1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; changing transportation aid for 
  1.3             kindergarten students; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             1994, sections 124.223, subdivision 1; and 124.225, 
  1.5             subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 124.223, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [TO AND FROM SCHOOL; BETWEEN SCHOOLS.] (a) 
  1.10  State transportation aid is authorized for transportation or 
  1.11  board of resident kindergarten pupils who reside one-half mile 
  1.12  from the public schools which they could attend; transportation 
  1.13  or board of resident elementary pupils who reside one mile or 
  1.14  more from the public schools which they could attend; 
  1.15  transportation or board of resident secondary pupils who reside 
  1.16  two miles or more from the public schools which they could 
  1.17  attend; transportation to and from schools the resident pupils 
  1.18  attend according to a program approved by the commissioner of 
  1.19  education, or between the schools the resident pupils attend for 
  1.20  instructional classes; transportation of resident kindergarten 
  1.21  pupils who reside one-half mile or more from a nonpublic school 
  1.22  actually attended; transportation of resident elementary pupils 
  1.23  who reside one mile or more from a nonpublic school actually 
  1.24  attended; transportation of resident secondary pupils who reside 
  1.25  two miles or more from a nonpublic school actually attended; but 
  2.1   with respect to transportation of pupils to nonpublic schools 
  2.2   actually attended, only to the extent permitted by sections 
  2.3   123.76 to 123.79; transportation of resident pupils to and from 
  2.4   language immersion programs; transportation of a pupil who is a 
  2.5   custodial parent and that pupil's child between the pupil's home 
  2.6   and the child care provider and between the provider and the 
  2.7   school, if the home and provider are within the attendance area 
  2.8   of the school.  State transportation aid is not authorized for 
  2.9   late transportation home from school for pupils involved in 
  2.10  after school activities.  State transportation aid is not 
  2.11  authorized for summer program transportation except as provided 
  2.12  in subdivision 8. 
  2.13     (b) For the purposes of this subdivision, a district may 
  2.14  designate a licensed day care facility, respite care facility, 
  2.15  the residence of a relative, or the residence of a person chosen 
  2.16  by the pupil's parent or guardian as the home of a pupil for 
  2.17  part or all of the day, if requested by the pupil's parent or 
  2.18  guardian and if that facility or residence is within the 
  2.19  attendance area of the school the pupil attends. 
  2.20     (c) State transportation aid is authorized for 
  2.21  transportation to and from school of an elementary pupil who 
  2.22  moves during the school year within an area designated by the 
  2.23  district as a mobility zone, but only for the remainder of the 
  2.24  school year.  The attendance areas of schools in a mobility zone 
  2.25  must be contiguous.  To be in a mobility zone, a school must 
  2.26  meet both of the following requirements: 
  2.27     (1) more than 50 percent of the pupils enrolled in the 
  2.28  school are eligible for free or reduced school lunch; and 
  2.29     (2) the pupil withdrawal rate for the last year is more 
  2.30  than 12 percent. 
  2.31     (d) A pupil withdrawal rate is determined by dividing: 
  2.32     (1) the sum of the number of pupils who withdraw from the 
  2.33  school, during the school year, and the number of pupils 
  2.34  enrolled in the school as a result of transportation provided 
  2.35  under this paragraph, by 
  2.36     (2) the number of pupils enrolled in the school. 
  3.1      (e) The district may establish eligibility requirements for 
  3.2   individual pupils to receive transportation in the mobility zone.
  3.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 124.225, 
  3.4   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.5      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
  3.6   section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings 
  3.7   given to them. 
  3.8      (a) "FTE" means a full-time equivalent pupil whose 
  3.9   transportation is authorized for aid purposes by section 124.223.
  3.10     (b) "Authorized cost for regular transportation" means the 
  3.11  sum of: 
  3.12     (1) all expenditures for transportation in the regular 
  3.13  category, as defined in paragraph (c), clause (1), for which aid 
  3.14  is authorized in section 124.223, plus 
  3.15     (2) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the 
  3.16  district's school bus fleet and mobile units computed on a 
  3.17  straight line basis at the rate of 15 percent per year for 
  3.18  districts operating a program under section 121.585 for grades 1 
  3.19  to 12 for all students in the district and 12-1/2 percent per 
  3.20  year for other districts of the cost of the fleet, plus 
  3.21     (3) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on district 
  3.22  school buses reconditioned by the department of corrections 
  3.23  computed on a straight line basis at the rate of 33-1/3 percent 
  3.24  per year of the cost to the district of the reconditioning, plus 
  3.25     (4) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the 
  3.26  district's type three school buses, as defined in section 
  3.27  169.01, subdivision 6, clause (5), which were purchased after 
  3.28  July 1, 1982, for authorized transportation of pupils, with the 
  3.29  prior approval of the commissioner, computed on a straight line 
  3.30  basis at the rate of 20 percent per year of the cost of the type 
  3.31  three school buses.  
