1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; empowering parents to request a school district intervene 
1.3 	in a persistently low-performing school; proposing coding for new law in 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [120B.361] EMPOWERING PARENTS TO REQUEST SCHOOL 
1.7 	INTERVENTIONS.
1.8 	(a) This section applies to those schools identified by the department as one of the 
1.9 	state's persistently low-performing schools under the federal School Improvement Grant 
1.10 	Program or the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
1.11 	(b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, if at least one-half of the parents 
1.12 	or legal guardians of students attending one of the state's persistently low-performing 
1.13 	schools under paragraph (a), or a combination of at least one-half of the parents or legal 
1.14 	guardians of students attending that school and the parents or legal guardians of students 
1.15 	attending the elementary or middle schools that normally matriculate into that school, 
1.16 	sign a petition requesting the school board of the school district in which the school is 
1.17 	located to implement one of the four intervention models or other alternative governance 
1.18 	arrangement, then the school board must implement an intervention model or other 
1.19 	governance arrangement. The four intervention models include:
1.20 	(1) a turnaround model requiring the district in which the school is located to replace 
1.21 	the school principal, allow the newly placed principal to determine who is hired into 
1.22 	licensed positions notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, adopt a new school 
1.23 	governance structure, and implement a new or revised instructional program;
2.1 	(2) a restart model requiring the district in which the school is located to close 
2.2 	the school; reopen it under the management of a charter school operator, a charter 
2.3 	management organization, or an educational management organization, consistent with 
2.4 	section 124D.10; and, consistent with the grades served by the reopened school, admit any 
2.5 	former student seeking enrollment;
2.6 	(3) a school closure model requiring the district in which the school is located to 
2.7 	close the school and transfer the students enrolled in the school to high-achieving schools 
2.8 	in the district; and
2.9 	(4) a transformational model requiring the district in which the school is located to 
2.10 	transform the school by (i) developing teacher and principal effectiveness and replacing 
2.11 	the principal who led the school before implementing this model, (ii) implementing 
2.12 	comprehensive instructional reform strategies, (iii) extending learning and teacher 
2.13 	planning time and creating community-oriented schools, and (iv) providing operating 
2.14 	flexibility and sustained support.
2.15 	If, on the date a school board receives a petition, the school that is the subject of the 
2.16 	petition is identified as one of the state's persistently low-performing schools, then that 
2.17 	school is subject to this section.
2.18 	(c) The petition shall read as follows:
2.19 	Petition to request Independent School District No. ......., intervene in the ....... school, 
2.20 	designated a persistently low-performing school by the Minnesota Department of 
2.21 	Education, by implementing the following intervention at the school: .......

2.22	SIGNER'S OATH
	
2.23
2.24
2.25
2.26	"I swear (or affirm) that I know the contents and purpose of this petition and that I 
signed the petition only once on behalf of my child who attends the school that is 
the subject of this petition or attends a school that normally matriculates into the 
school that is the subject of this petition and of my own free will."
	
2.27	ALL INFORMATION ON THIS PETITION IS SUBJECT TO PUBLIC INSPECTION.
	
2.28
2.29	ALL INFORMATION MUST BE FILLED IN BY PERSON(S) SIGNING THIS 
PETITION UNLESS DISABILITY PREVENTS THE PERSON(S) FROM DOING SO.

2.30
2.31
2.32
2.33
2.34
2.35
2.36		DATE
	SIGNATURE
	PRINT FIRST, 
MIDDLE, 
AND LAST 
NAME
	RESIDENCE 
ADDRESS 
(number and 
street or 
route and box 
number) (Not 
a P.O. Box)
	SCHOOL 
DISTRICT
	SCHOOL
	
2.37	1.
							
2.38	2.
							
2.39	3.
							
2.40	4.
							
2.41	5.
							
3.1	6.
							
3.2	7.
							
3.3	8.
							
3.4	9.
							
3.5	10.
							
3.6 	Each eligible student must be represented by only one parent or guardian on the 
3.7 	petition. Signature gatherers must not offer incentives or make threats to parents or 
3.8 	guardians to sign a petition. No person shall be harassed, threatened, or intimidated for 
3.9 	circulating or signing a petition. Signature gatherers must disclose if they are being paid 
3.10 	to gather signatures. All persons involved in signature gathering are subject to local 
3.11 	administrative policies governing access to school facilities. School officials must not use 
3.12 	school resources to impede the gathering of signatures. Petitioners may submit a petition 
3.13 	that complies with this section to the affected school board and must designate up to five 
3.14 	individuals who sign the petition as "lead petitioners" to help facilitate communication 
3.15 	between the school board and parents and guardians who sign the petition. Upon receiving 
3.16 	a petition, a school board may use simple random sampling to verify the signatures on 
3.17 	the petition can be counted under this section. The school board may contact parents or 
3.18 	guardians only to verify their signatures on the petition. If the school board finds errors 
3.19 	with petition signatures, it must immediately notify the lead petitioners and allow them to 
3.20 	resubmit the petition within 30 calendar days of notice if no substantive changes are made 
3.21 	to the petition. The school board shall then have 15 calendar days to determine whether 
3.22 	the errors were corrected. A resubmitted petition with substantive changes is deemed a 
3.23 	new petition and must be recirculated. The commissioner must post a sample petition on 
3.24 	the department Web site and each school district in which one of the state's persistently 
3.25 	low-performing schools is located must post a sample petition on the district Web site.
3.26 	(d) A school board that receives a petition or a corrected resubmitted petition must 
3.27 	implement the intervention or other governance arrangement requested by the parents and 
3.28 	guardians in the petition.
3.29 	(e) If eligible parents and guardians petition to reopen or restart a school as a charter 
3.30 	school, the school board must implement this option by converting the school to a charter 
3.31 	school at the beginning of the next academic year, consistent with section 124D.10.
3.32 	(f) A school board that receives a petition must notify the commissioner in writing 
3.33 	of its receipt of the petition and the final disposition of that petition.
3.34 	(g) No more than 20 schools shall be subject to a petition authorized under this 
3.35 	section. A petition is counted toward this limit when the commissioner receives notice 
3.36 	from a school board of its final disposition of that petition. A school board is not required 
4.1 	to implement the intervention or other governance arrangement requested by a petition if 
4.2 	the request is inconsistent with this section.

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