1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; entitling public school 
  1.3             students to an education without serious classroom 
  1.4             disruption; providing a remedy; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1998, sections 121A.42; 121A.45, subdivision 
  1.6             2; and 125A.08; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 121A. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 121A.42, is 
  1.10  amended to read: 
  1.11     121A.42 [POLICY.] 
  1.12     (a) The legislature intends that school officials foster a 
  1.13  classroom environment that allows students to receive an 
  1.14  education without serious classroom disruption and, to that end, 
  1.15  remove, transfer, suspend, exclude, expel, provide alternative 
  1.16  educational services, or otherwise discipline students who 
  1.17  interfere with the ability of other students in a classroom to 
  1.18  learn successfully, consistent with the provisions of this act, 
  1.19  including section 121A.57. 
  1.20     (b) No public school shall deny due process or equal 
  1.21  protection of the law to any public school pupil involved in a 
  1.22  dismissal proceeding which may result in suspension, exclusion, 
  1.23  or expulsion.  
  1.24     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 121A.45, 
  1.25  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.26     Subd. 2.  [GROUNDS FOR DISMISSAL.] A pupil may be dismissed 
  2.1   on any of the following grounds: 
  2.2      (a) willful violation of any reasonable school board 
  2.3   regulation.  Such regulation must be clear and definite to 
  2.4   provide notice to pupils that they must conform their conduct to 
  2.5   its requirements; 
  2.6      (b) willful conduct that materially and substantially 
  2.7   disrupts the rights of others to an education or a productive 
  2.8   learning environment; or 
  2.9      (c) willful conduct that endangers the pupil or other 
  2.10  pupils, or surrounding persons, or property of the school. 
  2.11     Sec. 3.  [121A.57] [RIGHT TO AN EDUCATION WITHOUT SERIOUS 
  2.12  CLASSROOM DISRUPTION.] 
  2.13     Subdivision 1.  [RIGHT TO LEARN WITHOUT SERIOUS 
  2.14  DISRUPTION.] All students in kindergarten through grade 12 
  2.15  attending a Minnesota public school shall receive an education 
  2.16  without being subjected to classroom disruption that seriously 
  2.17  affects the student's classroom learning environment and the 
  2.18  student's own ability to learn successfully. 
  2.19     Subd. 2.  [SERIOUS CLASSROOM DISRUPTION DEFINED.] For 
  2.20  purposes of this section, "serious classroom disruption" means a 
  2.21  student's pattern of behavior that: 
  2.22     (1) violates a school's code of behavior under subdivision 
  2.23  3 or the Pupil Fair Dismissal Act; 
  2.24     (2) requires a serious disciplinary response; and 
  2.25     (3) interferes with the ability of other students in the 
  2.26  classroom to learn successfully. 
  2.27     Subd. 3.  [STUDENT REQUEST TO REMEDY SERIOUS 
  2.28  DISRUPTION.] Consistent with the requirements of the Pupil Fair 
  2.29  Dismissal Act, school employees shall respond in a timely manner 
  2.30  to students' requests to remedy serious classroom disruption by 
  2.31  appropriately disciplining a disruptive student.  In addition, 
  2.32  school personnel shall make available alternative placement 
  2.33  opportunities to the student requesting the remedy or to the 
  2.34  disruptive student, at the discretion of the school official. 
  2.35     Subd. 4.  [ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REMEDIES.] (a) A 
  2.36  student seeking a remedy for serious classroom disruption must 
  3.1   exhaust all the student's administrative remedies before 
  3.2   obtaining judicial review of a claim. 
  3.3      (b) A student subjected to serious classroom disruption 
  3.4   first must request that the classroom teacher remedy the 
  3.5   disruption.  
  3.6      (c) A student who believes the classroom teacher has failed 
  3.7   to address the serious classroom disruption to which the student 
  3.8   has been subjected within five school days of when the teacher 
  3.9   receives the student's request may then request that the school 
  3.10  principal or other person having administrative control of the 
  3.11  school remedy the disruption.  
  3.12     (d) A student who believes the school administrator has 
  3.13  failed to address the serious classroom disruption to which the 
  3.14  student has been subjected within five school days of when the 
  3.15  administrator receives the student's request may then request 
  3.16  that the school board remedy the disruption.  The school board 
  3.17  shall hear the student's assertions regarding the serious 
  3.18  classroom disruption and why the student believes the disruption 
  3.19  has not been remedied, and, within 30 days of receiving the 
  3.20  student's request, indicate what actions the board intends to 
  3.21  take.  
