1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a pilot program 
  1.3             for children with specific learning disabilities; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 120.185; 
  1.5             and 124.17, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 120.185, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      120.185 [ACCOMMODATING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES; OPTIONS 
  1.10  PLUS PILOT PROGRAM.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [ACCOMMODATIONS; MODIFICATIONS.] A school 
  1.12  or school district shall provide a student who is an "individual 
  1.13  with a disability" under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 
  1.14  of 1973, United States Code, title 29, section 794, or under the 
  1.15  Americans with Disabilities Act, Public Law Number 101-336, with 
  1.16  reasonable accommodations or modifications in programs.  
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [FINDINGS; PURPOSE.] The legislature finds that 
  1.18  there is a critical need to support general education classroom 
  1.19  teachers who teach children with specific learning 
  1.20  disabilities.  The legislature recognizes the right of these 
  1.21  children to participate in noncategorical programming designed 
  1.22  to encourage their maximum potential, maintain their 
  1.23  self-esteem, and demonstrate results in measurable educational 
  1.24  outcomes.  In addition, the legislature finds that there is a 
  1.25  need to demonstrate alternatives to special education that focus 
  2.1   on children's educational progress and results, respond to the 
  2.2   individual child, are efficient and cost-effective, and ensure 
  2.3   the rights of eligible children and their families to due 
  2.4   process.  Further, the intent of this legislation is to increase 
  2.5   general education's ability to educate in a manner that 
  2.6   decreases the need for pull-out programs for students with 
  2.7   specific learning disabilities and implement alternative 
  2.8   approaches to conflict resolution.  Therefore, the legislature 
  2.9   establishes an Options Plus pilot program for children with 
  2.10  specific learning disabilities within general education designed 
  2.11  to demonstrate that when these children receive accommodations, 
  2.12  modifications, and personalized instruction they make progress 
  2.13  toward graduation outcomes. 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [OPTIONS PLUS PILOT PROGRAM.] (a) A five year 
  2.15  pilot program is established to allow six school districts to 
  2.16  develop and evaluate an Options Plus program for eligible 
  2.17  children.  An Options Plus applicant must be a school district 
  2.18  or districts that cooperate for a particular purpose.  To be 
  2.19  eligible for Options Plus funding, a district or districts must 
  2.20  meet all the criteria described in this section.  Pilot programs 
  2.21  will be approved to ensure geographic and cultural 
  2.22  representation, variety in school district size, and age groups 
  2.23  served.  No applicant may offer Options Plus at the elementary 
  2.24  level only. 
  2.25     (b) To obtain authorization to establish an Options Plus 
  2.26  pilot program, a district or districts must submit an 
  2.27  application to the commissioner of education in the form and 
  2.28  manner prescribed by the commissioner.  The application must 
  2.29  describe: 
  2.30     (1) how the applicant will ensure that eligible children 
  2.31  receive accommodations, modifications, and personalized 
  2.32  instruction; 
  2.33     (2) the methods to be used to evaluate individual progress 
  2.34  and outcomes, cumulative results including parent satisfaction; 
  2.35     (3) the projected number of students annually participating 
  2.36  in Options Plus not to exceed the equivalent of ten percent of 
  3.1   the students receiving or reasonably projected to receive 
  3.2   special education through the Specific Learning Disabilities 
  3.3   child count; and 
  3.4      (4) the current and projected level of educator competency 
  3.5   at each district site where Options Plus will be established and 
  3.6   the amount of start-up funds the district will need to implement 
  3.7   teacher training prior to project implementation but not to 
  3.8   exceed 25 percent of the estimated Options Plus pupil unit state 
  3.9   aid for the first year of the program.  
  3.10     (c) School districts must provide assessment and determine 
  3.11  eligibility for students with specific learning disabilities in 
  3.12  accordance with Minnesota Rules, parts 3525.1325 to 3525.1347. 
  3.13     (d) The commissioner may require additional information 
  3.14  from an applicant to the extent that the additional information 
  3.15  documents the effectiveness of the Options Plus program to 
  3.16  improve general education outcomes for eligible children. 
  3.17     Subd. 4.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this section 
  3.18  the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given 
  3.19  them. 
