1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a special 
  1.3             education pilot program. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [SPECIAL EDUCATION PILOT PROGRAM.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT; APPLICANTS.] A two-year 
  1.7   special education pilot program is established to exempt school 
  1.8   districts from special education mandates beyond those required 
  1.9   by federal law.  The special education pilot program is 
  1.10  available to independent school district No. 535, Rochester, and 
  1.11  three districts geographically distributed throughout the state 
  1.12  and selected by the commissioner of children, families, and 
  1.13  learning.  A district shall submit an application to participate 
  1.14  in the program to the commissioner in the form and manner 
  1.15  prescribed by the commissioner. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [REPORT.] (a) Each school district participating 
  1.17  in the program shall report to the commissioner of children, 
  1.18  families, and learning by the October 15 immediately following 
  1.19  the end of the second school year.  Each report must include an 
  1.20  evaluation of the program, its impact on the education of 
  1.21  children with disabilities, and its cost-effectiveness. 
  1.22     (b) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  1.23  shall evaluate the effectiveness of the program by the January 1 
  1.24  immediately after receiving the reports from the school 
  2.1   districts and recommend to the legislative committees having 
  2.2   jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education 
  2.3   whether the program should be continued and expanded statewide. 
  2.4      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  2.5   following final enactment and applies to the 2003-2004 and 
  2.6   2004-2005 school years.