1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing the on-line 
  1.3             learning program; defining student eligibility; 
  1.4             establishing on-line course revenue; requiring the 
  1.5             commissioner of children, families, and learning to 
  1.6             review and certify districts offering on-line courses; 
  1.7             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.8             section 126C.19, by adding a subdivision; proposing 
  1.9             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 125B.
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [125B.25] [ON-LINE LEARNING COURSES.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  1.13  section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings 
  1.14  given them. 
  1.15     (a) "Student" means a public school or charter school 
  1.16  student enrolled for one or more courses in any grades 
  1.17  kindergarten through 12, or a student that is enrolled in a 
  1.18  learning year program under section 124D.128 or an area learning 
  1.19  center under sections 123A.05 to 123A.09. 
  1.20     (b) "Enrolled district" means a school district or charter 
  1.21  school in which the student taking the on-line course is 
  1.22  enrolled. 
  1.23     (c) "Serving district" means a school district, a charter 
  1.24  school, or two or more school districts organized under a joint 
  1.25  powers agreement, offering an on-line course that is accessible 
  1.26  by students outside of the regular school day or from a location 
  1.27  other than a public school building. 
  2.1      Subd. 2.  [STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.] (a) Students shall be 
  2.2   enrolled in a Minnesota school.  Private school students in any 
  2.3   grades kindergarten through 12 may enroll in an on-line course 
  2.4   offered at a public school and are eligible for certificates of 
  2.5   authorization under subdivision 7.  
  2.6      (b) Students who are age 17 or younger must have written 
  2.7   permission from a parent or guardian in order to be enrolled in 
  2.8   an on-line course. 
  2.9      (c) Students shall notify their enrolled district at least 
  2.10  30 days prior to taking an on-line course offered by a serving 
  2.11  district. 
  2.12     (d) A student's enrollment in an on-line course in a 
  2.13  serving district shall not affect their ability to participate 
  2.14  in extracurricular activities in their enrolled district. 
  2.15     (e) Homeschooled students may take an on-line course at a 
  2.16  Minnesota school with an agreement between the school and the 
  2.17  parents or guardian of the homeschooled student. 
  2.18     (f) A student with a disability may enroll in an on-line 
  2.19  course if the student's individual education plan determines 
  2.20  that the on-line course is a proper type of instruction for the 
  2.21  student. 
  2.22     Subd. 3.  [ENROLLED DISTRICT RESPONSIBILITY.] (a) An 
  2.23  enrolled school district is not required to provide a student 
  2.24  taking an on-line course in a serving district with access to a 
  2.25  computer or to the Internet.  The enrolled district must provide 
  2.26  equal access to school computer equipment for students taking 
  2.27  on-line courses as it does for other students attending public 
  2.28  schools in the district. 
  2.29     (b) An enrolled school district may not prohibit a student 
  2.30  from taking an on-line course in a serving district. 
  2.31     (c) The enrolled district must determine the graduation 
  2.32  requirements for a student taking an on-line course and must 
  2.33  continue to provide other nonacademic services for the student.  
  2.34  If a student successfully completes an on-line course that meets 
  2.35  or exceeds a graduation standard or grade progression 
  2.36  requirement at the enrolled district, that standard or 
  3.1   requirement shall be considered met.  The enrolled district must 
  3.2   use the same criteria for accepting on-line credits or courses 
  3.3   as it does for accepting credits or courses for transfer 
  3.4   students under section 124D.03, subdivision 9. 
  3.5      (d) The enrolled district may reduce a student's teacher 
  3.6   contact time in proportion to the total amount of revenue paid 
  3.7   to serving districts under subdivision 6 for that student, 
  3.8   divided by the per pupil general education amount for the 
  3.9   district for that year. 
  3.10     (e) The enrolled district may establish a maximum number of 
  3.11  on-line courses that a student may take within one school year.  
