1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; providing for health and physical education requirements;
1.3 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 120B.021, subdivision 1; 120B.024.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.021, subdivision 1, is amended to 
1.6 	read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Required academic standards. The following subject areas are 
1.8 	required for statewide accountability:
1.9 	(1) language arts;
1.10 	(2) mathematics;
1.11 	(3) science;
1.12 	(4) social studies, including history, geography, economics, and government and 
1.13 	citizenship;
1.14 	(5) health and physical education, for which locally developed academic standards 
1.15 	apply; and
1.16 	(6) the arts, for which statewide or locally developed academic standards apply, as 
1.17 	determined by the school district. Public elementary and middle schools must offer at least 
1.18 	three and require at least two of the following four arts areas: dance; music; theater; and 
1.19 	visual arts. Public high schools must offer at least three and require at least one of the 
1.20 	following five arts areas: media arts; dance; music; theater; and visual arts.
1.21 	The commissioner must submit proposed standards in science and social studies to 
1.22 	the legislature by February 1, 2004.
1.23 	For purposes of applicable federal law, the academic standards for language arts, 
1.24 	mathematics, and science apply to all public school students, except the very few students 
2.1 	with extreme cognitive or physical impairments for whom an individualized education 
2.2 	plan team has determined that the required academic standards are inappropriate. 
2.3 	An individualized education plan team that makes this determination must establish 
2.4 	alternative standards.
2.5 	A school district, no later than the 2007-2008 school year, must adopt graduation 
2.6 	requirements that meet or exceed state graduation requirements established in law or 
2.7 	rule. A school district that incorporates these state graduation requirements before the 
2.8 	2007-2008 school year must provide students who enter the 9th grade in or before 
2.9 	the 2003-2004 school year the opportunity to earn a diploma based on existing locally 
2.10 	established graduation requirements in effect when the students entered the 9th grade. 
2.11 	District efforts to develop, implement, or improve instruction or curriculum as a result 
2.12 	of the provisions of this section must be consistent with sections  120B.10,  120B.11, 
2.13 	and  120B.20. 
2.14 	At a minimum, school districts must maintain the same physical education and 
2.15 	health education requirements for students in kindergarten through grade 6 adopted for the 
2.16 	2005-2006 school year through the 2008-2009 school year. Before a revision of the local 
2.17 	health and physical education standards, a school district must consult the grade-specific 
2.18 	benchmarks developed by the Department of Education's health and physical education 
2.19 	quality teaching network for the six national physical education standards and the seven 
2.20 	national health standards.

2.21 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.024, is amended to read:
2.22 	120B.024 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; COURSE CREDITS.
2.23 	Students beginning 9th grade in the 2004-2005 school year and later must 
2.24 	successfully complete the following high school level course credits for graduation:
2.25 	(1) four credits of language arts;
2.26 	(2) three credits of mathematics, encompassing at least algebra, geometry, statistics, 
2.27 	and probability sufficient to satisfy the academic standard;
2.28 	(3) three credits of science, including at least one credit in biology;
2.29 	(4) three and one-half credits of social studies, encompassing at least United 
2.30 	States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and economics or 
2.31 	three credits of social studies encompassing at least United States history, geography, 
2.32 	government and citizenship, and world history, and one-half credit of economics taught in 
2.33 	a school's social studies or business department;
2.34 	(5) one credit in the arts; and
2.35 	(6)one-half credit in physical education and one-half credit in health education; and
3.1 	(7) a minimum of seven six elective course credits.
3.2 	A course credit is equivalent to a student successfully completing an academic 
3.3 	year of study or a student mastering the applicable subject matter, as determined by the 
3.4 	local school district.