1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing a pilot program to use child-relevant American 
1.3 	sign language to facilitate young children's development of second language 
1.4 	learning and stronger literacy and verbal skills; appropriating money. 
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. PILOT PROGRAM TO FACILITATE YOUNG CHILDREN'S 
1.7 	SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING AND STRONGER LITERACY AND 
1.8 	VERBAL SKILLS.
 1.9 	(a) A pilot program for fiscal year 2007 is established to allow school districts to 
1.10 	use child-relevant American sign language to encourage children in kindergarten through 
1.11 	third grade to learn a second language and develop stronger literacy and verbal skills and 
1.12 	better classroom attention.  School districts that have (i) child care centers or Head Start 
1.13 	classrooms, (ii) English language learners, foreign language classrooms or language 
1.14 	immersion programs, (iii) resident families with internationally adopted children or (iv) 
1.15 	classrooms in which children with special needs are served may apply to the education 
1.16 	commissioner, in the form and manner the commissioner determines, for a pilot program 
1.17 	grant.  School districts that receive a grant under this section must use the grant to train 
1.18 	education staff who work with children in kindergarten through grade three, including 
1.19 	at least classroom teachers, teachers' assistants, ESL teachers and special education 
1.20 	teachers, to use 600 child-relevant signs in sign language to help hearing students 
1.21 	acquire vocabulary quickly and easily, become better problem solvers, creative thinkers 
1.22 	and communicators and better prepared academically, and to use effective strategies to 
1.23 	incorporate sign language into classroom instruction.  
2.1 	(b) The commissioner may awards grants to qualified school districts on a 
2.2 	first-come-first-served basis to allow training for 1000 education staff under this section.
2.3 	(c) The commissioner shall provide for an independent evaluation of the efficacy 
2.4 	of the pilot program under this section and shall recommend to the education policy and 
2.5 	finance committees of the legislature by February 15, 2008, whether or not the program 
2.6 	should be continued and expanded.

2.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2006-2007 school year and 
2.8 	later.

2.9 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 2.10 	 $225,000 is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal year 2007 to the education 
2.11 	commissioner to contract with a qualified provider for the pilot program to train 
2.12 	education staff to use child-relevant American sign language to facilitate young children's 
2.13 	development of second language learning and stronger literacy and verbal skills under 
2.14 	section 1.  Of this appropriation, $150,000 is for actual training costs, $35,000 is for 
2.15 	an independent evaluation of the efficacy of the pilot program and $40,000 is for 
2.16 	administrative and marketing costs incurred by the education department.

2.17 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2006.