  3.12  The maximum number of courses under this paragraph may not be 
  3.13  less than ten courses for a single student within one school 
  3.14  year.  A student may exceed this limit if they have reached an 
  3.15  agreement with a serving district to pay for the course by other 
  3.16  means. 
  3.17     (f) The enrolled district must not adjust their average 
  3.18  daily membership for students taking on-line courses in other 
  3.19  school districts. 
  3.20     (g) The enrolled district must not count excess contact 
  3.21  time under section 126C.05, subdivision 5, for a student that is 
  3.22  attending a learning year program under section 124D.128 or an 
  3.23  area learning center under sections 123A.05 to 123A.09 and is 
  3.24  taking an on-line course in other school districts. 
  3.25     (h) The enrolled district may offer an on-line course to a 
  3.26  resident homeschooled student who is eligible for shared time 
  3.27  aid under section 126C.19 if an equivalent course is available 
  3.28  at the public school site. 
  3.29     Subd. 4.  [SERVING DISTRICT RESPONSIBILITY.] (a) The 
  3.30  instruction for on-line courses at a serving district must be 
  3.31  provided by a teacher with a Minnesota license.  Unless a waiver 
  3.32  is granted by the commissioner of children, families, and 
  3.33  learning, the serving district must not exceed a ratio of 40 
  3.34  students for each instructor for each on-line course. 
  3.35     (b) The serving district must offer to students who show an 
  3.36  economic need technical assistance in acquiring computer 
  4.1   equipment and on-line access through the Minnesota education 
  4.2   credit under section 290.0674 so that students may access their 
  4.3   on-line course from home. 
  4.4      (c) The serving district may limit enrollment to their 
  4.5   on-line courses and may set up other prerequisite restrictions. 
  4.6      (d) The serving district may offer other supplemental 
  4.7   on-line courses that are not eligible for reimbursement under 
  4.8   this section. 
  4.9      (e) The serving district must not adjust their average 
  4.10  daily membership for students taking on-line courses at the 
  4.11  district. 
  4.12     (f) The serving district must be approved by the department 
  4.13  under subdivision 8 to offer on-line courses under this section. 
  4.14     (g) The serving district must file a copy of its on-line 
  4.15  coursework with the department. 
  4.16     Subd. 5.  [ON-LINE COURSE REVENUE.] The on-line course 
  4.17  allowance equals the general education formula amount under 
  4.18  section 126C.10, subdivision 2, times .09.  On-line course 
  4.19  revenue for a serving district equals the number of on-line 
  4.20  courses successfully completed by enrolled students, times the 
  4.21  on-line course allowance. 
  4.22     Subd. 6.  [DEPARTMENT PAYMENT PROCESS.] (a) The department 
  4.23  must pay the serving district the amount of on-line course 
  4.24  revenue determined by the successful completion of on-line 
  4.25  courses in subdivision 5 and reduce the enrolled district's 
  4.26  general education aid by the same amount. 
  4.27     (b) The department must pay the serving district within 30 
  4.28  days upon notification from the serving district that the 
  4.29  student has successfully completed a course.  The enrolled 
  4.30  district may challenge the validity of the course to the 
  4.31  department within this 30-day period. 
  4.32     (c) The serving district may bill the enrolled district for 
  4.33  a greater amount than determined in subdivision 5 upon agreement 
  4.34  between the enrolled district and the serving district. 
  4.35     (d) Enrolled and serving districts shall not adjust their 
  4.36  average daily membership for aid paid or received under this 
  5.1   section. 
  5.2      (e) The department must not pay state aid to a serving 
  5.3   district or reduce state aid to an enrolled district if the 
  5.4   student has successfully completed or is currently enrolled in 
  5.5   more than ten courses in a single school year. 