  3.32     (c) "Transportation category" means a category of 
  3.33  transportation service provided to pupils as follows:  
  3.34     (1) Regular transportation is transportation services 
  3.35  provided during the regular school year under section 124.223, 
  3.36  subdivisions 1 and 2, excluding the following transportation 
  4.1   services provided under section 124.223, subdivision 1:  
  4.2   transportation between schools; noon transportation to and from 
  4.3   school for kindergarten pupils attending half-day sessions; 
  4.4   transportation of pupils to and from schools located outside 
  4.5   their normal attendance areas under the provisions of a plan for 
  4.6   desegregation mandated by the state board of education or under 
  4.7   court order; and transportation of elementary pupils to and from 
  4.8   school within a mobility zone. 
  4.9      (2) Nonregular transportation is transportation services 
  4.10  provided under section 124.223, subdivision 1, that are excluded 
  4.11  from the regular category and transportation services provided 
  4.12  under section 124.223, subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. 
  4.13     (3) Excess transportation is transportation to and from 
  4.14  school during the regular school year for secondary pupils 
  4.15  residing at least one mile but less than two miles from the 
  4.16  public school they could attend or from the nonpublic school 
  4.17  actually attended, transportation to and from school during the 
  4.18  regular school year for kindergarten pupils residing less than 
  4.19  one-half mile from the public school they could attend or from 
  4.20  the nonpublic school actually attended, and transportation to 
  4.21  and from school for elementary and secondary pupils residing 
  4.22  less than one mile from school and kindergarten pupils residing 
  4.23  less than one-half mile from school who are transported because 
  4.24  of extraordinary traffic, drug, or crime hazards. 
  4.25     (4) Desegregation transportation is transportation during 
  4.26  the regular school year of pupils to and from schools located 
  4.27  outside their normal attendance areas under a plan for 
  4.28  desegregation mandated by the state board or under court order.  
  4.29     (5) Handicapped transportation is transportation provided 
  4.30  under section 124.223, subdivision 4, for pupils with a 
  4.31  disability between home or a respite care facility and school or 
  4.32  other buildings where special instruction required by sections 
  4.33  120.17 and 120.1701 is provided. 
  4.34     (d) "Mobile unit" means a vehicle or trailer designed to 
  4.35  provide facilities for educational programs and services, 
  4.36  including diagnostic testing, guidance and counseling services, 
  5.1   and health services.  A mobile unit located off nonpublic school 
  5.2   premises is a neutral site as defined in section 123.932, 
  5.3   subdivision 9. 
  5.4      (e) "Current year" means the school year for which aid will 
  5.5   be paid.  
  5.6      (f) "Base year" means the second school year preceding the 
  5.7   school year for which aid will be paid.  
  5.8      (g) "Base cost" means the ratio of: 
  5.9      (1) the sum of the authorized cost in the base year for 
  5.10  regular transportation as defined in paragraph (b) plus the 
  5.11  actual cost in the base year for excess transportation as 
  5.12  defined in paragraph (c); 
  5.13     (2) to the sum of the number of weighted FTE's in the 
  5.14  regular and excess categories in the base year. 
  5.15     (h) "Pupil weighting factor" for the excess transportation 
  5.16  category for a school district means the lesser of one, or the 
  5.17  result of the following computation: 
  5.18     (1) Divide the square mile area of the school district by 
  5.19  the number of FTE's in the regular and excess categories in the 
  5.20  base year. 
  5.21     (2) Raise the result in clause (1) to the one-fifth power. 
  5.22     (3) Divide four-tenths by the result in clause (2). 
  5.23     The pupil weighting factor for the regular transportation 
  5.24  category is one.  
  5.25     (i) "Weighted FTE's"  means the number of FTE's in each 
  5.26  transportation category multiplied by the pupil weighting factor 
  5.27  for that category. 
  5.28     (j) "Sparsity index" for a school district means the 
  5.29  greater of .005 or the ratio of the square mile area of the 
  5.30  school district to the sum of the number of weighted FTE's by 
  5.31  the district in the regular and excess categories in the base 
  5.32  year. 
  5.33     (k) "Density index" for a school district means the greater 
  5.34  of one or the result obtained by subtracting the product of the 
  5.35  district's sparsity index times 20 from two. 
  5.36     (l) "Contract transportation index" for a school district 
  6.1   means the greater of one or the result of the following 
  6.2   computation: 
  6.3      (1) Multiply the district's sparsity index by 20. 
  6.4      (2) Select the lesser of one or the result in clause (1). 
  6.5      (3) Multiply the district's percentage of regular FTE's in 
  6.6   the current year using vehicles that are not owned by the school 
  6.7   district by the result in clause (2). 
  6.8      (m) "Adjusted predicted base cost" means the predicted base 
  6.9   cost as computed in subdivision 3a as adjusted under subdivision 
  6.10  7a. 
  6.11     (n) "Regular transportation allowance" means the adjusted 
  6.12  predicted base cost, inflated and adjusted under subdivision 7b.