  3.20     (a) "Accommodation" means any technique that alters the 
  3.21  educational setting to enable the child to reach the child's 
  3.22  maximum potential and to demonstrate more accurately the child's 
  3.23  knowledge and educational progress.  Accommodations may include, 
  3.24  but are not limited to:  preferential seating, paraphrasing of 
  3.25  information, instructions, practice activities and directions 
  3.26  provided in a manner consistent with the child's learning style, 
  3.27  opportunity for increased response time, more frequent 
  3.28  opportunity for review, extended time to complete assignments 
  3.29  and tests, larger print for assignments or tests, special study 
  3.30  sheets, extended or untimed tests, oral testing and answering, 
  3.31  and use of assistive technology within and outside the 
  3.32  educational environment. 
  3.33     (b) "Assistive technology" means any item, piece of 
  3.34  equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off 
  3.35  the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, 
  3.36  maintain, or improve functional capabilities. 
  4.1      (c) "Competency" means a documented and demonstrated 
  4.2   attitude, skill, or knowledge base resulting in an ability of 
  4.3   general education personnel to provide accommodations, 
  4.4   modifications, and personalized instruction, according to the 
  4.5   eligible child's individual learning styles, within general 
  4.6   education environments. 
  4.7      (d) "Consistently available" means that education personnel 
  4.8   who demonstrate competency are site-based and designated as a 
  4.9   resource for the development and use of accommodations, 
  4.10  modifications, and personalized instruction in general education.
  4.11     (e) "Eligible children" means those children who have 
  4.12  specific learning disabilities or conditions related to these 
  4.13  disabilities according to recognized professional standards and 
  4.14  documented by appropriately licensed personnel, including 
  4.15  children eligible for accommodations and modifications under 
  4.16  subdivision 1. 
  4.17     (f) "Learner plan" means a concise written plan that is 
  4.18  based on the eligible child's documented specific learning 
  4.19  disabilities and needs; includes the eligible child's strengths 
  4.20  that may compensate for those differences and needs; provides 
  4.21  the child, the child's parent, and all general education 
  4.22  personnel responsible for direct instruction with information 
  4.23  that results in clear understanding and subsequent use of 
  4.24  accommodations, modifications, and personalized instruction; and 
  4.25  includes methods of evaluating the child's progress that are 
  4.26  consistent with learning differences, needs, strengths, 
  4.27  modifications, and accommodations, and are at intervals 
  4.28  identical to the student population of the school in which the 
  4.29  child participating in Options Plus is enrolled. 
  4.30     (g) "Modification" means any technique that alters the 
  4.31  school work required, makes it different from the school work 
  4.32  required or other students in the same course, and encourages 
  4.33  the eligible child to reach the child's maximum potential and 
  4.34  facilitate educational success.  Modifications may include, but 
  4.35  are not limited to:  copies of teacher notes and lesson plans, 
  4.36  assisted note taking, reduced or altered assignments, increased 
  5.1   assignments in areas of strength, alternative test formats, 
  5.2   modified testing, peer assistance, cooperative learning, and 
  5.3   modified grading such as documentation of progress and results. 
  5.4      (h) "Parent" means a parent, guardian, or person acting as 
  5.5   a parent of a child. 
  5.6      (i) "Personalized instruction" means direct instruction 
  5.7   designed with knowledge of the child's learning style, 
  5.8   strengths, and differences, to assist the child to gain in skill 
  5.9   areas, so the child demonstrates progress toward and outcomes 
  5.10  necessary to become a successful citizen. 
  5.11     Subd. 5.  [DISTRICT COMPLIANCE WITH IDEA.] Districts 
  5.12  participating in Options Plus shall comply with sections 120.03 
  5.13  and 120.17, Minnesota Rules, chapter 3525, the Individuals with 
  5.14  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), United States Code, title 20, 
  5.15  section 1400 et seq., and Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, 
  5.16  part 300, except that with documented parent approval, districts 
  5.17  need not develop Individual Education Plans (IEPs) as required 
  5.18  by section 120.17, subdivision 3a, clause (1), Minnesota Rules, 
  5.19  part 3425.2900, United States Code, title 20, sections 1401(a) 
  5.20  and 1412(4), and related federal regulations requiring an IEP.  
