1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; directing the commissioner of education to report to the 
1.3 	legislature on Department of Education efforts to obtain waivers from and 
1.4 	changes in the No Child Left Behind Act, and on evaluating school performance 
1.5 	data.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE 
1.8 	ON WAIVERS FROM AND CHANGES IN THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT.
 1.9 		Subdivision 1.No Child Left Behind Act; waivers, changes, and report. (a) 
1.10 	The commissioner of education must petition the federal government to make changes 
1.11 	in or grant Minnesota waivers from specific No Child Left Behind Act requirements, 
1.12 	consistent with paragraph (b).  The commissioner must report to the education policy 
1.13 	and finance committees of the legislature by March 15, 2008, on the extent to which the 
1.14 	federal government made changes in or granted Minnesota waivers from specific No 
1.15 	Child Left Behind Act requirements and, if the No Child Left Behind Act is reauthorized 
1.16 	by the date of the report, recommend whether or not to continue to comply with the 
1.17 	requirements of the act. 
1.18 	(b) The commissioner of education must petition the federal government to make 
1.19 	changes in or grant Minnesota waivers from, as appropriate, the No Child Left Behind 
1.20 	Act, consistent with the following: 
1.21 	(1) providing sufficient infrastructure resources to fully implement the law and 
1.22 	increase student achievement;
1.23 	(2) requiring that all students demonstrate reading and math proficiency by the 
1.24 	2016-2017 school year;
1.25 	(3) ensuring that all states require high academic standards for all students; 
2.1 	(4) allowing greater flexibility in providing school choice programs, including 
2.2 	removing federal constraints on the programs; 
2.3 	(5) imposing meaningful accountability measures on supplemental service providers; 
2.4 	(6) giving school districts the option to provide supplemental services to 
2.5 	academically at-risk students or to all students; 
2.6 	(7) expecting a minimum three-year time frame for implementing school 
2.7 	improvement plans that include specific actions for specific areas of improvement; 
2.8 	(8) imposing differentiated consequences for schools and school districts based on 
2.9 	the number of years a school or school district is designated as not making adequate 
2.10 	yearly progress; 
2.11 	(9) accommodating a student growth model component in a state accountability 
2.12 	system that expects academic rigor and is aligned with state academic standards; 
2.13 	(10) creating sufficient flexibility to enable a state accountability system to 
2.14 	appropriately accommodate students with disabilities and students with limited English 
2.15 	proficiency; 
2.16 	(11) creating sufficient flexibility to enable a state to define and identify highly 
2.17 	qualified teachers and enhance teacher performance; 
2.18 	(12) continuing early literacy programs and providing additional resources for and 
2.19 	emphasis on mathematics and science education; 
2.20 	(13) improving high schools without supplanting other education programs or 
2.21 	requiring additional student testing; and 
2.22 	(14) providing additional federal funding for the additional federally imposed 
2.23 	responsibilities for accountability. 
2.24 		Subd. 2.State academic performance requirements. Notwithstanding 
2.25 	Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.36, or other law to the contrary, the commissioner 
2.26 	must adjust performance data used to identify high and low performing schools on the 
2.27 	school performance report cards by incorporating a statewide student growth model. 
2.28 	The commissioner also must determine the feasibility of using an index model that 
2.29 	is independent of the state's adequate yearly progress index model to report school 
2.30 	performance that accommodates statewide student achievement test data and student 
2.31 	demographic information, reflects the availability to students of advanced academic 
2.32 	opportunities and other academic programs, and the extent of school safety. In 
2.33 	determining the feasibility of using the independent index model, the commissioner must 
2.34 	convene an advisory task force composed of individuals representing teachers, school 
2.35 	administrators, business interests, parents, and other interested and qualified stakeholders 
2.36 	selected by the commissioner. The commissioner must report to the education policy and 
3.1 	finance committees of the legislature by January 15, 2008, on the feasibility of using 
3.2 	the independent index model to report school performance, consistent with Minnesota 
3.3 	Statutes, section 120B.36, subdivision 1, paragraph (a).

3.4 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.