  3.22     (e) A student who believes the school board has failed to 
  3.23  remedy the serious classroom disruption to which the student has 
  3.24  been subjected may seek judicial review. 
  3.25     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 125A.08, is 
  3.26  amended to read: 
  3.27     125A.08 [SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS.] 
  3.28     (a) As defined in this section, to the extent required by 
  3.29  federal law as of July 1, 1999, every district must ensure the 
  3.30  following: 
  3.31     (1) all students with disabilities are provided the special 
  3.32  instruction and services which are appropriate to their needs.  
  3.33  Where the individual education plan team has determined 
  3.34  appropriate goals and objectives based on the student's needs, 
  3.35  including the extent to which the student can be included in the 
  3.36  least restrictive environment, and where there are essentially 
  4.1   equivalent and effective instruction, related services, or 
  4.2   assistive technology devices available to meet the student's 
  4.3   needs, cost to the district and potential classroom disruption 
  4.4   that interferes with the ability of other students to learn may 
  4.5   be among the factors considered by the team in choosing how to 
  4.6   provide the appropriate services, instruction, or devices that 
  4.7   are to be made part of the student's individual education plan.  
  4.8   The student's needs and the special education instruction and 
  4.9   services to be provided must be agreed upon through the 
  4.10  development of an individual education plan.  The plan must 
  4.11  address the student's need to develop skills to live and work as 
  4.12  independently as possible within the community.  By grade 9 or 
  4.13  age 14, the plan must address the student's needs for transition 
  4.14  from secondary services to post-secondary education and 
  4.15  training, employment, community participation, recreation, and 
  4.16  leisure and home living.  In developing the plan, districts must 
  4.17  inform parents of the full range of transitional goals and 
  4.18  related services that should be considered.  The plan must 
  4.19  include a statement of the needed transition services, including 
  4.20  a statement of the interagency responsibilities or linkages or 
  4.21  both before secondary services are concluded; 
  4.22     (2) children with a disability under age five and their 
  4.23  families are provided special instruction and services 
  4.24  appropriate to the child's level of functioning and needs; 
  4.25     (3) children with a disability and their parents or 
  4.26  guardians are guaranteed procedural safeguards and the right to 
  4.27  participate in decisions involving identification, assessment 
  4.28  including assistive technology assessment, and educational 
  4.29  placement of children with a disability; 
  4.30     (4) eligibility and needs of children with a disability are 
  4.31  determined by an initial assessment or reassessment, which may 
  4.32  be completed using existing data under United States Code, title 
  4.33  20, section 33, et seq.; 
  4.34     (5) to the maximum extent appropriate, children with a 
  4.35  disability, including those in public or private institutions or 
  4.36  other care facilities, are educated with children who are not 
  5.1   disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other 
  5.2   removal of children with a disability from the regular 
  5.3   educational environment occurs only when and to the extent that 
  5.4   the nature or severity of the disability is such that education 
  5.5   in regular classes with the use of supplementary services cannot 
  5.6   be achieved satisfactorily; 
  5.7      (6) in accordance with recognized professional standards, 
  5.8   testing and evaluation materials, and procedures used for the 
  5.9   purposes of classification and placement of children with a 
  5.10  disability are selected and administered so as not to be 
  5.11  racially or culturally discriminatory; and 
  5.12     (7) the rights of the child are protected when the parents 
  5.13  or guardians are not known or not available, or the child is a 
  5.14  ward of the state. 
  5.15     (b) For paraprofessionals employed to work in programs for 
  5.16  students with disabilities, the school board in each district 
  5.17  shall ensure that: 
  5.18     (1) before or immediately upon employment, each 
  5.19  paraprofessional develops sufficient knowledge and skills in 
  5.20  emergency procedures, building orientation, roles and 
  5.21  responsibilities, confidentiality, vulnerability, and 
  5.22  reportability, among other things, to begin meeting the needs of 
  5.23  the students with whom the paraprofessional works; 
  5.24     (2) annual training opportunities are available to enable 
  5.25  the paraprofessional to continue to further develop the 
  5.26  knowledge and skills that are specific to the students with whom 
  5.27  the paraprofessional works, including understanding 
  5.28  disabilities, following lesson plans, and implementing follow-up 
  5.29  instructional procedures and activities; and 
  5.30     (3) a districtwide process obligates each paraprofessional 
  5.31  to work under the ongoing direction of a licensed teacher and, 
  5.32  where appropriate and possible, the supervision of a school 
  5.33  nurse. 
  5.34     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.35     Sections 1 to 4 are effective for the 1999-2000 school year 
  5.36  and thereafter.