1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a grant program to 
  1.3             increase graduation rates and decrease juvenile crime; 
  1.4             appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION INCENTIVES GRANT 
  1.7   PROGRAM.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program for fiscal 
  1.9   year 1998 is established to increase the opportunities for 
  1.10  at-risk youth to obtain high school diplomas and pursue 
  1.11  post-secondary education goals, and to assist local communities 
  1.12  in their efforts to decrease juvenile crime and unintended 
  1.13  adolescent pregnancies.  To be successful, a high school 
  1.14  graduation incentives program requires a school-centered and 
  1.15  community-based case management approach that provides at-risk 
  1.16  youth in grades 9 through 12 with individually tailored 
  1.17  opportunities for academic enrichment and community service that 
  1.18  lead to a high school diploma and a post-secondary education. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant for a grant must be a 
  1.20  school district, a group of school districts, or a school 
  1.21  district or group of school districts cooperating with an area 
  1.22  learning center or other provider of an alternative education 
  1.23  program.  To be eligible for a grant, the applicant must meet 
  1.24  all of the following criteria: 
  1.25     (1) at least one-third of the students enrolled in the 
  2.1   applicant school district or districts are eligible to receive a 
  2.2   free or reduced price meal; 
  2.3      (2) at least 50 percent of participating students meet the 
  2.4   criteria for eligible students under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.5   126.22, subdivision 2, to the extent the criteria apply to 
  2.6   students in grades 9 through 12; 
  2.7      (3) the applicant school district or districts experienced 
  2.8   a significant increase in the incidences and severity of 
  2.9   juvenile crime over the past three school years; and 
  2.10     (4) the applicant can coordinate school, community, and 
  2.11  local law enforcement efforts and resources to provide 
  2.12  participating public school students with sufficient support and 
  2.13  continuity to realize program goals. 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] To obtain a grant to 
  2.15  increase the opportunities for at-risk youth to obtain high 
  2.16  school diplomas and pursue post-secondary education goals, and 
  2.17  to assist local communities in their efforts to decrease youth 
  2.18  crime and unintended adolescent pregnancies, an applicant must 
  2.19  submit an application to the commissioner of children, families, 
  2.20  and learning in the form and manner the commissioner 
  2.21  prescribes.  The application must describe how the applicant 
  2.22  will collaborate with participating students and their families, 
  2.23  community organizations, and local law enforcement agencies to 
  2.24  provide eligible at-risk students enrolled in grades 9 through 
  2.25  12 in a public school, alternative learning center, or other 
  2.26  alternative education program with opportunities for: 
  2.27     (1) academic enrichment that includes strengthening 
  2.28  students' basic education competency skills through mentoring 
  2.29  from a qualified adult; 
  2.30     (2) cultural enrichment and personal development that 
  2.31  include strengthening students' social and other life skills; 
  2.32  and 
  2.33     (3) community service that enables students to make a 
  2.34  meaningful contribution to their community. 
  2.35     The application also must describe how the applicant will 
  2.36  select other participating students who do not meet the 
  3.1   eligibility criteria under Minnesota Statutes, section 126.22, 
  3.2   subdivision 2.  The commissioner may require the applicant to 
  3.3   provide additional information consistent with this section. 
  3.4      Subd. 4.  [REVIEWING APPLICATIONS.] When reviewing 
  3.5   applications, the commissioner shall determine whether the 
  3.6   applicant met all the requirements in subdivisions 2 and 3.  The 
  3.7   commissioner may also use the following criteria when reviewing 
  3.8   applications: 
  3.9      (1) the location of the proposed program; 
  3.10     (2) the number and general demographic characteristics of 
  3.11  participating students; 
  3.12     (3) the applicant's ability to ensure the continuity of 
  3.13  adult contact with participating students; and 
  3.14     (4) the applicant's willingness to provide information 
  3.15  about the program to other districts and education program 
  3.16  providers. 
  3.17     Subd. 5.  [GRANT AWARDS.] The commissioner may award grants 
  3.18  to qualified applicants until the grant appropriation is 
  3.19  expended.  Grant recipients must be located throughout the 
  3.20  state.  A grant award may not exceed $3,100 per participating 
  3.21  student per school year. 
  3.22     Subd. 6.  [GRANT PROCEEDS.] Grant recipients shall use the 
  3.23  grant proceeds to provide eligible students with opportunities 
  3.24  to participate in the three program components listed in 
  3.25  subdivision 3:  academic enrichment, cultural enrichment and 
  3.26  personal development, and community service.  In addition, each 
  3.27  participating student shall receive a stipend for each hour the 
  3.28  student spends in a program activity, plus a monetary bonus at 
  3.29  the end of each school year if the student successfully 
  3.30  participates in all three program components during that school 
  3.31  year.  Grant recipients shall establish through the higher 
  3.32  education services office an opportunity account for each 
  3.33  participating student in which the grant recipient deposits an 
  3.34  amount of money equal to the total amount of money the student 
  3.35  receives in stipends and bonuses while participating in this 
  3.36  program.  Participating students may use the account proceeds to 
  4.1   pay for the costs of attending a state public post-secondary 
  4.2   institution or participating in a state public post-secondary 
  4.3   program.  Grant recipients may expend no more than ten percent 
  4.4   of their grant proceeds for the administrative costs of this 
  4.5   program. 
  4.6      Subd. 7.  [EVALUATIONS.] The commissioner shall evaluate 
  4.7   the short-term and long-term benefits that participating 
  4.8   students receive from this program and recommend to the chairs 
  4.9   of the education committees in the house and senate by February 
  4.10  15, 2000, whether or not to expand the program.  If the 
  4.11  commissioner recommends expanding the program, the commissioner 
  4.12  also shall recommend a process by which to accomplish that 
  4.13  expansion. 
  4.14     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.15     $5,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 1998 from the 
  4.16  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  4.17  learning for the purposes of section 1.  This appropriation is 
  4.18  available until June 30, 1999. 
  4.19     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.20     Sections 1 and 2 are effective July 1, 1997.