1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; modifying policies for early childhood through grade 
1.3 	12 education; including general education student accountability, education 
1.4 	excellence, charter schools, special programs, technology, libraries, and early 
1.5 	childhood education, self-sufficiency, and lifelong learning;amending Minnesota 
1.6 	Statutes 2012, sections 15.059, subdivision 5b; 120A.41; 120B.021, subdivision 
1.7 	1; 120B.023; 120B.024; 120B.15; 120B.31, subdivision 1; 121A.39; 122A.09, 
1.8 	subdivision 4; 122A.18, subdivision 2; 122A.23, subdivision 2; 122A.28, 
1.9 	subdivision 1; 123B.88, subdivision 22; 123B.92, subdivision 1; 124D.095, 
1.10 	subdivision 10; 124D.10; 124D.122; 124D.52, by adding a subdivision; 124D.79, 
1.11 	subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 125A.0941; 125A.0942; 125A.27, 
1.12 	subdivisions 8, 11, 14; 125A.28; 125A.29; 125A.30; 125A.32; 125A.33; 
1.13 	125A.35, subdivision 1; 125A.36; 125A.43; 126C.10, subdivision 14; 126C.15, 
1.14 	subdivision 2; 134.32; 134.34; 134.351, subdivisions 3, 7; 134.353; 134.354; 
1.15 	134.355, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 134.36; 260A.02, subdivision 3; 260A.03; 
1.16 	260A.05, subdivision 1; 260A.07, subdivision 1; Laws 2011, First Special 
1.17 	Session chapter 11, article 7, section 2, subdivision 8, as amended; proposing 
1.18 	coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 120A; 120B; 124D; repealing 
1.19 	Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.35, subdivisions 4, 5; Minnesota Rules, 
1.20 	parts 3501.0505; 3501.0510; 3501.0515; 3501.0520; 3501.0525; 3501.0530; 
1.21 	3501.0535; 3501.0540; 3501.0545; 3501.0550.
1.22 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.23 	ARTICLE 1
1.24 	GENERAL EDUCATION

1.25 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120A.41, is amended to read:
1.26 	120A.41 LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR; HOURS OF INSTRUCTION.
1.27 	A school board's annual school calendar must include at least 425 hours of 
1.28 	instruction for a kindergarten student without a disability, 935 hours of instruction for a 
1.29 	student in grades 1 though 6, and 1,020 hours of instruction for a student in grades 7 
1.30 	though 12, not including summer school. Nothing in this section permits a school district 
2.1 	to adopt A school board's annual calendar must include at least 165 days of instruction 
2.2 	for a student in grades 1 through 11 unless a four-day week schedule unless has been
2.3 	 approved by the commissioner under section 124D.126.

2.4 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 123B.88, subdivision 22, is amended to read:
2.5 		Subd. 22.Postsecondary enrollment options pupils. Districts may provide bus 
2.6 	transportation along school bus routes when space is available, for pupils attending 
2.7 	programs at a postsecondary institution under the postsecondary enrollment options 
2.8 	program. The transportation is permitted only if it does not increase the district's 
2.9 	expenditures for transportation. Fees collected for this service under section 123B.36, 
2.10 	subdivision 1, paragraph (13), shall be subtracted from the authorized cost for nonregular 
2.11 	transportation for the purpose of section 123B.92. A school district may provide 
2.12 	transportation for a pupil participating in an articulated program operated under an 
2.13 	agreement between the school district and the postsecondary institution.

2.14 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 123B.92, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.15 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. For purposes of this section and section 125A.76, the 
2.16 	terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given to them.
2.17 	(a) "Actual expenditure per pupil transported in the regular and excess transportation 
2.18 	categories" means the quotient obtained by dividing:
2.19 	(1) the sum of:
2.20 	(i) all expenditures for transportation in the regular category, as defined in paragraph 
2.21 	(b), clause (1), and the excess category, as defined in paragraph (b), clause (2), plus
2.22 	(ii) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the district's school bus fleet 
2.23 	and mobile units computed on a straight line basis at the rate of 15 percent per year for 
2.24 	districts operating a program under section 124D.128 for grades 1 to 12 for all students in 
2.25 	the district and 12-1/2 percent per year for other districts of the cost of the fleet, plus
2.26 	(iii) an amount equal to one year's depreciation on the district's type III vehicles, as 
2.27 	defined in section 169.011, subdivision 71, which must be used a majority of the time for 
2.28 	pupil transportation purposes, computed on a straight line basis at the rate of 20 percent 
2.29 	per year of the cost of the type three school buses by:
2.30 	(2) the number of pupils eligible for transportation in the regular category, as defined 
2.31 	in paragraph (b), clause (1), and the excess category, as defined in paragraph (b), clause (2).
2.32 	(b) "Transportation category" means a category of transportation service provided to 
2.33 	pupils as follows:
2.34 	(1) Regular transportation is:
3.1 	(i) transportation to and from school during the regular school year for resident 
3.2 	elementary pupils residing one mile or more from the public or nonpublic school they 
3.3 	attend, and resident secondary pupils residing two miles or more from the public 
3.4 	or nonpublic school they attend, excluding desegregation transportation and noon 
3.5 	kindergarten transportation; but with respect to transportation of pupils to and from 
3.6 	nonpublic schools, only to the extent permitted by sections 123B.84 to 123B.87;
3.7 	(ii) transportation of resident pupils to and from language immersion programs;
3.8 	(iii) transportation of a pupil who is a custodial parent and that pupil's child between 
3.9 	the pupil's home and the child care provider and between the provider and the school, if 
3.10 	the home and provider are within the attendance area of the school;
3.11 	(iv) transportation to and from or board and lodging in another district, of resident 
3.12 	pupils of a district without a secondary school; and
3.13 	(v) transportation to and from school during the regular school year required under 
3.14 	subdivision 3 for nonresident elementary pupils when the distance from the attendance 
3.15 	area border to the public school is one mile or more, and for nonresident secondary pupils 
3.16 	when the distance from the attendance area border to the public school is two miles or 
3.17 	more, excluding desegregation transportation and noon kindergarten transportation.
3.18 	For the purposes of this paragraph, a district may designate a licensed day care facility, 
3.19 	school day care facility, respite care facility, the residence of a relative, or the residence 
3.20 	of a person or other location chosen by the pupil's parent or guardian, or an after-school 
3.21 	program for children operated by a political subdivision of the state, as the home of a pupil 
3.22 	for part or all of the day, if requested by the pupil's parent or guardian, and if that facility, 
3.23 	residence, or program is within the attendance area of the school the pupil attends.
3.24 	(2) Excess transportation is:
3.25 	(i) transportation to and from school during the regular school year for resident 
3.26 	secondary pupils residing at least one mile but less than two miles from the public or 
3.27 	nonpublic school they attend, and transportation to and from school for resident pupils 
3.28 	residing less than one mile from school who are transported because of full-service school 
3.29 	zones, extraordinary traffic, drug, or crime hazards; and
3.30 	(ii) transportation to and from school during the regular school year required under 
3.31 	subdivision 3 for nonresident secondary pupils when the distance from the attendance area 
3.32 	border to the school is at least one mile but less than two miles from the public school 
3.33 	they attend, and for nonresident pupils when the distance from the attendance area border 
3.34 	to the school is less than one mile from the school and who are transported because of 
3.35 	full-service school zones, extraordinary traffic, drug, or crime hazards.
4.1 	(3) Desegregation transportation is transportation within and outside of the district 
4.2 	during the regular school year of pupils to and from schools located outside their normal 
4.3 	attendance areas under a plan for desegregation mandated by the commissioner or under 
4.4 	court order.
4.5 	(4) "Transportation services for pupils with disabilities" is:
4.6 	(i) transportation of pupils with disabilities who cannot be transported on a regular 
4.7 	school bus between home or a respite care facility and school;
4.8 	(ii) necessary transportation of pupils with disabilities from home or from school to 
4.9 	other buildings, including centers such as developmental achievement centers, hospitals, 
4.10 	and treatment centers where special instruction or services required by sections 125A.03 
4.11 	to 125A.24, 125A.26 to 125A.48, and 125A.65 are provided, within or outside the district 
4.12 	where services are provided;
4.13 	(iii) necessary transportation for resident pupils with disabilities required by sections 
4.14 	125A.12, and 125A.26 to 125A.48;
4.15 	(iv) board and lodging for pupils with disabilities in a district maintaining special 
4.16 	classes;
4.17 	(v) transportation from one educational facility to another within the district for 
4.18 	resident pupils enrolled on a shared-time basis in educational programs, and necessary 
4.19 	transportation required by sections 125A.18, and 125A.26 to 125A.48, for resident pupils 
4.20 	with disabilities who are provided special instruction and services on a shared-time basis 
4.21 	or if resident pupils are not transported, the costs of necessary travel between public 
4.22 	and private schools or neutral instructional sites by essential personnel employed by the 
4.23 	district's program for children with a disability;
4.24 	(vi) transportation for resident pupils with disabilities to and from board and lodging 
4.25 	facilities when the pupil is boarded and lodged for educational purposes;
4.26 	(vii) transportation of pupils for a curricular field trip activity on a school bus 
4.27 	equipped with a power lift when the power lift is required by a student's disability or 
4.28 	section 504 plan; and
4.29 	(viii) services described in clauses (i) to (vii), when provided for pupils with 
4.30 	disabilities in conjunction with a summer instructional program that relates to the 
4.31 	pupil's individualized education program or in conjunction with a learning year program 
4.32 	established under section 124D.128.
4.33 	For purposes of computing special education initial aid under section 125A.76, 
4.34 	subdivision 2, the cost of providing transportation for children with disabilities includes 
4.35 	(A) the additional cost of transporting a homeless student from a temporary nonshelter 
4.36 	home in another district to the school of origin, or a formerly homeless student from a 
5.1 	permanent home in another district to the school of origin but only through the end of 
5.2 	the academic year; and (B) depreciation on district-owned school buses purchased after 
5.3 	July 1, 2005, and used primarily for transportation of pupils with disabilities, calculated 
5.4 	according to paragraph (a), clauses (ii) and (iii). Depreciation costs included in the 
5.5 	disabled transportation category must be excluded in calculating the actual expenditure 
5.6 	per pupil transported in the regular and excess transportation categories according to 
5.7 	paragraph (a). For purposes of subitem (A), a school district may transport a child who 
5.8 	does not have a school of origin to the same school attended by that child's sibling, if 
5.9 	the siblings are homeless.
5.10 	(5) "Nonpublic nonregular transportation" is:
5.11 	(i) transportation from one educational facility to another within the district for 
5.12 	resident pupils enrolled on a shared-time basis in educational programs, excluding 
5.13 	transportation for nonpublic pupils with disabilities under clause (4);
5.14 	(ii) transportation within district boundaries between a nonpublic school and a 
5.15 	public school or a neutral site for nonpublic school pupils who are provided pupil support 
5.16 	services pursuant to section 123B.44; and
5.17 	(iii) late transportation home from school or between schools within a district for 
5.18 	nonpublic school pupils involved in after-school activities.
5.19 	(c) "Mobile unit" means a vehicle or trailer designed to provide facilities for 
5.20 	educational programs and services, including diagnostic testing, guidance and counseling 
5.21 	services, and health services. A mobile unit located off nonpublic school premises is a 
5.22 	neutral site as defined in section 123B.41, subdivision 13.

