1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; requiring student-to-school counselor ratio at national 
1.3 	average; creating a task force on racial diversity of teachers and guidance 
1.4 	counselors; requiring a report;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.5 	Statutes, chapter 121A.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [121A.24] SCHOOL COUNSELORS.
1.8 	(a) A school district shall report the student-to-school counselor ratio for 
1.9 	kindergarten through grade 8 and grades 9 through 12 to the department in the form and 
1.10 	manner requested by the commissioner. Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, a school 
1.11 	district with ratios above that reported under paragraph (b) must submit a plan to the 
1.12 	department to meet those ratios within two school years.
1.13 	(b) By February 1, 2015, and every five years thereafter, the department shall report 
1.14 	the current national average student-to-school counselor ratio for kindergarten through 
1.15 	grade 8 and grades 9 through 12.

1.16 	Sec. 2. TEACHER AND SCHOOL COUNSELOR DIVERSITY TASK FORCE.
 1.17 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of education, in collaboration 
1.18 	with the president of the University of Minnesota and the chancellor of the Minnesota 
1.19 	State Colleges and Universities, shall appoint an advisory task force by July 1, 2014, to 
1.20 	research and develop recommendations on increasing diversity among teachers and school 
1.21 	counselors to reflect the current and future predicted diversity of students within the state.
1.22 		Subd. 2.Duties. The duties of the task force include:
2.1 	(1) analyzing demographic information of current teachers and school counselors 
2.2 	in all school districts and teacher and school counselor candidates in all Board of 
2.3 	Teaching-approved licensure programs;
2.4 	(2) analyzing demographic trends for teachers, school counselors, and students 
2.5 	through the 2030-2031 school year;
2.6 	(3) recommending programs that may reduce the difference between projected 
2.7 	student populations and projected teacher and school counselor pools through the 
2.8 	2030-2031 school year;
2.9 	(4) recommending recruiting, reporting, and monitoring strategies for school 
2.10 	districts to establish and maintain a teacher and school counselor staff that reflects the 
2.11 	diversity of the district's students; and
2.12 	(5) recommending resources and interventions that the Department of Education 
2.13 	may use to support school districts in establishing and maintaining a teacher and school 
2.14 	counselor staff that reflects the diversity of the district's students.
2.15 		Subd. 3.Report. By January 6, 2015, the task force must submit its 
2.16 	recommendations to the commissioner of education. The commissioner shall report 
2.17 	the findings and recommendations to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over 
2.18 	kindergarten through grade 12 education by January 13, 2015.