  5.6      Subd. 7.  [ON-LINE COURSE REVENUE FOR DISTRICTS OFFERING 
  5.7   COURSES TO PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS.] (a) In a form and manner 
  5.8   determined by the commissioner, the commissioner may issue 
  5.9   certificates of authorization to students enrolled in a 
  5.10  Minnesota private school in any grades kindergarten through 12 
  5.11  who are applying for an on-line course at a serving school 
  5.12  district.  The certificate authorizes a private school student 
  5.13  to enroll in an on-line course and allows the serving school 
  5.14  district to seek a revenue reimbursement for the course. 
  5.15     (b) Each certificate of authorization is equal to the 
  5.16  on-line formula allowance calculated under subdivision 5.  The 
  5.17  commissioner shall issue no more than 2,400 certificates of 
  5.18  authorization for each school year. 
  5.19     (c) In order to receive revenue under this subdivision, the 
  5.20  enrolled district must submit to the department for 
  5.21  reimbursement certificates issued under paragraph (a) for each 
  5.22  course successfully completed by a private school student. 
  5.23     (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall interfere with a 
  5.24  private school student's participation in the shared time 
  5.25  program under section 126C.19. 
  5.26     Subd. 8.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  5.27  LEARNING.] (a) The department must establish procedures for 
  5.28  reviewing and certifying serving districts that are offering 
  5.29  on-line courses that are rigorous, aligned with state graduation 
  5.30  standards, and are contributing to grade progression in a single 
  5.31  subject.  The serving districts must demonstrate that on-line 
  5.32  courses have equivalent standards or instruction, curriculum 
  5.33  development, and assessment requirements as other courses 
  5.34  offered at the public school site.  The serving district must 
  5.35  also demonstrate expectations for teacher contact time through 
  5.36  actual contact time or other student-to-teacher communication.  
  6.1   Once the district is approved under this paragraph, all of its 
  6.2   on-line course offerings shall be eligible for payment under 
  6.3   this section unless a course is successfully challenged by an 
  6.4   enrolled district or the department under paragraph (b). 
  6.5      (b) The department must review challenges from an enrolled 
  6.6   district on the validity of a course offered at a serving 
  6.7   district based on the procedures for certifying districts under 
  6.8   paragraph (a).  The department may initiate its own review on 
  6.9   the validity of a course offered at a serving district. 
  6.10     (c) The department may collect a fee not to exceed $250 for 
  6.11  certifying serving districts or $50 per course for reviewing a 
  6.12  challenge from an enrolled district. 
  6.13     (d) The department must develop, publish, and maintain a 
  6.14  list of approved serving districts and on-line courses that have 
  6.15  been reviewed and certified by the department. 
  6.16     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 126C.19, is 
  6.17  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.18     Subd. 5.  [ON-LINE COURSES.] For the purposes of shared 
  6.19  time average daily membership under section 126C.01, subdivision 
  6.20  6, a school district may consider completed on-line courses by 
  6.21  resident homeschooled students under section 125B.25, 
  6.22  subdivision 3, paragraph (h), as equivalent to taking a course 
  6.23  at a public school site if an equivalent course is available at 
  6.24  the school site. 
  6.25     Sec. 3.  [EVALUATION.] 
  6.26     The office of education accountability at the University of 
  6.27  Minnesota must conduct a study on the amount of in-person 
  6.28  student contact time, if any, that should be considered a 
  6.29  minimum requirement for students taking on-line courses.  The 
  6.30  office of education accountability must report its findings to 
  6.31  the legislature by February 1, 2004. 
  6.32     Sec. 4.  [RULEMAKING.] 
  6.33     The commissioner of children, families, and learning must 
  6.34  adopt rules under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14, that establish 
  6.35  statewide testing procedures aligned with state and federal 
  6.36  accountability requirements for students who are enrolled in 
  7.1   on-line courses. 
  7.2      Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  7.3      The following amounts are appropriated from the general 
  7.4   fund to the department of children, families, and learning for 
  7.5   the fiscal years designated for on-line course revenue for 
  7.6   districts offering courses to private school students under 
  7.7   Minnesota Statutes, section 125B.25, subdivision 7: 
  7.8        $994,000     .....     2004
  7.9        $994,000     .....     2005