1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education finance; creating a bus purchase 
  1.3             aid; creating a one-time fuel adjustment; modifying 
  1.4             the transportation sparsity formula; appropriating 
  1.5             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
  1.6             123B.92, by adding a subdivision; 125A.76, subdivision 
  1.7             2; and 126C.10, subdivision 18.  
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 123B.92, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 9a.  [BUS PURCHASE AID.] (a) The purpose of the bus 
  1.12  purchase aid is to allow school districts to replace school 
  1.13  buses every ten to 12 years. 
  1.14     (b) A school district's bus purchase aid is equal to six 
  1.15  percent of the purchase price of a school district's owned or 
  1.16  contracted fleet.  Each school district must reserve and use bus 
  1.17  purchase aid for school bus purchases or other transportation 
  1.18  purposes. 
  1.19     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.76, 
  1.21  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [SPECIAL EDUCATION BASE REVENUE.] (a) The special 
  1.23  education base revenue equals the sum of the following amounts 
  1.24  computed using base year data: 
  1.25     (1) 68 percent of the salary of each essential person 
  1.26  employed in the district's program for children with a 
  2.1   disability during the fiscal year, not including the share of 
  2.2   salaries for personnel providing health-related services counted 
  2.3   in clause (8), whether the person is employed by one or more 
  2.4   districts or a Minnesota correctional facility operating on a 
  2.5   fee-for-service basis; 
  2.6      (2) for the Minnesota state academy for the deaf or the 
  2.7   Minnesota state academy for the blind, 68 percent of the salary 
  2.8   of each instructional aide assigned to a child attending the 
  2.9   academy, if that aide is required by the child's individual 
  2.10  education plan; 
  2.11     (3) for special instruction and services provided to any 
  2.12  pupil by contracting with public, private, or voluntary agencies 
  2.13  other than school districts, in place of special instruction and 
  2.14  services provided by the district, 52 percent of the difference 
  2.15  between the amount of the contract and the basic revenue of the 
  2.16  district for that pupil for the fraction of the school day the 
  2.17  pupil receives services under the contract; 
  2.18     (4) for special instruction and services provided to any 
  2.19  pupil by contracting for services with public, private, or 
  2.20  voluntary agencies other than school districts, that are 
  2.21  supplementary to a full educational program provided by the 
  2.22  school district, 52 percent of the amount of the contract for 
  2.23  that pupil; 
  2.24     (5) for supplies and equipment purchased or rented for use 
  2.25  in the instruction of children with a disability, not including 
  2.26  the portion of the expenses for supplies and equipment used to 
  2.27  provide health-related services counted in clause (8), an amount 
  2.28  equal to 47 percent of the sum actually expended by the 
  2.29  district, or a Minnesota correctional facility operating on a 
  2.30  fee-for-service basis, but not to exceed an average of $47 in 
  2.31  any one school year for each child with a disability receiving 
  2.32  instruction; 
  2.33     (6) for fiscal years 1997 and later, special education base 
  2.34  revenue shall include amounts under clauses (1) to (5) for 
  2.35  special education summer programs provided during the base year 
  2.36  for that fiscal year; and 
  3.1      (7) for fiscal years 1999 and later, the cost of providing 
  3.2   transportation services for children with disabilities under 
  3.3   section 123B.92, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (4); and 
  3.4      (8) for fiscal year 2002 and later, school districts are 
  3.5   eligible for $18,000 for each additional specially equipped 
  3.6   school bus, as defined in sections 169.4501 and 169.4504, 
  3.7   purchased in the previous school year necessary to transport 
  3.8   children with disabilities.  School districts must apply to the 
  3.9   department of children, families, and learning by June 30 of 
  3.10  each year in order to receive reimbursement for specially 
  3.11  equipped buses. 
  3.12     The department shall establish procedures through the 
  3.13  uniform financial accounting and reporting system to identify 
  3.14  and track all revenues generated from third-party billings as 
  3.15  special education revenue at the school district level; include 
  3.16  revenue generated from third-party billings as special education 
  3.17  revenue in the annual cross-subsidy report; and exclude 
  3.18  third-party revenue from calculation of excess cost aid to the 
  3.19  districts. 
  3.20     (b) If requested by a school district operating a special 
  3.21  education program during the base year for less than the full 
  3.22  fiscal year, or a school district in which is located a 
  3.23  Minnesota correctional facility operating on a fee-for-service 
  3.24  basis for less than the full fiscal year, the commissioner may 
  3.25  adjust the base revenue to reflect the expenditures that would 
  3.26  have occurred during the base year had the program been operated 
  3.27  for the full fiscal year. 
