1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to families; providing for a Minnesota 
  1.3             adolescent parenting grant program; appropriating 
  1.4             money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [MINNESOTA ADOLESCENT PARENTING GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program is 
  1.8   established to provide school-based, comprehensive, 
  1.9   community-linked programs for ensuring the long-term 
  1.10  self-sufficiency of adolescent families and the development and 
  1.11  school readiness of their children. 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [GOALS.] The goals of the adolescent parenting 
  1.13  grant programs are to: 
  1.14     (1) assist pregnant and parenting adolescents to make 
  1.15  significant gains in school attendance, attainment of state 
  1.16  graduation standards, and acquisition of school-to-career 
  1.17  skills; 
  1.18     (2) prevent child abuse and neglect by promoting positive 
  1.19  parenting and communication that is developmentally appropriate 
  1.20  for pregnant and parenting adolescents; 
  1.21     (3) reduce welfare dependency among adolescent parents; and 
  1.22     (4) improve the outcomes for adolescent parents and their 
  1.23  children in the number of healthy births; cognitive, social, 
  1.24  linguistic, and emotional development; immunization rates; 
  1.25  access to primary health care; and school readiness. 
  2.1      Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.] The following students are 
  2.2   eligible for support services under the adolescent parenting 
  2.3   grant program: 
  2.4      (1) a student enrolled in a school district with an 
  2.5   approved adolescent parenting program who is age 21 or younger 
  2.6   and who is an expectant parent, custodial parent, or 
  2.7   noncustodial parent; and 
  2.8      (2) a child of a student covered by clause (1) who is under 
  2.9   the age of five and is not yet enrolled in kindergarten. 
  2.10     Subd. 4.  [GRANT APPLICATION.] A school district, group of 
  2.11  school districts, alternative learning programs approved by the 
  2.12  commissioner, or family service collaboratives may apply for an 
  2.13  adolescent parenting program grant to the commissioner of 
  2.14  children, families, and learning.  The application must include 
  2.15  a detailed description of the program, including a description 
  2.16  of the population to be served by the program, a description of 
  2.17  the community agency or agencies collaborating with the site to 
  2.18  provide support services, an explanation of how each of the 
  2.19  program components will contribute to achieving program 
  2.20  outcomes, the number of pupils to be served by the pilot 
  2.21  programs, a detailed budget that demonstrates the capacity to 
  2.22  achieve the program's goals, and a comprehensive evaluation plan 
  2.23  for measuring progress toward achieving the program's goals. 
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [PROGRAM COMPONENTS.] An adolescent parenting 
  2.25  program must include: 
  2.26     (1) a high-quality educational program provided in the 
  2.27  least restrictive environment that includes strategies to ensure 
  2.28  access to educational services, including flexible attendance 
  2.29  policies and class scheduling, and grants academic credit for 
  2.30  all work completed; 
  2.31     (2) to the extent possible, collaboration with other 
  2.32  governmental agencies and community-based organizations to 
  2.33  provide on-site support services, including child care; 
  2.34     (3) an individualized learning plan for each eligible 
  2.35  student that includes career goals; 
  2.36     (4) assurance of compliance with requirements of Public Law 
  3.1   Number 92-318, title IX, prohibiting discrimination against 
  3.2   students due to their pregnant or parenting status; 
  3.3      (5) courses in parent education and life skills; 
  3.4      (6) accountability measures for student performance linked 
  3.5   to graduation standards; 
  3.6      (7) professional development opportunities on adolescent 
  3.7   pregnancy and parenting issues and strategies to achieve 
  3.8   academic success with this student population; 
  3.9      (8) a system to document that adolescent parenting and 
  3.10  prevention support funds were used to provide support services 
  3.11  to eligible students; 
  3.12     (9) a system for collecting and reporting specific student 
  3.13  data, including goals and outcome measurements; and 
  3.14     (10) a program advisory council, which may consist of an 
  3.15  existing local council. 
  3.16     Subd. 6.  [PROGRAM EVALUATION.] The commissioner of 
  3.17  children, families, and learning shall develop and implement the 
  3.18  evaluation component and provide centralized coordination at the 
  3.19  state level of the evaluation process.  The commissioner shall 
  3.20  evaluate the program's impact on school attendance, academic 
  3.21  achievement, graduation rates, parenting skills, health, and 
  3.22  other outcomes that may be identified by the commissioner.  The 
  3.23  commissioner shall provide testimony on the evaluation results 
  3.24  to the appropriate committees of the legislature by January 15, 
  3.25  2001. 
  3.26     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION; ADOLESCENT PARENT GRANTS.] 
  3.27     $5,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.28  commissioner of children, families, and learning in fiscal year 
  3.29  2000 for adolescent parenting grants under section 1.  Any 
  3.30  balance the first year does not cancel but is available in the 
  3.31  second year.  This money is available for fiscal years 2000 and 
  3.32  2001. 
  3.33     The commissioner shall continue grants under section 1 that 
  3.34  are demonstrating progress towards goals and select additional 
  3.35  grantees through the competitive review process. 
  3.36     Where applicable, the department shall ensure the 
  4.1   coordination of male responsibility grants, the Minnesota 
  4.2   adolescent parenting program, ENABL, and any federal resources 
  4.3   available to serve pregnant or parenting adolescents or programs 
  4.4   for the prevention of pregnancy.  Pregnancy prevention means to 
  4.5   prevent pregnancies from occurring, and does not include 
  4.6   abortion referral or services. 
  4.7      This appropriation is available for fiscal years 2000 and 
  4.8   2001 only.  Up to 2.5 percent of the appropriation is available 
  4.9   for administrative costs.