1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; making early reading 
  1.3             instruction part of the required curriculum for 
  1.4             teacher candidates; providing challenge grants to 
  1.5             eligible school districts for early intervention 
  1.6             reading instruction; providing challenge grants to 
  1.7             train teachers to teach early intervention reading and 
  1.8             writing skills; appropriating money; amending 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 125.185, subdivision 
  1.10            4. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 125.185, 
  1.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 4.  [LICENSE AND RULES.] (a) The board shall adopt 
  1.15  rules to license public school teachers and interns subject to 
  1.16  chapter 14. 
  1.17     (b) The board shall adopt rules requiring a person to 
  1.18  successfully complete a skills examination in reading, writing, 
  1.19  and mathematics as a requirement for initial teacher licensure.  
  1.20  Such rules shall require college and universities offering a 
  1.21  board approved teacher preparation program to provide remedial 
  1.22  assistance to persons who did not achieve a qualifying score on 
  1.23  the skills examination, including those for whom English is a 
  1.24  second language. 
  1.25     (c) The board shall adopt rules to approve teacher 
  1.26  preparation programs. 
  1.27     (d) The board shall provide the leadership and shall adopt 
  1.28  rules for the redesign of teacher education programs to 
  2.1   implement a research based, results-oriented curriculum that 
  2.2   focuses on the skills teachers need in order to be effective.  
  2.3   The board shall require, in adopting rules for the redesign of 
  2.4   teacher education programs under this subdivision, that teacher 
  2.5   preparation institutions include in their curriculum for teacher 
  2.6   candidates seeking elementary school licensure a required unit 
  2.7   on effective reading programs and instruction that allows a 
  2.8   teacher to, alternatively, accelerate students' reading ability 
  2.9   or appropriately intervene to assist students and their parents 
  2.10  in developing early reading readiness and related skills.  The 
  2.11  board shall implement new systems of teacher preparation program 
  2.12  evaluation to assure program effectiveness based on proficiency 
  2.13  of graduates in demonstrating attainment of program outcomes. 
  2.14     (e) The board shall adopt rules requiring successful 
  2.15  completion of an examination of general pedagogical knowledge 
  2.16  and examinations of licensure-specific teaching skills.  The 
  2.17  rules shall be effective on the dates determined by the board, 
  2.18  but not later than July 1, 1999. 
  2.19     (f) The board shall adopt rules requiring teacher educators 
  2.20  to work directly with elementary or secondary school teachers in 
  2.21  elementary or secondary schools to obtain periodic exposure to 
  2.22  the elementary or secondary teaching environment. 
  2.23     (g) The board shall grant licenses to interns and to 
  2.24  candidates for initial licenses. 
  2.25     (h) The board shall design and implement an assessment 
  2.26  system which requires a candidate for an initial license and 
  2.27  first continuing license to demonstrate the abilities necessary 
  2.28  to perform selected, representative teaching tasks at 
  2.29  appropriate levels. 
  2.30     (i) The board shall receive recommendations from local 
  2.31  committees as established by the board for the renewal of 
  2.32  teaching licenses. 
  2.33     (j) The board shall grant life licenses to those who 
  2.34  qualify according to requirements established by the board, and 
  2.35  suspend or revoke licenses pursuant to sections 125.09 and 
  2.36  214.10.  The board shall not establish any expiration date for 
  3.1   application for life licenses. 
  3.2      Sec. 2.  [EARLY INTERVENTION READING CHALLENGE GRANTS.] 
  3.3      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] An early intervention 
  3.4   reading challenge grant program is established.  The purpose of 
  3.5   the program is to improve reading skills among elementary 
  3.6   students identified as at risk of reading failure.  The 
  3.7   commissioner of children, families, and learning shall make 
  3.8   grants to school sites to train teachers and adopt curriculum 
  3.9   enhancements that provide intense instruction for students with 
  3.10  difficulty learning to read. 
  3.11     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] A grant applicant must be a school 
  3.12  site that is committed to ensuring that each child is able to 
  3.13  read by the end of the second grade.  To be eligible for a 
  3.14  grant, the school site must meet the following criteria: 
  3.15     (1) demonstrate how the early intervention reading program 
  3.16  fits with existing early intervention programs already being 
  3.17  offered at the school site; 
  3.18     (2) have high concentrations of students receiving free and 
  3.19  reduced lunch; 
  3.20     (3) develop a plan to encourage parental involvement in the 
  3.21  proposed early intervention reading program; 
  3.22     (4) develop a plan to serve as a training site for teachers 
  3.23  in other school districts; 
  3.24     (5) select a nationally established, research-based, early 
  3.25  intervention reading curriculum that requires high parental 
  3.26  involvement for success; and 
  3.27     (6) develop a plan for incorporating the evaluation of the 
  3.28  results of the school site's early intervention reading program 
  3.29  into existing reports regarding student progress made to the 
  3.30  department of children, families, and learning. 
  3.31     Subd. 3.  [INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS.] The department of 
  3.32  children, families, and learning must hold informational 
  3.33  meetings in readily accessible locations throughout the state to 
  3.34  educate school districts, parents, students, educators, and 
  3.35  other community members about the various early intervention 
  3.36  reading programs that are available.  Representatives for the 
  4.1   organizations offering the reading programs may make 
  4.2   presentations about their curriculum during the informational 
  4.3   meetings.  The reading programs that are represented at the 
  4.4   meetings must be research-based, nationally established, and 
  4.5   require high parental involvement for success. 