  3.28     (c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the portion of 
  3.29  a school district's base revenue attributable to a Minnesota 
  3.30  correctional facility operating on a fee-for-service basis 
  3.31  during the facility's first year of operating on a 
  3.32  fee-for-service basis shall be computed using current year data. 
  3.33     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  3.34     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 126C.10, 
  3.35  subdivision 18, is amended to read: 
  3.36     Subd. 18.  [TRANSPORTATION SPARSITY REVENUE ALLOWANCE.] (a) 
  4.1   A district's transportation sparsity allowance equals the 
  4.2   greater of zero or the result of the following computation: 
  4.3      (i) Multiply the formula allowance according to subdivision 
  4.4   2, by .1469 .2000. 
  4.5      (ii) Multiply the result in clause (i) by the district's 
  4.6   sparsity index raised to the 26/100 29/100 power. 
  4.7      (iii) Multiply the result in clause (ii) by the district's 
  4.8   density index raised to the 13/100 16/100 power. 
  4.9      (iv) Multiply the formula allowance according to 
  4.10  subdivision 2, by .0485 .0540. 
  4.11     (v) Subtract the result in clause (iv) from the result in 
  4.12  clause (iii). 
  4.13     (b) Transportation sparsity revenue is equal to the 
  4.14  transportation sparsity allowance times the adjusted marginal 
  4.15  cost pupil units. 
  4.16     (c) Transportation sparsity revenue must be reserved and 
  4.17  used for pupil transportation services. 
  4.18     (d) In addition to transportation sparsity, school 
  4.19  districts must reserve and use $204 per adjusted marginal cost 
  4.20  pupil unit in fiscal year 2002 and $218 per adjusted marginal 
  4.21  cost pupil unit in fiscal year 2003 under subdivision 2 for 
  4.22  pupil transportation services, unless the local school board 
  4.23  votes to redirect all or a portion of this money for other 
  4.24  purposes. 
  4.25     (e) Each year, school districts must receive an additional 
  4.26  amount equal to three percent of the amount reserved in clause 
  4.27  (d) for the mandated obligation of pupil transportation safety. 
  4.28  School districts must reserve and use this money for pupil 
  4.29  transportation services. 
  4.30     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  4.31     Sec. 4.  [FUEL ADJUSTMENT.] 
  4.32     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT OF ONE-TIME FUEL 
  4.33  ADJUSTMENT.] Due to increased fuel costs, a one-time fuel 
  4.34  adjustment is created to relieve school districts. 
  4.35     Subd. 2.  [FUEL ADJUSTMENT REVENUE.] Fuel adjustment 
  4.36  revenue for each school district and charter school equals: 
  5.1      (1) the district's total number of miles traveled for 
  5.2   transportation services during the 1999-2000 school year; 
  5.3   divided by 
  5.4      (2) seven; multiplied by 
  5.5      (3) 25 cents. 
  5.6      Subd. 3.  [DEFINITION.] For the purposes of this section, 
  5.7   "miles traveled" means regular and excess, disabled, 
  5.8   desegregation, noon kindergarten, learning year, summer, between 
  5.9   public schools, between nonpublic schools and late activity, 
  5.10  post-secondary agreements, late activity, summer school, open 
  5.11  enrollment, and student activity trips to and from school for 
  5.12  pupil transportation. 
  5.13     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  5.14     Sec. 5.  [DIRECTION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, 
  5.15  FAMILIES, AND LEARNING.] 
  5.16     The department of children, families, and learning must 
  5.17  provide to each school district information clearly indicating 
  5.18  the revenue that must be reserved for pupil transportation 
  5.19  services by July 1 of each year. 
  5.20     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001. 
  5.21     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.22     (a) $5,550,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2002 from the 
  5.23  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  5.24  learning for payment of the fuel adjustment to school 
  5.25  districts.  This is a one-time appropriation and must be 
  5.26  reserved and used for pupil transportation services. 
  5.27     (b) $....... in fiscal year 2002 and $....... in fiscal 
  5.28  year 2003 are appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.29  commissioner of children, families, and learning for pupil 
  5.30  transportation services under sections 123B.92, subdivision 9a; 
  5.31  125A.76, subdivision 2; and 126C.10, subdivision 18. 
  5.32     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001.