5.23 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.

5.24 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 126C.10, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
5.25 		Subd. 14.Uses of total operating capital revenue. Total operating capital revenue 
5.26 	may be used only for the following purposes:
5.27 	(1) to acquire land for school purposes;
5.28 	(2) to acquire or construct buildings for school purposes;
5.29 	(3) to rent or lease buildings, including the costs of building repair or improvement 
5.30 	that are part of a lease agreement;
5.31 	(4) to improve and repair school sites and buildings, and equip or reequip school 
5.32 	buildings with permanent attached fixtures, including library media centers;
5.33 	(5) for a surplus school building that is used substantially for a public nonschool 
5.34 	purpose;
6.1 	(6) to eliminate barriers or increase access to school buildings by individuals with a 
6.2 	disability;
6.3 	(7) to bring school buildings into compliance with the State Fire Code adopted 
6.4 	according to chapter 299F;
6.5 	(8) to remove asbestos from school buildings, encapsulate asbestos, or make 
6.6 	asbestos-related repairs;
6.7 	(9) to clean up and dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls found in school buildings;
6.8 	(10) to clean up, remove, dispose of, and make repairs related to storing heating fuel 
6.9 	or transportation fuels such as alcohol, gasoline, fuel oil, and special fuel, as defined 
6.10 	in section 296A.01;
6.11 	(11) for energy audits for school buildings and to modify buildings if the audit 
6.12 	indicates the cost of the modification can be recovered within ten years;
6.13 	(12) to improve buildings that are leased according to section 123B.51, subdivision 4;
6.14 	(13) to pay special assessments levied against school property but not to pay 
6.15 	assessments for service charges;
6.16 	(14) to pay principal and interest on state loans for energy conservation according to 
6.17 	section 216C.37 or loans made under the Douglas J. Johnson Economic Protection Trust 
6.18 	Fund Act according to sections 298.292 to 298.298;
6.19 	(15) to purchase or lease interactive telecommunications equipment;
6.20 	(16) by board resolution, to transfer money into the debt redemption fund to: (i) 
6.21 	pay the amounts needed to meet, when due, principal and interest payments on certain 
6.22 	obligations issued according to chapter 475; or (ii) pay principal and interest on debt 
6.23 	service loans or capital loans according to section 126C.70;
6.24 	(17) to pay operating capital-related assessments of any entity formed under a 
6.25 	cooperative agreement between two or more districts;
6.26 	(18) to purchase or lease computers and related materials hardware, software, and 
6.27 	annual licensing fees, copying machines, telecommunications equipment, and other 
6.28 	noninstructional equipment;
6.29 	(19) to purchase or lease assistive technology or equipment for instructional 
6.30 	programs;
6.31 	(20) to purchase textbooks as defined in section 123B.41, subdivision 2;
6.32 	(21) to purchase new and replacement library media resources or technology;
6.33 	(22) to lease or purchase vehicles;
6.34 	(23) to purchase or lease telecommunications equipment, computers, and related 
6.35 	equipment for integrated information management systems for:
7.1 	(i) managing and reporting learner outcome information for all students under a 
7.2 	results-oriented graduation rule;
7.3 	(ii) managing student assessment, services, and achievement information required 
7.4 	for students with individualized education programs; and
7.5 	(iii) other classroom information management needs;
7.6 	(24) to pay personnel costs directly related to the acquisition, operation, and 
7.7 	maintenance of telecommunications systems, computers, related equipment, and network 
7.8 	and applications software; and
7.9 	(25) to pay the costs directly associated with closing a school facility, including 
7.10 	moving and storage costs.

