meet; 
  2.13     (2) a plan, if any, proposed or adopted under subdivision 
  2.14  1; and 
  2.15     (3) alternative enrollment options for the students. 
  2.16     (b) For each school year the school board continues to 
  2.17  declare that a school's student achievement levels fail to meet 
  2.18  minimum state expectations, the school board shall give notice 
  2.19  to parents and guardians of students of the continuing status of 
  2.20  the school. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [SCHOOL CLOSURE; TEACHERS.] Teachers teaching at 
  2.22  a school closed under subdivision 1 shall be placed on 
  2.23  unrequested leave pursuant to section 125.12, subdivision 6b. 
  2.24     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 125.12, 
  2.25  subdivision 6b, is amended to read: 
  2.26     Subd. 6b.  [UNREQUESTED LEAVE OF ABSENCE.] The school board 
  2.27  may place on unrequested leave of absence, without pay or fringe 
  2.28  benefits, as many teachers as may be necessary because of 
  2.29  discontinuance of position, lack of pupils, financial 
  2.30  limitations, or merger of classes caused by consolidation of 
  2.31  districts.  The unrequested leave shall be effective at the 
  2.32  close of the school year.  In placing teachers on unrequested 
  2.33  leave, the board shall be governed by the following provisions: 
  2.34     (a) The board may place probationary teachers on 
  2.35  unrequested leave first in the inverse order of their 
  2.36  employment.  No teacher who has acquired continuing contract 
  3.1   rights shall be placed on unrequested leave of absence while 
  3.2   probationary teachers are retained in positions for which the 
  3.3   teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights is licensed; 
  3.4      (b) Teachers who have acquired continuing contract rights 
  3.5   shall be placed on unrequested leave of absence in fields in 
  3.6   which they are licensed in the inverse order in which they were 
  3.7   employed by the school district.  In the case of equal 
  3.8   seniority, the order in which teachers who have acquired 
  3.9   continuing contract rights shall be placed on unrequested leave 
  3.10  of absence in fields in which they are licensed shall be 
  3.11  negotiable; 
  3.12     (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (b), no 
  3.13  teacher shall be entitled to exercise any seniority when that 
  3.14  exercise results in that teacher being retained by the district 
  3.15  in a field for which the teacher holds only a provisional 
  3.16  license, as defined by the board of teaching, unless that 
  3.17  exercise of seniority results in the placement on unrequested 
  3.18  leave of absence of another teacher who also holds a provisional 
  3.19  license in the same field.  The provisions of this clause shall 
  3.20  not apply to vocational education licenses; 
  3.21     (d) Notwithstanding clauses (a), (b) and (c), if the 
  3.22  placing of a probationary teacher on unrequested leave before a 
  3.23  teacher who has acquired continuing rights, the placing of a 
  3.24  teacher who has acquired continuing contract rights on 
  3.25  unrequested leave before another teacher who has acquired 
  3.26  continuing contract rights but who has greater seniority, or the 
  3.27  restriction imposed by the provisions of clause (c) would place 
  3.28  the district in violation of its affirmative action program, the 
  3.29  district may retain the probationary teacher, the teacher with 
  3.30  less seniority, or the provisionally licensed teacher; 
  3.31     (e) Notwithstanding clauses (a), (b), and (c), a teacher 
  3.32  shall not be entitled to exercise any seniority when the teacher 
  3.33  is placed on unrequested leave of absence as a result of the 
  3.34  closing of a school when student achievement levels fail to meet 
  3.35  minimum state expectations under section 123.3517; 
  3.36     (f) Teachers placed on unrequested leave of absence shall 
  4.1   be reinstated to the positions from which they have been given 
  4.2   leaves of absence or, if not available, to other available 
  4.3   positions in the school district in fields in which they are 
  4.4   licensed.  Reinstatement shall be in the inverse order of 
  4.5   placement on leave of absence.  No teacher shall be reinstated 
  4.6   to a position in a field in which the teacher holds only a 
  4.7   provisional license, other than a vocational education license, 
  4.8   while another teacher who holds a nonprovisional license in the 
  4.9   same field remains on unrequested leave.  The order of 
  4.10  reinstatement of teachers who have equal seniority and who are 
  4.11  placed on unrequested leave in the same school year shall be 
  4.12  negotiable; 
  4.13     (g) Notwithstanding clause (f), a teacher placed on 
  4.14  unrequested leave of absence as a result of the closing of a 
  4.15  school when the student achievement levels fail to meet minimum 
  4.16  state expectations under section 123.3517 may be reinstated 
  4.17  without regard to order of placement on leave of absence; 
  4.18     (f) (h) No appointment of a new teacher shall be made while 
  4.19  there is available, on unrequested leave, a teacher who is 
  4.20  properly licensed to fill such vacancy, unless the teacher fails 
  4.21  to advise the school board within 30 days of the date of 
  4.22  notification that a position is available to that teacher who 
  4.23  may return to employment and assume the duties of the position 
  4.24  to which appointed on a future date determined by the board; 
  4.25     (g) (i) A teacher placed on unrequested leave of absence 
  4.26  may engage in teaching or any other occupation during the period 
  4.27  of this leave; 
  4.28     (h) (j) The unrequested leave of absence shall not impair 
  4.29  the continuing contract rights of a teacher or result in a loss 
  4.30  of credit for previous years of service; 
  4.31     (i) (k) The unrequested leave of absence of a teacher who 
  4.32  is placed on unrequested leave of absence and who is not 
  4.33  reinstated shall continue for a period of five years, after 
  4.34  which the right to reinstatement shall terminate; provided the 
  4.35  teacher's right to reinstatement shall also terminate if the 
  4.36  teacher fails to file with the board by April 1 of any year a 
  5.1   written statement requesting reinstatement; 
  5.2      (j) (l) The same provisions applicable to terminations of 
  5.3   probationary or continuing contracts in subdivisions 3 and 4 
  5.4   shall apply to placement on unrequested leave of absence; 
  5.5      (k) (m) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to 
  5.6   impair the rights of teachers placed on unrequested leave of 
  5.7   absence to receive reemployment insurance if otherwise eligible.