1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; allowing certain charter
1.3 	schools to limit admission to chemically dependent
1.4 	students; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections
1.5 	124D.10, subdivision 9; 124D.69, subdivision 3.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.10,
1.8 	subdivision 9, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subd. 9.Admission requirements.  A charter school may
1.10 	limit admission to:
1.11 	(1) pupils within an age group or grade level;
1.12 	(2) people who are eligible to participate in the
1.13 	graduation incentives program under section 124D.68; or 
1.14 	(3) residents of a specific geographic area where the
1.15 	percentage of the population of non-Caucasian people of that
1.16 	area is greater than the percentage of the non-Caucasian
1.17 	population in the congressional district in which the geographic
1.18 	area is located, and as long as the school reflects the racial
1.19 	and ethnic diversity of the specific area; or 
1.20 	(4) secondary school students who have been assessed
1.21 	chemically dependent and who have completed a licensed treatment
1.22 	program for chemical dependency.  The limitation provided by
1.23 	this clause is necessary due to the unique set of challenges
1.24 	that face chemically dependent students and the inherent
1.25 	obstacles that these students encounter when attending schools
2.1 	that are not limited to those students who have completed a
2.2 	licensed treatment program for chemical dependency.
2.3 	A charter school shall enroll an eligible pupil who submits
2.4 	a timely application, unless the number of applications exceeds
2.5 	the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building.  In
2.6 	this case, pupils must be accepted by lot.  If a charter school
2.7 	is the only school located in a town serving pupils within a
2.8 	particular grade level, then pupils that are residents of the
2.9 	town must be given preference for enrollment before accepting
2.10 	pupils by lot.  If a pupil lives within two miles of a charter
2.11 	school and the next closest public school is more than five
2.12 	miles away, the charter school must give those pupils preference
2.13 	for enrollment before accepting other pupils by lot.
2.14 	A charter school shall give preference for enrollment to a
2.15 	sibling of an enrolled pupil and to a foster child of that
2.16 	pupil's parents before accepting other pupils by lot.
2.17 	A charter school may not limit admission to pupils on the
2.18 	basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or
2.19 	aptitude, or athletic ability.

2.20 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 124D.69,
2.21 	subdivision 3, is amended to read:
2.22 		Subd. 3.Uncommon schools serving students with chemical
2.23 	dependencies; allocation of funds.  In addition to the amounts
2.24 	provided in section 124D.68, subdivision 9, a school district
2.25 	may allocate funds from its undesignated general fund to
2.26 	a charter school or private contracted alternative program,
2.27 	including a charter school or private contracted alternative
2.28 	program that is tuition free and provides a comprehensive
2.29 	secondary academic program for students who have been assessed
2.30 	chemically dependent and who have completed a licensed treatment
2.31 	program for chemical dependency.