7.11 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 126C.15, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
7.12 		Subd. 2.Building allocation. (a) A district or cooperative must allocate its 
7.13 	compensatory revenue to each school building in the district or cooperative where 
7.14 	the children who have generated the revenue are served unless the school district or 
7.15 	cooperative has received permission under Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 5, 
7.16 	article 1, section 50, to allocate compensatory revenue according to student performance 
7.17 	measures developed by the school board.
7.18 	(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a district or cooperative may allocate up to five
7.19 	 15 percent of the amount of compensatory revenue that the district receives to school 
7.20 	sites according to a plan adopted by the school board, and a district or cooperative may 
7.21 	allocate up to an additional five percent of its compensatory revenue for activities under 
7.22 	subdivision 1, clause (10), according to a plan adopted by the school board. The money 
7.23 	reallocated under this paragraph must be spent for the purposes listed in subdivision 1, but 
7.24 	may be spent on students in any grade, including students attending school readiness or 
7.25 	other prekindergarten programs.
7.26 	(c) For the purposes of this section and section 126C.05, subdivision 3, "building" 
7.27 	means education site as defined in section 123B.04, subdivision 1.
7.28 	(d) Notwithstanding section 123A.26, subdivision 1, compensatory revenue 
7.29 	generated by students served at a cooperative unit shall be paid to the cooperative unit.
7.30 	(e) A district or cooperative with school building openings, school building 
7.31 	closings, changes in attendance area boundaries, or other changes in programs or student 
7.32 	demographics between the prior year and the current year may reallocate compensatory 
7.33 	revenue among sites to reflect these changes. A district or cooperative must report to the 
7.34 	department any adjustments it makes according to this paragraph and the department must 
8.1 	use the adjusted compensatory revenue allocations in preparing the report required under 
8.2 	section 123B.76, subdivision 3, paragraph (c).

8.3 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2014 
8.4 	and later.

8.5 	ARTICLE 2
8.6 	STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY

8.7 	Section 1. [120B.018] DEFINITIONS.
8.8 		Subdivision 1.Scope. The definitions in this section apply to this chapter.
8.9 		Subd. 2.Academic standard. "Academic standard" means a summary description 
8.10 	of student learning in a required content area under section 120B.021 or elective content 
8.11 	area under section 120B.022.
8.12 		Subd. 3.Benchmark. "Benchmark" means specific knowledge or skill that a 
8.13 	student must master to complete part of an academic standard by the end of the grade 
8.14 	level or grade band.
8.15 		Subd. 4.Credit. "Credit" means the determination by the local school district 
8.16 	that a student has successfully completed an academic year of study or mastered the 
8.17 	applicable subject matter.
8.18 		Subd. 5.Elective standard. "Elective standard" means a locally adopted 
8.19 	expectation for student learning in career and technical education and world languages.
8.20 		Subd. 6.Required standard. "Required standard" means (1) a statewide adopted 
8.21 	expectation for student learning in the content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, 
8.22 	social studies, physical education, (2) a locally adopted expectation for student learning in 
8.23 	health, and (3) a statewide or locally adopted expectation for student learning in the arts.
8.24 		Subd. 7.School site. "School site" means a separate facility, or a separate program 
8.25 	within a facility that a local school board recognizes as a school site for funding purposes.

8.26 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
8.27 		Subdivision 1.Required academic standards. (a) The following subject areas 
8.28 	are required for statewide accountability:
8.29 	(1) language arts;
8.30 	(2) mathematics;
8.31 	(3) science;
8.32 	(4) social studies, including history, geography, economics, and government and 
8.33 	citizenship;
9.1 	(5) physical education;
9.2 	(6) health, for which locally developed academic standards apply; and
9.3 	(7) the arts, for which statewide or locally developed academic standards apply, as 
9.4 	determined by the school district. Public elementary and middle schools must offer at least 
9.5 	three and require at least two of the following four arts areas: dance; music; theater; and 
9.6 	visual arts. Public high schools must offer at least three and require at least one of the 
9.7 	following five arts areas: media arts; dance; music; theater; and visual arts.
9.8 	The commissioner must submit proposed standards in science and social studies to 
9.9 	the legislature by February 1, 2004.
9.10 	(b) For purposes of applicable federal law, the academic standards for language arts, 
9.11 	mathematics, and science apply to all public school students, except the very few students 
9.12 	with extreme cognitive or physical impairments for whom an individualized education 
9.13 	program team has determined that the required academic standards are inappropriate. An 
9.14 	individualized education program team that makes this determination must establish 
9.15 	alternative standards.
9.16 	A school district, no later than the 2007-2008 school year, must adopt graduation 
9.17 	requirements that meet or exceed state graduation requirements established in law or rule. 
9.18 	A school district that incorporates these state graduation requirements before the 2007-2008 
9.19 	school year must provide students who enter the 9th grade in or before the 2003-2004 
9.20 	school year the opportunity to earn a diploma based on existing locally established 
9.21 	graduation requirements in effect when the students entered the 9th grade.(c) District 
9.22 	efforts to develop, implement, or improve instruction or curriculum as a result of the 
9.23 	provisions of this section must be consistent with sections 120B.10, 120B.11, and 120B.20.
9.24 	The commissioner must include the contributions of Minnesota American Indian 
9.25 	tribes and communities as they relate to the academic standards during the review and 
9.26 	revision of the required academic standards.