  5.21  Districts shall continue to have an accounting procedure to 
  5.22  document that federal special education money is expended for 
  5.23  child find, identification, and evaluation consistent with the 
  5.24  IDEA.  The district shall not include children participating in 
  5.25  Options Plus in special education child counts or funding 
  5.26  formulas. 
  5.27     Subd. 6.  [DISTRICT RESPONSIBILITIES.] (a) Districts shall 
  5.28  develop a learner plan as defined in subdivision 4, paragraph 
  5.29  (f), for each child participating in Options Plus.  The learner 
  5.30  plan shall be developed by one of the child's general education 
  5.31  teachers, the parent, and child, if appropriate, in consultation 
  5.32  with other general and special education personnel as is 
  5.33  needed.  The district shall document that the parent, in 
  5.34  consultation with the child as appropriate, chose Options Plus 
  5.35  after being fully informed of their rights.  The district shall 
  5.36  ensure that all education personnel with direct instruction 
  6.1   responsibility for the child participating in Options Plus are 
  6.2   informed of the accommodations and modifications necessary to 
  6.3   ensure success in their area of instruction.  The district shall 
  6.4   develop a method to revise the learner plan in a timely manner 
  6.5   at the request of the parent or education personnel. 
  6.6      (b) If a dispute arises, of which the district is notified 
  6.7   in writing by the parent:  
  6.8      (1) the learner plan shall remain in effect until a new 
  6.9   learner plan is approved by the parent and child, as 
  6.10  appropriate, unless the parent requests a reinstatement of the 
  6.11  last agreed-upon IEP; 
  6.12     (2) the district shall ensure that upon written request of 
  6.13  the parent any child may withdraw from Options Plus; 
  6.14     (3) the district shall immediately supply the parent and 
  6.15  child, if appropriate, with a list that includes the names, 
  6.16  addresses, and telephone numbers of all known individuals and 
  6.17  organizations that offer individual advocate services within 
  6.18  Minnesota; 
  6.19     (4) the district shall inform the parent and child, as 
  6.20  appropriate, of all procedural safeguards and dispute resolution 
  6.21  alternatives available under the Individuals with Disabilities 
  6.22  Education Act (IDEA), United States Code, title 20, section 1400 
  6.23  et seq., American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), United 
  6.24  States Code, title 42, section 12101 et seq., Rehabilitation Act 
  6.25  of 1973, United States Code, title 29, section 794, and 
  6.26  applicable state law.  Consistent with the intent of the 
  6.27  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), United States 
  6.28  Code, title 42, section 12212, this legislation encourages the 
  6.29  use of alternative means of dispute resolution including 
  6.30  settlement negotiations, conciliations, facilitation, mediation, 
  6.31  factfinding, minitrials, and arbitration; and 
  6.32     (5) the district may use alternative dispute resolution 
  6.33  methods as long as those methods are agreed upon by the parent 
  6.34  and are instituted in a timely manner not to exceed 30 days or 
  6.35  in accordance with current laws.  
  6.36     If the child was previously served through an IEP, the 
  7.1   parent shall retain the option to immediately reinstate the last 
  7.2   agreed-upon IEP. 
  7.3      Subd. 7.  [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] The commissioner of 
  7.4   education, together with the commissioner of finance, shall 
  7.5   annually report to the respective committees of the legislature 
  7.6   on the educational impact and cost-effectiveness of Options 
  7.7   Plus.  The initial report is due February 1997. 
  7.8      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 124.17, is 
  7.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  7.10     Subd. 1f.  [OPTIONS PLUS PUPIL UNITS.] Pupil units for each 
  7.11  pupil participating in the Options Plus pilot program must be 
  7.12  computed according to this subdivision.  
  7.13     (a) A kindergarten pupil is counted as a pupil unit in 
  7.14  subdivision 1, paragraph (e), plus .41. 
  7.15     (b) A pupil who is in any of grades 1 to 6 is counted as a 
  7.16  pupil unit in subdivision 1, paragraph (f), plus .41. 
  7.17     (c) A pupil who is in any of grades 7 to 12 is counted as a 
  7.18  pupil unit in subdivision 1, paragraph (g), plus .41. 
  7.19     (d) A pupil who is in the post-secondary enrollment options 
  7.20  program is counted as a pupil unit in subdivision 1, paragraph 
  7.21  (h), plus .41.