1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; establishing the lifework 
  1.3             learning center; appropriating money; proposing coding 
  1.4             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 121. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [PURPOSE.] 
  1.7      The multisite lifework learning center is designed to 
  1.8   assist in creating a Minnesota that is a thriving, vibrant place 
  1.9   to live, work, and raise a family through the redesign of 
  1.10  education that embraces lifework learning for all.  Lifework 
  1.11  education includes vocational education and all other dimensions 
  1.12  of education related to preparation for work, family, and 
  1.13  community responsibilities. 
  1.14     Sec. 2.  [121.618] [LIFEWORK LEARNING CENTER.] 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT; FOCUS.] (a) A multisite 
  1.16  lifework learning center is established.  The lifework learning 
  1.17  center shall focus on improving education for work, family, and 
  1.18  community roles and responsibilities in high schools throughout 
  1.19  Minnesota.  "Lifework" means an individual's work over a 
  1.20  lifetime and how that work is accomplished and enhanced through 
  1.21  planned and evaluated learning experiences.  Lifework includes:  
  1.22     (1) paid work at least including employment; and 
  1.23     (2) unpaid work at least including parenting, homemaking, 
  1.24  and volunteer and community service.  
  1.25     (b) The center is a network of learning sites collaborating 
  2.1   with public and private partners to deliver and disseminate 
  2.2   state-of-the-art practice using national and international 
  2.3   benchmarks of lifework education.  The lifework learning center 
  2.4   must demonstrate and increase statewide access to and training 
  2.5   in state-of-the-art practice in lifework education.  The center 
  2.6   must provide learning experiences that result in meeting state 
  2.7   graduation standards and other accountability requirements.  The 
  2.8   center must give special attention to learning experiences that 
  2.9   result in know-how, educational excellence, and innovation in 
  2.10  lifework education. 
  2.11     Subd. 2.  [FUNCTIONS.] The lifework learning center sites 
  2.12  must conduct the following four functions: 
  2.13     (1) teaching and learning, to demonstrate and model 
  2.14  state-of-the-art practice in lifework education; 
  2.15     (2) professional development, to train school personnel and 
  2.16  other partners about state-of-the-art practices in lifework 
  2.17  education; 
  2.18     (3) research and development, to conduct needs assessment; 
  2.19  develop, field-test, and evaluate current practice; and continue 
  2.20  to advance state-of-the-art practice in lifework education; and 
  2.21     (4) clearinghouse, to select and disseminate materials and 
  2.22  information about state-of-the-art practice in lifework 
  2.23  education throughout the state. 
  2.24     Subd. 3.  [BOARD.] The initial board of trustees for the 
  2.25  lifework learning center shall consist of the state vocational 
  2.26  high school planning committee appointed under Laws 1995, First 
  2.27  Special Session chapter 3, section 12.  Beginning in June 1998, 
  2.28  the planning committee shall assign to its members terms of one 
  2.29  to four years.  As terms are completed, the trustees shall be 
  2.30  replaced by appointees of the governor to eventually have a 
  2.31  board of 12 members.  At least one member must be appointed from 
  2.32  each congressional district.  The board shall be responsible for 
  2.33  selecting and holding accountable the lifework learning sites 
  2.34  and conducting all functions under subdivision 2.  A site shall 
  2.35  conduct its teaching and learning function under a joint powers 
  2.36  agreement with the school district in which the site is 
  3.1   located.  The board must hire a center president.  Section 
  3.2   15.0575 governs the terms and conditions of board membership. 
  3.3      Subd. 4.  [LEARNING CENTER SITES.] The center is composed 
  3.4   of 12 sites.  At least one site must be located in each 
  3.5   congressional district.  The sites must be networked 
  3.6   electronically among sites and with cooperating partners. 
  3.7      Subd. 5.  [CRITERIA.] The board must develop a process to 
  3.8   select learning center sites.  The board must make the final 
  3.9   site selection decision.  The board must select learning center 
  3.10  sites based on the following criteria: 
  3.11     (1) demonstration of commitment to the center's purpose and 
  3.12  focus; 
  3.13     (2) capacity and willingness to work with partners in 
  3.14  supporting and housing a lifework learning center; 
  3.15     (3) readiness and competence to realize all of the center's 
  3.16  duties; and 
  3.17     (4) co-location with other educational, commercial, or 
  3.18  community enterprises. 
  3.19     Subd. 6.  [DUTIES.] The lifework learning center must: 
  3.20     (1) develop and model state-of-the-art practice of lifework 
  3.21  learning; 
  3.22     (2) train school and nonschool staff on implementing the 
  3.23  state-of-the-art practice of lifework learning; 
  3.24     (3) continuously improve the state-of-the-art practice of 
  3.25  lifework education at its sites and throughout Minnesota; and 
  3.26     (4) provide information about the state-of-the-art practice 
  3.27  in lifework learning and how to implement it. 
  3.28     In performing these duties, the center must make use of 
  3.29  information technologies and partnerships with kindergarten 
  3.30  through grade 12 schools and post-secondary institutions, 
  3.31  business and industry, labor, agriculture, government, and 
  3.32  community-based organizations. 
  3.33     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.34     $32,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 1998 from the 
  3.35  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  3.36  learning for the purposes of section 2.  The department of 
  4.1   children, families, and learning shall provide administrative, 
  4.2   fiscal, and human resource support services to the board of 
  4.3   trustees for the lifework learning center.  This appropriation 
  4.4   is available until June 30, 1999.  Funds shall be used for 
  4.5   operation of sites to include remodeling and new construction, 
  4.6   facilities and equipment, information technologies, staffing, 
  4.7   and other costs for the four functions under section 121.618, 
  4.8   subdivision 2, and center management.  The costs of the teaching 
  4.9   and learning function shall be augmented by the foundation aid 
  4.10  of the students participating in the sites of the center.