9.27 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.023, is amended to read:
9.28 	120B.023 BENCHMARKS.
9.29 		Subdivision 1.Benchmarks implement, supplement statewide academic 
9.30 	standards. (a) The commissioner must supplement required state academic standards with 
9.31 	grade-level benchmarks. High school benchmarks may cover more than one grade. The 
9.32 	benchmarks must implement statewide academic standards by specifying the academic 
9.33 	knowledge and skills that Schools must offer and students must achieve all benchmarks for 
9.34 	an academic standard to satisfactorily complete a that state standard. The commissioner 
10.1 	must publish benchmarks to inform and guide parents, teachers, school districts, and other 
10.2 	interested persons and to use in developing tests consistent with the benchmarks.
10.3 	(b) The commissioner shall publish benchmarks in the State Register to inform and 
10.4 	guide parents, teachers, school districts, and other interested persons and transmit the 
10.5 	benchmarks in any other manner that makes them accessible to the general public. The 
10.6 	commissioner must use benchmarks in developing tests under section 120B.30. The 
10.7 	commissioner may charge a reasonable fee for publications.
10.8 	(c) Once established, the commissioner may change the benchmarks only with 
10.9 	specific legislative authorization and after completing a review under subdivision 2.
10.10 	(d) The commissioner must develop and implement a system for reviewing each 
10.11 	of the required academic standards and related benchmarks and elective standards on a 
10.12 	periodic cycle, consistent with subdivision 2.
10.13 	(e) (d) The benchmarks are not subject to chapter 14 and section 14.386 does not 
10.14 	apply.
10.15 		Subd. 2.Revisions and reviews required. (a) The commissioner of education must 
10.16 	revise and appropriately embed technology and information literacy standards consistent 
10.17 	with recommendations from school media specialists into the state's academic standards 
10.18 	and graduation requirements and implement a review cycle for state academic standards 
10.19 	and related benchmarks, consistent with this subdivision. During each review cycle, the 
10.20 	commissioner also must examine the alignment of each required academic standard and 
10.21 	related benchmark with the knowledge and skills students need for college readiness 
10.22 	and advanced work in the particular subject area. The commissioner must include the 
10.23 	contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities as they relate to the 
10.24 	academic standards during the review and revision of the required academic standards.
10.25 	(b) The commissioner in the 2006-2007 school year must revise and align the state's 
10.26 	academic standards and high school graduation requirements in mathematics to require 
10.27 	that students satisfactorily complete the revised mathematics standards, beginning in the 
10.28 	2010-2011 school year. Under the revised standards:
10.29 	(1) students must satisfactorily complete an algebra I credit by the end of eighth 
10.30 	grade; and
10.31 	(2) students scheduled to graduate in the 2014-2015 school year or later must 
10.32 	satisfactorily complete an algebra II credit or its equivalent.
10.33 	(b) The commissioner also must ensure that the statewide mathematics assessments 
10.34 	administered to students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 are aligned with the state academic 
10.35 	standards in mathematics, consistent with section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph 
11.1 	(b). The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related 
11.2 	benchmarks in mathematics beginning in the 2015-2016 school year.
11.3 	(c) The commissioner in the 2007-2008 school year must revise and align the state's 
11.4 	academic standards and high school graduation requirements in the arts to require that 
11.5 	students satisfactorily complete the revised arts standards beginning in the 2010-2011 
11.6 	school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and 
11.7 	related benchmarks in arts beginning in the 2016-2017 school year.
11.8 	(d) The commissioner in the 2008-2009 school year must revise and align the state's 
11.9 	academic standards and high school graduation requirements in science to require that 
11.10 	students satisfactorily complete the revised science standards, beginning in the 2011-2012 
11.11 	school year. Under the revised standards, students scheduled to graduate in the 2014-2015 
11.12 	school year or later must satisfactorily complete a chemistry or physics credit or a career 
11.13 	and technical education credit that meets standards underlying the chemistry, physics, 
11.14 	or biology credit or a combination of those standards approved by the district. The 
11.15 	commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks 
11.16 	in science beginning in the 2017-2018 school year.
11.17 	(e) The commissioner in the 2009-2010 school year must revise and align the state's 
11.18 	academic standards and high school graduation requirements in language arts to require 
11.19 	that students satisfactorily complete the revised language arts standards beginning in the 
11.20 	2012-2013 school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic 
11.21 	standards and related benchmarks in language arts beginning in the 2018-2019 school year.
11.22 	(f) The commissioner in the 2010-2011 school year must revise and align the state's 
11.23 	academic standards and high school graduation requirements in social studies to require 
11.24 	that students satisfactorily complete the revised social studies standards beginning in the 
11.25 	2013-2014 school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic 
11.26 	standards and related benchmarks in social studies beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
11.27 	(g) School districts and charter schools must revise and align local academic 
11.28 	standards and high school graduation requirements in health, world languages, and career 
11.29 	and technical education to require students to complete the revised standards beginning 
11.30 	in a school year determined by the school district or charter school. School districts and 
11.31 	charter schools must formally establish a periodic review cycle for the academic standards 
11.32 	and related benchmarks in health, world languages, and career and technical education.

11.33 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.024, is amended to read:
11.34 	120B.024 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; COURSE CREDITS.
12.1 		Subdivision 1.Graduation requirements. (a) Students beginning 9th grade in the 
12.2 	2011-2012 school year and later must successfully complete the following high school 
12.3 	level course credits for graduation:
12.4 	(1) four credits of language arts sufficient to satisfy all of the academic standards 
12.5 	in English language arts;
12.6 	(2) three credits of mathematics, encompassing at least algebra, geometry, statistics, 
12.7 	and probability including an algebra II credit or its equivalent, sufficient to satisfy all of 
12.8 	the academic standard standards in mathematics;
12.9 	(3) an algebra I credit by the end of 8th grade sufficient to satisfy all of the 8th 
12.10 	grade standards in mathematics;
12.11 	(3) (4) three credits of science, including at least: (i) one credit in of biology; and 
12.12 	(ii) one chemistry or physics credit or a career and technical education credit that meets 
12.13 	standards underlying the chemistry, physics, or biology credit or a combination of those 
12.14 	standards approved by the district, but meeting biology standards under this item does not 
12.15 	meet the biology requirement under item (i), one credit of chemistry or physics, and one 
12.16 	elective credit of science. The combination of credits under this clause must be sufficient 
12.17 	to satisfy (i) all of the academic standards in either chemistry or physics and (ii) all other 
12.18 	academic standards in science;
12.19 	(4) (5) three and one-half credits of social studies, encompassing at least United 
12.20 	States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and economics or 
12.21 	three credits of social studies encompassing at least United States history, geography, 
12.22 	government and citizenship, and world history, and one-half credit of economics taught in 
12.23 	a school's social studies, agriculture education, or business department sufficient to satisfy 
12.24 	all of the academic standards in social studies;
12.25 	(5) (6) one credit in of the arts sufficient to satisfy all of the state or local academic 
12.26 	standards in the arts; and
12.27 	(6) (7) a minimum of seven elective course credits.
12.28 	A course credit is equivalent to a student successfully completing an academic 
12.29 	year of study or a student mastering the applicable subject matter, as determined by the 
12.30 	local school district.
12.31 		Subd. 2.Credit equivalencies. (a) A one-half credit of economics taught in a 
12.32 	school's agriculture education or business department may fulfill a one-half credit in 
12.33 	social studies under subdivision 1, clause (5), if the credit is sufficient to satisfy all of the 
12.34 	academic standards in economics.
12.35 	(b) An agriculture science course or career and technical education credit may fulfill 
12.36 	a the elective science credit requirement other than the specified science credit in biology
13.1 	 under paragraph (a), clause (3). subdivision 1, clause (4), if the course meets academic 
13.2 	standards in science as approved by the district. An agriculture science or career and 
13.3 	technical education credit may fulfill the credit in chemistry or physics required under 
13.4 	subdivision 1, clause (4), if (1) the credit meets a combination of the chemistry, physics, 
13.5 	and biology academic standards as approved by the district and (2) the student satisfies 
13.6 	either all of the chemistry academic standards or all of the physics academic standards 
13.7 	prior to graduation. An agriculture science or career and technical education credit may 
13.8 	not fulfill the biology credit required under subdivision 1, clause (4).
13.9 	(c) A career and technical education course credit may fulfill a mathematics or arts 
13.10 	credit requirement or a science credit requirement other than the specified science credit in 
13.11 	biology under paragraph (a) subdivision 1, clause (2), (3), or (5) (6).
13.12 	(d) An agriculture education teacher is not required to meet the requirements of 
13.13 	Minnesota Rules, part 3505.1150, subpart 1, item B, to meet the credit equivalency 
13.14 	requirements of paragraph (b) above.

13.15 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2013, and applies to 
13.16 	students entering 9th grade in the 2013-2014 school year and later.

13.17 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.15, is amended to read:
13.18 	120B.15 GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS PROGRAMS.
13.19 	(a) School districts may identify students, locally develop programs addressing 
13.20 	instructional and affective needs, provide staff development, and evaluate programs to 
13.21 	provide gifted and talented students with challenging and appropriate educational programs.
13.22 	(b) School districts may must adopt guidelines for assessing and identifying students 
13.23 	for participation in gifted and talented programs. The guidelines should include the use of:
13.24 	(1) multiple and objective criteria; and
13.25 	(2) assessments and procedures that are valid and reliable, fair, and based on current 
13.26 	theory and research. Assessments and procedures should be sensitive to underrepresented 
13.27 	groups, including, but not limited to, low-income, minority, twice-exceptional, and 
13.28 	English learners.
13.29 	(c) School districts must adopt procedures for the academic acceleration of gifted 
13.30 	and talented students. These procedures must include how the district will:
13.31 	(1) assess a student's readiness and motivation for acceleration; and
13.32 	(2) match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to a student to achieve 
13.33 	the best type of academic acceleration for that student.
14.1 	(d) School districts must adopt procedures for early admission to kindergarten 
14.2 	or first grade of gifted and talented learners. The procedures must be sensitive to 
14.3 	underrepresented groups and must address how the district or charter school will:
14.4 	(1) assess a child's readiness and motivation for accelerations;
14.5 	(2) assess a child's cognitive abilities, achievement, and performance; and
14.6 	(3) monitor the child's adjustment postacceleration.
14.7 	The school district shall admit a gifted and talented child to kindergarten or first 
14.8 	grade who fails to meet the age requirement under section 120A.20, subdivision 1, 
14.9 	paragraph (b), provided the child completes the procedures and meets the criteria for early 
14.10 	entrance adopted by the school board under this subdivision.

