1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; enhancing funding for class 
  1.3             size reduction; providing full equalization of school 
  1.4             district debt service levies; appropriating money; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124.95, 
  1.6             subdivision 4; Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, 
  1.7             section 124.961; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124A. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 124.95, 
  1.11  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 4.  [EQUALIZED DEBT SERVICE LEVY.] To obtain debt 
  1.13  service equalization revenue, a district must levy an amount not 
  1.14  to exceed the district's debt service equalization revenue times 
  1.15  the lesser of one or the ratio of: 
  1.16     (1) the quotient derived by dividing the adjusted net tax 
  1.17  capacity of the district for the year before the year the levy 
  1.18  is certified by the actual pupil units in the district for the 
  1.19  school year ending in the year prior to the year the levy is 
  1.20  certified; to 
  1.21     (2) ~~$4,707.50~~ $10,000. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
  1.23  124.961, is amended to read: 
  1.24     124.961 [DEBT SERVICE APPROPRIATION.] 
  1.25     (a) ~~$35,480,000 in fiscal year 1998,~~ $38,159,000 in fiscal 
  1.26  year 1999, ~~and $38,390,000~~ $....... in fiscal year 2000 and 
  1.27  $....... for fiscal year 2001 and each year thereafter is 
  2.1   appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
  2.2   children, families, and learning for payment of debt service 
  2.3   equalization aid under section 124.95.  The 2000 appropriation 
  2.4   includes $3,842,000 for 1999 and ~~$34,548,000~~ $....... for 2000. 
  2.5      (b) The appropriations in paragraph (a) must be reduced by 
  2.6   the amount of any money specifically appropriated for the same 
  2.7   purpose in any year from any state fund. 
  2.8      Sec. 3.  [124A.227] [CLASS SIZE REDUCTION PROGRAM.] 
  2.9      Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The class size reduction program 
  2.10  is intended to provide instruction to children in the early 
  2.11  elementary grades in classrooms of 25 or fewer students.  The 
  2.12  class size reduction program complements the learning and 
  2.13  development revenue under section 124A.225 that primarily 
  2.14  reduces kindergarten and grade 1 class size. 
  2.15     Subd. 2.  [DISTRICT ELIGIBILITY.] A district is eligible 
  2.16  for revenue under this section if the district's total 
  2.17  prekindergarten through grade 12 operating expenditures per 
  2.18  pupil in average daily membership is less than the statewide 
  2.19  median average. 
  2.20     Subd. 3.  [FULL FUNDING ELIGIBILITY.] To qualify for 
  2.21  funding under this section, a school shall maintain in each 
  2.22  participating class an annual average class size of not more 
  2.23  than 25 students during the instructional time qualifying the 
  2.24  class for funding. 
  2.25     Subd. 4.  [PARTIAL FUNDING ELIGIBILITY.] A school district 
  2.26  that provides a reduced class size of not more than 25 students 
  2.27  for at least one-half of the instructional minutes of the school 
  2.28  day qualifies for one-half of the class size reduction funding 
  2.29  amount.  School districts participating in this option shall use 
  2.30  the smaller class size time for reading and mathematics 
  2.31  instruction. 
  2.32     Subd. 5.  [CLASS SIZE DETERMINATION.] A school district's 
  2.33  class size may exceed 25 students on a particular school day, 
  2.34  but the average class size for the school year must not exceed 
  2.35  25. 
  2.36     Subd. 6.  [REVENUE.] A school district that certifies to 
  3.1   the department of children, families, and learning that it is 
  3.2   eligible for full funding under subdivision 3 is eligible for 
  3.3   class size reduction revenue of $700 times the number of 
  3.4   students in grades 2 and 3 receiving instruction in qualifying 
  3.5   classrooms.  A school district that certifies to the department 
  3.6   of children, families, and learning that it meets the 
  3.7   eligibility criteria of subdivision 4 is eligible for revenue of 
  3.8   $350 times the number of students in grades 2 and 3 receiving 
  3.9   instruction in qualifying classrooms. 
  3.10     Subd. 7.  [STATE AID.] Class size reduction revenue is 
  3.11  provided entirely through state aid. 
  3.12     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.13     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1999 from the 
  3.14  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  3.15  learning for class size reduction revenue according to section 3.
  3.16     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.17     Sections 1 and 2 are effective for revenue for fiscal year 
  3.18  2000 and later.  Section 3 is effective for revenue for fiscal 
  3.19  year 1999 and later.