1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing the 595 days to 
  1.3             reading competence grant program; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [595 DAYS TO READING COMPETENCE GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The 595 days to reading 
  1.7   competence grant program is established to ensure that 
  1.8   Minnesota's children are able to read by the end of the third 
  1.9   grade as measured by the Minnesota comprehensive assessment and 
  1.10  other general outcome measures. 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [GRANT APPLICATION.] The commissioner of 
  1.12  children, families, and learning shall award up to three grants; 
  1.13  one grant must be to the St. Croix river education district, to 
  1.14  provide district-operated schools and charter schools with 
  1.15  assistance.  The grant applicants must demonstrate, in the form 
  1.16  and manner established by the commissioner, that they have the 
  1.17  following credentials: 
  1.18     (1) expertise in early literacy and the teaching of 
  1.19  reading; 
  1.20     (2) research-based evidence that the reading strategies 
  1.21  recommended by the grant applicants have resulted in improved 
  1.22  student performance; 
  1.23     (3) a reliable and efficient measurement system to be used 
  1.24  by teachers; and 
  2.1      (4) willingness to be held accountable for the results of 
  2.2   their work. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [GRANTEE REQUIREMENTS.] The grant recipients must 
  2.4   perform the following: 
  2.5      (1) in collaboration with the commissioner, inform 
  2.6   district-operated schools and charter schools about the 
  2.7   available assistance.  The commissioner may recommend school 
  2.8   sites in need of the greatest assistance based on the annual 
  2.9   yearly progress report; 
  2.10     (2) assist a minimum of 50 school sites.  Of those sites, 
  2.11  at least 30 must have 25 percent or more of the students in 
  2.12  kindergarten through grade three eligible for free or 
  2.13  reduced-price lunch; 
  2.14     (3) consult with preschool programs, including early 
  2.15  childhood family education, school readiness, Head Start, child 
  2.16  care centers, and others on research-based staff development 
  2.17  methods of predicting literacy; and 
  2.18     (4) develop an agreement with the school site on the 
  2.19  results to be achieved and the assistance to be provided over a 
  2.20  three-year period.  The agreement must have the consent of the 
  2.21  school site council or school board and the teachers at the site 
  2.22  and must include the following: 
  2.23     (i) the timeline for baseline measurement, frequency of 
  2.24  student performance measurement, and the reports of those data 
  2.25  to the school site and to the board of the school district; 
  2.26     (ii) an estimate of the grant revenue devoted to the school 
  2.27  site, including the amount provided to pay for items such as 
  2.28  site planning and collection of data regarding student 
  2.29  performance; 
  2.30     (iii) a provision requiring the school site to be awarded 
  2.31  the remaining revenue to contract with a different vendor if the 
  2.32  grant recipient fails to perform a provision of the agreement; 
  2.33  and 
  2.34     (iv) a provision which identifies the responsibility of the 
  2.35  school site.  If the school site does not carry out its 
  2.36  responsibilities, the contractor may discontinue its services to 
  3.1   that school site, inform the school district of the reason for 
  3.2   the termination of the agreement, and submit a report on the 
  3.3   amount of grant proceeds spent for that school site. 
  3.4      Subd. 4.  [ANNUAL REPORT.] The grant recipient must provide 
  3.5   an annual report to the commissioner regarding the results 
  3.6   achieved for each school site.  The report must include: 
  3.7      (1) demographic information about the school site's 
  3.8   students; 
  3.9      (2) a list of services provided to the school site; 
  3.10     (3) data regarding student performance for fall, winter, 
  3.11  and spring; and 
  3.12     (4) the amount of grant proceeds spent for the school site. 
  3.13     Subd. 5.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] By July 1, 2001, the 
  3.14  commissioner shall award the grant to the St. Croix river 
  3.15  education district.  The remaining grants must be awarded by 
  3.16  October 1, 2001. 
  3.17     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.18     $2,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2002 and 
  3.19  $2,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2003 from the general 
  3.20  fund to the department of children, families, and learning for 
  3.21  the 595 days to reading competence grants.  Of this amount, 
  3.22  $1,000,000 each year is for a grant to the St. Croix river 
  3.23  education district.  Any balance in the first year does not 
  3.24  cancel but is available in the second year.