14.11 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 120B.31, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
14.12 		Subdivision 1.Educational accountability and public reporting. Consistent 
14.13 	with the direction to adopt statewide academic standards under section 120B.02, the 
14.14 	department, in consultation with education and other system stakeholders, must establish a 
14.15 	coordinated and comprehensive system of educational accountability and public reporting 
14.16 	that promotes greater academic achievement, preparation for higher academic education, 
14.17 	preparation for the world of work, citizenship under sections 120B.021, subdivision 1, 
14.18 	clause (4), and 120B.024, paragraph (a), clause (4), and the arts.

14.19 	Sec. 7. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
 14.20 	The revisor of statutes shall renumber Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.023, 
14.21 	subdivision 2, as Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.021, subdivision 4. The revisor shall 
14.22 	make necessary cross-reference changes consistent with the renumbering.

14.23 	Sec. 8.  REPEALER.
 14.24 	 Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0505; 3501.0510; 3501.0515; 3501.0520; 3501.0525; 
14.25 	3501.0530; 3501.0535; 3501.0540; 3501.0545; and 3501.0550, are repealed, effective 
14.26 	for the 2014-2015 school year and later.

14.27 	ARTICLE 3
14.28 	EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

14.29 	Section 1. [120A.37] CLASSROOM PLACEMENT; TEACHER RATING.
14.30 	(a) Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, consistent with the teacher evaluations 
14.31 	under sections 122A.40, subdivision 8, and 122A.41, subdivision 5, a school administrator 
14.32 	must not place a student in kindergarten through grade 4 for consecutive school years in 
15.1 	the classroom of a teacher who received the lowest evaluation rating, unless the school 
15.2 	does not have another teacher at that grade level.
15.3 	(b) Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year, consistent with the teacher evaluations 
15.4 	under sections 122A.40, subdivision 8, and 122A.41, subdivision 5, a school administrator 
15.5 	must not place a student in grades five through twelve for consecutive school years in the 
15.6 	classroom of a teacher in the same subject area who received the lowest evaluation rating, 
15.7 	unless the school does not have another teacher in that subject area.
15.8 	(c) The department, in consultation with the stakeholders under sections 122A.40, 
15.9 	subdivision 8, and 122A.41, subdivision 5, must review the classroom placement policies 
15.10 	under this section and must, no later than January 15, 2014, make a recommendation to 
15.11 	the legislative committees and divisions having jurisdiction over kindergarten through 
15.12 	grade 12 education funding and policy regarding implementation of these policies.

15.13 	Sec. 2. [120B.21] MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION.
15.14 	School districts and charter schools may provide mental health instruction for 
15.15 	students in grades 6 through 12 aligned with local health and physical education standards 
15.16 	and integrated into existing programs, curriculum, or the general school environment of 
15.17 	a district or charter school. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner 
15.18 	of human services and mental health organizations, shall provide districts and charter 
15.19 	schools with:
15.20 	(1) age-appropriate model learning activities for grades 6 through 12 that encompass 
15.21 	the mental health components of the National Health Education Standards and the 
15.22 	benchmarks developed by the department's quality teaching network in health and physical 
15.23 	education, and best practices in mental health education; and
15.24 	(2) a directory of resources for planning and implementing age-appropriate mental 
15.25 	health curriculum and instruction in grades 6 through 12.

15.26 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

15.27 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 121A.39, is amended to read:
15.28 	121A.39 SCHOOL COUNSELORS.
15.29 	(a) A school district is strongly encouraged to have an adequate student-to-counselor 
15.30 	ratio for its students beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.
15.31 	(b) A school counselor shall assist a student in meeting the requirements for high 
15.32 	school graduation, college and career exploration, and selection, college affordability 
15.33 	planning, and successful transitions into postsecondary education or training.