  4.6      Subd. 4.  [GRANT APPLICATION.] A school site must submit an 
  4.7   application to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  4.8   learning in the form and manner the commissioner establishes.  
  4.9   The application must describe how the applicant meets the 
  4.10  eligibility criteria under subdivision 2.  The commissioner may 
  4.11  require the applicant to provide additional information. 
  4.12     Subd. 5.  [GRANT AWARDS.] (a) A school site may receive a 
  4.13  grant with a maximum amount of $........  The grant money may be 
  4.14  used for establishing the school site as a training site for 
  4.15  teachers in other districts, teacher training, or other start-up 
  4.16  costs related to curriculum enhancements for early intervention 
  4.17  reading programs for children in first grade.  The grant 
  4.18  recipients must match one local dollar for every state dollar 
  4.19  received.  The local match may include in-kind contributions. 
  4.20     (b) The commissioner shall rank school sites from highest 
  4.21  to lowest, based on the site's free and reduced lunch count as a 
  4.22  percent of the fall enrollment using the preceding October 1 
  4.23  enrollment date.  The commissioner must give priority to school 
  4.24  sites with at least 75 percent of enrolled students receiving 
  4.25  free and reduced lunch.  The commissioner shall award grant 
  4.26  money to school sites with the highest ranking that meet the 
  4.27  eligibility criteria under subdivision 2.  The commissioner 
  4.28  shall award grants from highest to lowest until the 
  4.29  appropriation for this program has been allocated. 
  4.30     Sec. 3.  [CHALLENGE GRANTS TO INSTRUCT AND TRAIN TEACHERS 
  4.31  TO TEACH EARLY INTERVENTION READING AND WRITING SKILLS.] 
  4.32     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] Challenge grants for 
  4.33  fiscal year 1998 are established to encourage post-secondary 
  4.34  teacher training institutions to instruct and train teachers to 
  4.35  teach early intervention reading and writing skills.  
  4.36  Post-secondary teacher training institutions shall use the 
  5.1   grants to instruct and train teacher candidates and licensed 
  5.2   classroom teachers in instruction methods and curriculum related 
  5.3   to successfully teaching early intervention reading and writing 
  5.4   skills. 
  5.5      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant for a challenge grant 
  5.6   must be a post-secondary teacher training institution that 
  5.7   instructs and trains teacher candidates and licensed classroom 
  5.8   teachers in instruction methods and curriculum related to 
  5.9   successfully teaching early intervention reading and writing 
  5.10  skills. 
  5.11     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] To obtain a challenge 
  5.12  grant to instruct and train teachers to teach early intervention 
  5.13  reading and writing skills, a post-secondary teacher training 
  5.14  institution must submit an application to the commissioner of 
  5.15  children, families, and learning in the form and manner the 
  5.16  commissioner establishes.  The application must describe how the 
  5.17  applicant will instruct and train teachers to teach early 
  5.18  intervention reading and writing skills.  The commissioner may 
  5.19  require the applicant to submit additional information. 
  5.20     Subd. 4.  [GRANT AWARDS; PROCEEDS.] The commissioner may 
  5.21  award up to ...... grants.  The commissioner shall base the 
  5.22  amount of each grant on the number of teachers the applicant 
  5.23  anticipates will participate and the total amount of the 
  5.24  available appropriation.  Grant recipients shall use the grant 
  5.25  proceeds to accomplish the purposes of this section.  
  5.26     Sec. 4.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  5.27     Subdivision 1.  [DCFL.] The sums indicated in this section 
  5.28  are appropriated from the general fund to the department of 
  5.29  children, families, and learning in the fiscal years indicated. 
  5.30     Subd. 2.  [EARLY INTERVENTION READING CHALLENGE 
  5.31  GRANTS.] For early intervention reading challenge grants in 
  5.32  fiscal year 1998 under section 2: 
  5.33     $....... is for grants to school sites in Minneapolis. 
  5.34     $....... is for grants to school sites in St. Paul. 
  5.35     $....... is for grants to school sites in the suburban Twin 
  5.36  Cities districts in the seven-county metropolitan area. 
  6.1      $....... is for grants to school sites in districts in 
  6.2   greater Minnesota. 
  6.3      $....... is for school sites serving as training sites for 
  6.4   teachers in other districts. 
  6.5      $....... is for costs related to the informational meetings.
  6.6      Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is 
  6.7   available in the second year.  This appropriation is available 
  6.8   until June 30, 1999. 
  6.9      Subd. 3.  [CHALLENGE GRANTS TO TRAIN TEACHERS.] For 
  6.10  challenge grants to train teachers to teach early intervention 
  6.11  reading and writing skills under section 3: 
  6.12       $.,...,...     .....     1998 
  6.13     Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is 
  6.14  available in the second year.  This appropriation is available 
  6.15  until June 30, 1999. 
  6.16     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.17     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.  
  6.18  Sections 2 to 4 are effective July 1, 1997.