1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; authorizing and funding 
  1.3             full-day kindergarten; creating a first-grade 
  1.4             preparedness program; appropriating money; amending 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 124.17, 
  1.6             subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.10  124.17, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [PUPIL UNIT.] Pupil units for each resident 
  1.12  pupil in average daily membership shall be counted according to 
  1.13  this subdivision.  
  1.14     (a) A prekindergarten pupil with a disability who is 
  1.15  enrolled in a program approved by the commissioner and has an 
  1.16  individual education plan is counted as the ratio of the number 
  1.17  of hours of assessment and education service to 825 with a 
  1.18  minimum of 0.28, but not more than one. 
  1.19     (b) A prekindergarten pupil who is assessed but determined 
  1.20  not to be handicapped is counted as the ratio of the number of 
  1.21  hours of assessment service to 825.  
  1.22     (c) A kindergarten pupil with a disability who is enrolled 
  1.23  in a program approved by the commissioner is counted as the 
  1.24  ratio of the number of hours of assessment and education 
  1.25  services required in the fiscal year by the pupil's individual 
  1.26  education program plan to 875, but not more than one. 
  2.1      (d) A kindergarten pupil who is not included in paragraph 
  2.2   (c) or (e) is counted as .53 of a pupil unit for fiscal year 
  2.3   1995 and thereafter. 
  2.4      (e) A pupil who is in any of grades 1 to 6 is counted as 
  2.5   1.06 pupil units for fiscal year 1995 and thereafter. 
  2.6      (f) For fiscal year 1996 and fiscal year 1997, a pupil who 
  2.7   is in any of grades 7 to 12 is counted as 1.3 pupil units.  For 
  2.8   fiscal year 1998, a pupil who is in any of grades 7 to 12 is 
  2.9   counted as 1.25 pupil units.  For fiscal year 1999 and later 
  2.10  years, a pupil who is in any of grades 7 to 12 is counted as 1.2 
  2.11  pupil units. 
  2.12     (g) For fiscal year 1996 and fiscal year 1997, a pupil who 
  2.13  is in the post-secondary enrollment options program is counted 
  2.14  as 1.3 pupil units.  For fiscal year 1998, a pupil who is in the 
  2.15  post-secondary enrollment options program is counted as 1.25 
  2.16  pupil units.  For fiscal year 1999 and later years, a pupil who 
  2.17  is in the post-secondary enrollment options program is counted 
  2.18  as 1.2 pupil units. 
  2.19     (h) In fiscal year 1998, the sum of a district's general 
  2.20  education revenue and referendum revenue may not be reduced by 
  2.21  more than two percent due to the reduction in the secondary 
  2.22  pupil weight from 1.3 as specified in paragraphs (f) and (g).  
  2.23  In fiscal year 1999 and later years, the sum of a district's 
  2.24  general education revenue and referendum revenue may not be 
  2.25  decreased by more than four percent due to the reduction in the 
  2.26  secondary weight from 1.3 as specified in paragraphs (f) and (g).
  2.27     (i) A kindergarten pupil who is enrolled in a full-day 
  2.28  kindergarten program under section 124.2613, for purposes of the 
  2.29  basic general education revenue under section 124A.22, 
  2.30  subdivision 2, only, is counted as an additional .53 pupil units.
  2.31     Sec. 2.  [124.2613] [FIRST-GRADE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM.] 
  2.32     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The purpose of the first-grade 
  2.33  preparedness program is to ensure that every child who enters 
  2.34  first grade has the skills and developmental readiness necessary 
  2.35  to read. 
  2.36     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFYING DISTRICT.] A school district may 
  3.1   receive first-grade preparedness revenue for qualifying school 
  3.2   sites if, consistent with subdivision 6, the school board 
  3.3   approves a resolution requiring the district to provide services 
  3.4   to all children located in a qualifying school site attendance 
  3.5   area. 
  3.6      Subd. 3.  [QUALIFYING SCHOOL SITE.] The commissioner shall 
  3.7   determine the number of free and reduced lunch pupils as a 
  3.8   percent of total average daily membership for each school site 
  3.9   that serves kindergarten pupils and rank all school sites from 
  3.10  highest to lowest percent.  On March 15 of the preceding year, 
  3.11  the commissioner shall qualify school sites from the list of 
  3.12  ranked sites until $....... of estimated revenue has been 
  3.13  allocated. 
  3.14     Subd. 4.  [CHILD PARTICIPATION.] A parent or guardian of 
  3.15  any child between the age of five and one-half and seven may 
  3.16  request that the child not participate in a first-grade 
  3.17  preparedness program.  If the parent requests and the district 
  3.18  determines that the child will have the skills and developmental 
  3.19  readiness necessary to read by age seven, then the child is not 
  3.20  required to participate in the program. 
  3.21     Subd. 5.  [PROGRAM.] A qualifying school site must develop 
  3.22  its first-grade preparedness program in consultation with other 
  3.23  providers of school readiness and child development services.  A 
  3.24  school site must offer a first-grade preparedness program to 
  3.25  participating children for the full school day.  Where possible, 
  3.26  individuals receiving assistance under a family assistance plan 
  3.27  can meet the work activity requirement of the plan by 
  3.28  participating in a first-grade preparedness program as a 
  3.29  volunteer. 
  3.30     Subd. 6.  [EXTENDED DAY REQUIREMENTS.] The board of a 
  3.31  qualifying school district must develop and approve a plan to 
  3.32  provide extended day services to serve as many children as 
  3.33  possible.  To accept children whose families participate in 
  3.34  child care assistance programs under section 256H.03 or 256H.05, 
  3.35  and to meet the requirements of section 245A.03, subdivision 2, 
  3.36  the board must formally approve the first-grade preparedness 
  4.1   program.  All revenue received under subdivision 7 must be 
  4.2   allocated to the qualifying school sites within the district. 
  4.3      Subd. 7.  [PREPAREDNESS REVENUE.] A qualifying school 
  4.4   district is eligible for first-grade preparedness revenue equal 
  4.5   to the basic formula allowance for that year times the number of 
  4.6   pupil units calculated according to section 124.17, subdivision 
  4.7   1, paragraph (i), in each qualifying school site.  If the 
  4.8   first-grade preparedness revenue is insufficient to fully fund 
  4.9   the formula amounts, the commissioner shall prorate the revenue 
  4.10  provided to each qualifying school site. 
  4.11     Subd. 8.  [EVALUATION.] The commissioner of children, 
  4.12  families, and learning, in consultation with representatives of 
  4.13  the state board of teaching, elementary school classroom 
  4.14  teachers, and teacher educators, shall develop an evaluation for 
  4.15  qualifying school sites to use in determining their success in 
  4.16  ensuring that every child entering the first grade is ready to 
  4.17  read.  The commissioner shall assist a school site with its 
  4.18  evaluation at the request of the site. 
  4.19     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.20     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.21  department of children, families, and learning in fiscal year 
  4.22  1997 for the purposes of sections 1 and 2. 
  4.23     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.24     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  4.25  enactment for revenue for 1996-1997 and later school years.  For 
  4.26  school year 1996-1997, the commissioner of the department of 
  4.27  children, families, and learning shall rank qualifying school 
  4.28  districts under section 2, subdivision 3, as soon as is 
  4.29  reasonably possible following enactment.