16.1 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.09, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
16.2 		Subd. 4.License and rules. (a) The board must adopt rules to license public school 
16.3 	teachers and interns subject to chapter 14.
16.4 	(b) The board must adopt rules requiring a person to pass a skills examination in 
16.5 	reading, writing, and mathematics as a requirement for initial teacher licensure, except 
16.6 	that the board may issue a temporary, one-year teaching license to an otherwise qualified 
16.7 	candidate who has not passed the skills exam at the time the candidate successfully 
16.8 	completes an approved teacher preparation program. A person who is a nonnative English 
16.9 	language speaker as verified by qualified Minnesota school district personnel or Minnesota 
16.10 	higher education institution faculty and who directly instructs in that other language or 
16.11 	provides world language instruction under section 120B.022, subdivision 1, in that other 
16.12 	language may take and pass the skills examination at any time up to 36 months after 
16.13 	becoming otherwise eligible for an initial teaching license and may hold a temporary 
16.14 	teaching license during that time. Such rules must require college and universities offering 
16.15 	a board-approved teacher preparation program to provide remedial assistance to persons 
16.16 	who did not achieve a qualifying score on the skills examination, including those for 
16.17 	whom English is a second language.
16.18 	(c) The board must adopt rules to approve teacher preparation programs. The board, 
16.19 	upon the request of a postsecondary student preparing for teacher licensure or a licensed 
16.20 	graduate of a teacher preparation program, shall assist in resolving a dispute between the 
16.21 	person and a postsecondary institution providing a teacher preparation program when the 
16.22 	dispute involves an institution's recommendation for licensure affecting the person or the 
16.23 	person's credentials. At the board's discretion, assistance may include the application 
16.24 	of chapter 14.
16.25 	(d) The board must provide the leadership and adopt rules for the redesign of teacher 
16.26 	education programs to implement a research based, results-oriented curriculum that 
16.27 	focuses on the skills teachers need in order to be effective. The board shall implement new 
16.28 	systems of teacher preparation program evaluation to assure program effectiveness based 
16.29 	on proficiency of graduates in demonstrating attainment of program outcomes. Teacher 
16.30 	preparation programs including alternative teacher preparation programs under section 
16.31 	122A.245, among other programs, must include a content-specific, board-approved, 
16.32 	performance-based assessment that measures teacher candidates in three areas: planning 
16.33 	for instruction and assessment; engaging students and supporting learning; and assessing 
16.34 	student learning.
16.35 	(e) The board must adopt rules requiring candidates for initial licenses to pass an 
16.36 	examination of general pedagogical knowledge and examinations of licensure-specific 
17.1 	teaching skills. The rules shall be effective by September 1, 2001. The rules under this 
17.2 	paragraph also must require candidates for initial licenses to teach prekindergarten or 
17.3 	elementary students to pass, as part of the examination of licensure-specific teaching 
17.4 	skills, test items assessing the candidates' knowledge, skill, and ability in comprehensive, 
17.5 	scientifically based reading instruction under section 122A.06, subdivision 4, and their 
17.6 	knowledge and understanding of the foundations of reading development, the development 
17.7 	of reading comprehension, and reading assessment and instruction, and their ability to 
17.8 	integrate that knowledge and understanding.
17.9 	(f) The board must adopt rules requiring teacher educators to work directly with 
17.10 	elementary or secondary school teachers in elementary or secondary schools to obtain 
17.11 	periodic exposure to the elementary or secondary teaching environment.
17.12 	(g) The board must grant licenses to interns and to candidates for initial licenses 
17.13 	based on appropriate professional competencies that are aligned with the board's licensing 
17.14 	system and students' diverse learning needs. The board must include these licenses in a 
17.15 	statewide differentiated licensing system that creates new leadership roles for successful 
17.16 	experienced teachers premised on a collaborative professional culture dedicated to meeting 
17.17 	students' diverse learning needs in the 21st century and formalizes mentoring and induction 
17.18 	for newly licensed teachers that is provided through a teacher support framework.
17.19 	(h) The board must design and implement an assessment system which requires a 
17.20 	candidate for an initial license and first continuing license to demonstrate the abilities 
17.21 	necessary to perform selected, representative teaching tasks at appropriate levels.
17.22 	(i) The board must receive recommendations from local committees as established 
17.23 	by the board for the renewal of teaching licenses.
17.24 	(j) The board must grant life licenses to those who qualify according to requirements 
17.25 	established by the board, and suspend or revoke licenses pursuant to sections 122A.20 and 
17.26 	214.10. The board must not establish any expiration date for application for life licenses.
17.27 	(k) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
17.28 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation in 
17.29 	the areas of using positive behavior interventions and in accommodating, modifying, and 
17.30 	adapting curricula, materials, and strategies to appropriately meet the needs of individual 
17.31 	students and ensure adequate progress toward the state's graduation rule.
17.32 	(l) In adopting rules to license public school teachers who provide health-related 
17.33 	services for disabled children, the board shall adopt rules consistent with license or 
17.34 	registration requirements of the commissioner of health and the health-related boards who 
17.35 	license personnel who perform similar services outside of the school.
18.1 	(m) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
18.2 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further reading 
18.3 	preparation, consistent with section 122A.06, subdivision 4. The rules do not take effect 
18.4 	until they are approved by law. Teachers who do not provide direct instruction including, at 
18.5 	least, counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers, audiovisual 
18.6 	directors and coordinators, and recreation personnel are exempt from this section.
18.7 	(n) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
18.8 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation, 
18.9 	first, in understanding the key warning signs of early-onset mental illness in children 
18.10 	and adolescents and then, during subsequent licensure renewal periods, preparation may 
18.11 	include providing a more in-depth understanding of students' mental illness, trauma, 
18.12 	accommodations for students' mental illness, parents' role in addressing students' mental 
18.13 	illness, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, autism, the requirements of section 125A.0942 
18.14 	governing restrictive procedures, and de-escalation methods, among other similar topics.
18.15 	(o) The board must establish an appeals process for nonnative English language 
18.16 	speaker candidates under paragraph (b) who have not achieved a passing score on the 
18.17 	examination. The appeals process must allow a candidate to demonstrate the candidate's 
18.18 	competence by an alternative, equally rigorous method.

18.19 	EFFECTIVE DATE. Paragraphs (b) and (o) are effective the day following final 
18.20 	enactment. Paragraph (n) is effective August 1, 2014. The rules must be revised by the 
18.21 	Board of Teaching no later than January 1, 2015, based on the recommendations of the 
18.22 	Teacher Licensure Advisory Task Force as approved by the legislature.

18.23 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.18, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
18.24 		Subd. 2.Teacher and support personnel qualifications. (a) The Board of 
18.25 	Teaching must issue licenses under its jurisdiction to persons the board finds to be 
18.26 	qualified and competent for their respective positions.
18.27 	(b) The board must require a person to pass an examination of skills in reading, 
18.28 	writing, and mathematics before being granted an initial teaching license to provide direct 
18.29 	instruction to pupils in prekindergarten, elementary, secondary, or special education 
18.30 	programs, except that the board may issue a temporary, one-year teaching license to an 
18.31 	otherwise qualified candidate who has not passed the skills exam at the time the candidate 
18.32 	successfully completes an approved teacher preparation program. The board may grant 
18.33 	up to three one-year temporary teaching licenses to a person who is a nonnative English 
18.34 	language speaker as verified by qualified Minnesota school district personnel or Minnesota 
18.35 	higher education institution faculty and directly instructs in that other language or provides  
19.1 	world language instruction under section 120B.022, subdivision 1, in that other language, 
19.2 	consistent with section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (b). The board must require 
19.3 	colleges and universities offering a board approved teacher preparation program to 
19.4 	provide make available upon request remedial assistance that includes a formal diagnostic 
19.5 	component to persons enrolled in their institution who did not achieve a qualifying score 
19.6 	on the skills examination, including those for whom English is a second language. The 
19.7 	colleges and universities must provide make available assistance in the specific academic 
19.8 	areas of deficiency in which the person did not achieve a qualifying score. School districts 
19.9 	may make available upon request similar, appropriate, and timely remedial assistance that 
19.10 	includes a formal diagnostic component to those persons employed by the district who 
19.11 	completed their teacher education program, who did not achieve a qualifying score on 
19.12 	the skills examination, including those persons for whom English is a second language 
19.13 	and persons under section 122A.23, subdivision 2, paragraph (h), who completed their 
19.14 	teacher's education program outside the state of Minnesota, and who received a temporary, 
19.15 	one-year license to teach in Minnesota. The Board of Teaching shall report annually to the 
19.16 	education committees of the legislature on the total number of teacher candidates during 
19.17 	the most recent school year taking the skills examination, the number who achieve a 
19.18 	qualifying score on the examination, the number who do not achieve a qualifying score on 
19.19 	the examination, the distribution of all candidates' scores, the number of candidates who 
19.20 	have taken the examination at least once before, and the number of candidates who have 
19.21 	taken the examination at least once before and achieve a qualifying score, and the number 
19.22 	of nonnative English language speakers taking the examination under this paragraph.
19.23 	(c) A person who has completed an approved teacher preparation program and 
19.24 	obtained a temporary, one-year teaching license, but has not passed the skills exam, may 
19.25 	have the board renew the temporary one-year license but not more than two times after 
19.26 	February 1, 2014, if the licensee:
19.27 	(1) provides evidence of participating in an approved remedial assistance program 
19.28 	through a school district or postsecondary institution that includes a formal diagnostic 
19.29 	component in the specific subject areas the licensee did not pass;
19.30 	(2) attempts to pass the skills exam during the one-year licensure period; and
19.31 	(3) the school district employing the licensee requests that the licensee continue to 
19.32 	teach for that district under a temporary license.
19.33 	(d) The Board of Teaching must grant continuing licenses only to those persons who 
19.34 	have met board criteria for granting a continuing license, which includes passing the skills 
19.35 	examination in reading, writing, and mathematics, consistent with paragraph (b), and 
19.36 	section 122A.09, subdivision 4, paragraph (b).
20.1 	(d) (e) All colleges and universities approved by the board of teaching to prepare 
20.2 	persons for teacher licensure must include in their teacher preparation programs a common 
20.3 	core of teaching knowledge and skills to be acquired by all persons recommended 
20.4 	for teacher licensure. This common core shall meet the standards developed by the 
20.5 	interstate new teacher assessment and support consortium in its 1992 "model standards for 
20.6 	beginning teacher licensing and development." Amendments to standards adopted under 
20.7 	this paragraph are covered by chapter 14. The board of teaching shall report annually to 
20.8 	the education committees of the legislature on the performance of teacher candidates 
20.9 	on common core assessments of knowledge and skills under this paragraph during the 
20.10 	most recent school year.

20.11 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

20.12 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.23, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
20.13 		Subd. 2.Applicants licensed in other states. (a) Subject to the requirements of 
20.14 	sections 122A.18, subdivision 8, and 123B.03, the Board of Teaching must issue a teaching 
20.15 	license or a temporary teaching license under paragraphs (b) to (e) to an applicant who holds 
20.16 	at least a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university and holds 
20.17 	or held a similar out-of-state teaching license that requires the applicant to successfully 
20.18 	complete a teacher preparation program approved by the issuing state, which includes 
20.19 	field-specific teaching methods and student teaching or essentially equivalent experience.
20.20 	(b) The Board of Teaching must issue a teaching license to an applicant who:
20.21 	(1) successfully completed all exams and human relations preparation components 
20.22 	required by the Board of Teaching; and
20.23 	(2) holds or held an out-of-state teaching license to teach the same content field and 
20.24 	grade levels if the scope of the out-of-state license is no more than one grade level less 
20.25 	than a similar Minnesota license.
20.26 	(c) The Board of Teaching, consistent with board rules and paragraph (h), must 
20.27 	issue up to three one-year temporary teaching licenses to an applicant who holds or held 
20.28 	an out-of-state teaching license to teach the same content field and grade levels, where 
20.29 	the scope of the out-of-state license is no more than one grade level less than a similar 
20.30 	Minnesota license, but has not successfully completed all exams and human relations 
20.31 	preparation components required by the Board of Teaching.
20.32 	(d) The Board of Teaching, consistent with board rules, must issue up to three 
20.33 	one-year temporary teaching licenses to an applicant who:
20.34 	(1) successfully completed all exams and human relations preparation components 
20.35 	required by the Board of Teaching; and
21.1 	(2) holds or held an out-of-state teaching license to teach the same content field 
21.2 	and grade levels, where the scope of the out-of-state license is no more than one grade 
21.3 	level less than a similar Minnesota license, but has not completed field-specific teaching 
21.4 	methods or student teaching or equivalent experience.
21.5 	The applicant may complete field-specific teaching methods and student teaching 
21.6 	or equivalent experience by successfully participating in a one-year school district 
21.7 	mentorship program consistent with board-adopted standards of effective practice and 
21.8 	Minnesota graduation requirements.
21.9 	(e) The Board of Teaching must issue a temporary teaching license for a term of 
21.10 	up to three years only in the content field or grade levels specified in the out-of-state 
21.11 	license to an applicant who:
21.12 	(1) successfully completed all exams and human relations preparation components 
21.13 	required by the Board of Teaching; and
21.14 	(2) holds or held an out-of-state teaching license where the out-of-state license is 
21.15 	more limited in the content field or grade levels than a similar Minnesota license.
21.16 	(f) The Board of Teaching must not issue to an applicant more than three one-year 
21.17 	temporary teaching licenses under this subdivision.
21.18 	(g) The Board of Teaching must not issue a license under this subdivision if the 
21.19 	applicant has not attained the additional degrees, credentials, or licenses required in a 
21.20 	particular licensure field.
21.21 	(h) The Board of Teaching must require An applicant for a teaching license or a 
21.22 	temporary teaching license under this subdivision to must pass a skills examination in 
21.23 	reading, writing, and mathematics before the board issues the applicant a continuing 
21.24 	teaching license. Consistent with section 122A.18, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), and 
21.25 	notwithstanding other provisions of this subdivision, the board may issue a temporary, 
21.26 	one-year teaching license to an otherwise qualified applicant who has not passed the skills 
21.27 	exam and the board may renew this temporary license but not more than two times after 
21.28 	February 1, 2014, if the school district employing the applicant requests that the applicant 
21.29 	continue to teach for that district under a temporary license.

21.30 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

21.31 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.28, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
21.32 		Subdivision 1.K-12 license to teach deaf and hard-of-hearing students; 
21.33 	relicensure. (a) The Board of Teaching must review and determine appropriate licensure 
21.34 	requirements for a candidate for a license or an applicant for a continuing license to teach 
22.1 	deaf and hard-of-hearing students in prekindergarten through grade 12. In addition to 
22.2 	other requirements, a candidate must demonstrate the minimum level of proficiency in 
22.3 	American sign language as determined by the board.
22.4 	(b) Among other relicensure requirements, each teacher under this section must 
22.5 	complete 30 continuing education clock hours on hearing loss topics, including American 
22.6 	Sign Language, American Sign Language linguistics, and deaf culture, for every 120 
22.7 	continuing education clock hours the teacher must complete for licensure renewal.

22.8 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2013.

22.9 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.122, is amended to read:
22.10 	124D.122 ESTABLISHMENT OF FLEXIBLE LEARNING YEAR PROGRAM.
22.11 	The board of any district or a consortium of districts, with the approval of the 
22.12 	commissioner, may establish and operate a flexible learning year program in one or 
22.13 	more of the day or residential facilities for children with a disability within the district.
22.14 	 Consortiums may use a single application and evaluation process, though results, public 
22.15 	hearings, and board approvals must be obtained for each district.

22.16 	Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.79, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
22.17 		Subdivision 1.Community involvement. The commissioner must provide for the 
22.18 	maximum involvement of the state committees on American Indian education, parents 
22.19 	of American Indian children, secondary students eligible to be served, American Indian 
22.20 	language and culture education teachers, American Indian teachers, teachers' aides, 
22.21 	representatives of community groups, and persons knowledgeable in the field of American 
22.22 	Indian education, in the formulation of policy and procedures relating to the administration 
22.23 	of sections 124D.71 to 124D.82. The commissioner must annually hold a field hearing on 
22.24 	Indian education to gather input from American Indian educators, parents, and students on 
22.25 	the state of American Indian education in Minnesota. Results of the hearing must be made 
22.26 	available to all 11 tribal nations for review and comment.

22.27 	Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.79, is amended by adding a 
22.28 	subdivision to read:
22.29 		Subd. 4.Consultation with the tribal nations education committee. (a) The 
22.30 	commissioner shall seek consultation with the Tribal Nations Education Committee on all 
22.31 	issues relating to American Indian education including:
23.1 	(1) administration of the commissioner's duties under sections 124D.71 to 124D.82 
23.2 	and other programs;
23.3 	(2) administration of other programs for the education of American Indian people, as 
23.4 	determined by the commissioner;
23.5 	(3) awarding of scholarships to eligible American Indian students;
23.6 	(4) administration of the commissioner's duties regarding awarding of American 
23.7 	Indian postsecondary preparation grants to school districts; and
23.8 	(5) recommendations of education policy changes for American Indians.
23.9 	(b) Membership in the Tribal Nations Education Committee is the sole discretion 
23.10 	of the committee and nothing in this subdivision gives the commissioner authority to 
23.11 	dictate committee membership.

23.12 	Sec. 11. [124D.791] INDIAN EDUCATION DIRECTOR.
23.13 		Subdivision 1.Appointment. An Indian education director shall be appointed by 
23.14 	the commissioner.
23.15 		Subd. 2.Qualifications. The commissioner shall select the Indian education 
23.16 	director on the basis of outstanding professional qualifications and knowledge of 
23.17 	American Indian education, culture, practices, and beliefs. The Indian education director 
23.18 	serves in the unclassified service. The commissioner may remove the Indian education 
23.19 	director for cause. The commissioner is encouraged to seek qualified applicants who 
23.20 	are enrolled members of a tribe.
23.21 		Subd. 3.Compensation. Compensation of the Indian education director shall be 
23.22 	established under chapter 15A.
23.23 		Subd. 4.Duties; powers. The Indian education director shall:
23.24 	(1) serve as the liaison for the department with the Tribal Nations Education 
23.25 	Committee, the 11 reservations, the Minnesota Chippewa tribe, the Minnesota Indian 
23.26 	Affairs Council, and the urban advisory council;
23.27 	(2) evaluate the state of American Indian education in Minnesota;
23.28 	(3) engage the tribal bodies, community groups, parents of children eligible to be 
23.29 	served by American Indian education programs, American Indian administrators and 
23.30 	teachers, persons experienced in the training of teachers for American Indian education 
23.31 	programs, the tribally controlled schools, and other persons knowledgeable in the field of 
23.32 	American Indian education and seek their advice on policies that can improve the quality 
23.33 	of American Indian education;
23.34 	(4) advise the commissioner on American Indian education issues, including:
23.35 	(i) issues facing American Indian students;
24.1 	(ii) policies for American Indian education;
24.2 	(iii) awarding scholarships to eligible American Indian students and in administering 
24.3 	the commissioner's duties regarding awarding of American Indian postsecondary 
24.4 	preparation grants to school districts; and
24.5 	(iv) administration of the commissioner's duties under sections 124D.71 to 124D.82 
24.6 	and other programs for the education of American Indian people;
24.7 	(5) propose to the commissioner legislative changes that will improve the quality 
24.8 	of American Indian education;
24.9 	(6) develop a strategic plan and a long-term framework for American Indian 
24.10 	education, in conjunction with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, that is updated every 
24.11 	five years and implemented by the commissioner, with goals to:
24.12 	(i) increase American Indian student achievement, including increased levels of 
24.13 	proficiency and growth on statewide accountability assessments;
24.14 	(ii) increase the number of American Indian teachers in public schools;
24.15 	(iii) close the achievement gap between American Indian students and their more 
24.16 	advantaged peers;
24.17 	(iv) increase the statewide graduation rate for American Indian students; and
24.18 	(v) increase American Indian student placement in postsecondary programs and 
24.19 	the workforce; and
24.20 	(7) keep the American Indian community informed about the work of the department 
24.21 	by reporting to the Tribal Nations Education Committee at each committee meeting.

24.22 	Sec. 12. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
 24.23 		Subdivision 1.Recommendations. (a) A career and technical education advisory 
24.24 	task force is established to make recommendations to the Minnesota legislature for 
24.25 	improving (1) student outcomes in grades 11 to 14, (2) alignment between secondary and 
24.26 	postsecondary education programs serving students in grades 11 to 14, (3) alignment 
24.27 	between education programs for students in grades 11 to 14 and Minnesota's workforce 
24.28 	needs, and (4) the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of Minnesota's public secondary and 
24.29 	postsecondary programs serving students in grades 11 to 14. Advisory task force members 
24.30 	must examine the role of education providers, employers, policy makers, and other 
24.31 	interested stakeholders in realizing these improvements.
24.32 	(b) In developing recommendations for improving student outcomes, advisory task 
24.33 	force members must at least consider how to (1) better inform students about career options, 
24.34 	occupational trends, and educational paths leading to viable and rewarding careers, (2) 
24.35 	develop and adapt as needed an education and work plan for each student aligned with the 
25.1 	student's personal and professional interests, abilities, skills, and aspirations, (3) monitor, 
25.2 	assess, and increase students' achievement levels in high school, (4) better prepare high 
25.3 	school students for postsecondary education meeting their career goals, and (5) increase the 
25.4 	rates at which students complete a postsecondary certificate, industry license, or degree.
25.5 	(c) In developing recommendations for better aligning Minnesota's secondary and 
25.6 	postsecondary education programs for students in grades 11 to 14, advisory task force 
25.7 	members must at least consider how to (1) improve monitoring of high school students' 
25.8 	progress to better target interventions and support and remove the need for remedial 
25.9 	instruction, (2) better align high school courses and expectations and postsecondary 
25.10 	credit-bearing courses, (3) better align high school standards and assessments with 
25.11 	postsecondary readiness measures and entrance requirements, and (4) increase student 
25.12 	persistence and completion rates.
25.13 	(d) In developing recommendations for better aligning education programs for 
25.14 	students in grades 11 to 14 and the preparation necessary to meet Minnesota's workforce 
25.15 	needs, advisory task force members must at least consider how to (1) more closely 
25.16 	align state kindergarten through grade 12 academic standards, high school graduation 
25.17 	requirements, and the expectations of postsecondary institutions and Minnesota employers, 
25.18 	(2) enable more high school students to pursue postsecondary education and training 
25.19 	leading to a certificate, industry license, or degree in a high-demand and high-reward 
25.20 	field, (3) reduce the gap between the demand for and preparation of a skilled Minnesota 
25.21 	workforce, and (4) provide graduates of two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions 
25.22 	with the foundational skills needed for civic engagement, ongoing employment, and 
25.23 	continuous learning.
25.24 	(e) In developing recommendations for better aligning efficient and cost-effective 
25.25 	secondary and postsecondary programs for students in grades 11 to 14, advisory task force 
25.26 	members must at least consider how to (1) give high school students earlier and increased 
25.27 	access to postsecondary credit-bearing courses, and (2) provide targeted interventions and 
25.28 	support to help high school students avoid postsecondary remedial instruction.
25.29 	(f) In developing recommendations under this subdivision, advisory task force 
25.30 	members are encouraged to consider how to structurally redesign secondary and 
25.31 	postsecondary education to (1) align Minnesota's statewide high school assessment system 
25.32 	with measures of readiness for postsecondary education, (2) provide targeted intervention 
25.33 	and support to students who are at risk of not graduating or off track for graduating from 
25.34 	high school, (3) increase and accelerate opportunities for secondary students to earn 
25.35 	postsecondary credits leading to a certificate, industry license, or degree, and (4) better 
26.1 	understand students' personal and professional interests, abilities, skills, and aspirations 
26.2 	and align that understanding with postsecondary education and careers.
26.3 		Subd. 2.Task force membership and operation. (a) Advisory task force 
26.4 	members must include representatives of the following entities selected by that entity: 
26.5 	the Minnesota Association of Career and Technical Administrators; the Minnesota 
26.6 	Association for Career and Technical Education; University of Minnesota and Minnesota 
26.7 	State Colleges and Universities faculty working to develop career and technical educators 
26.8 	in Minnesota; the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education; the 
26.9 	Minnesota Department of Education; the Minnesota Department of Employment and 
26.10 	Economic Development; the Minnesota Board of Teaching; the Minnesota Association of 
26.11 	Colleges for Teacher Education; and any other representatives selected by the task force 
26.12 	members. The education commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, must convene the 
26.13 	task force. Task force members are not eligible for compensation or reimbursement for 
26.14 	expenses related to task force activities.
26.15 	(b) The education commissioner, upon request, must provide technical assistance to 
26.16 	the task force.
26.17 	(c) The task force must submit its recommendations under this section to the 
26.18 	legislative committees with jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education by 
26.19 	February 15, 2014.

26.20 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

26.21 	Sec. 13. TEACHER LICENSURE ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
 26.22 		Subdivision 1.Establishment and duties. (a) A Teacher Licensure Advisory 
26.23 	Task Force is established to make recommendations to the Board of Teaching, the 
26.24 	education commissioner, and the education committees of the legislature on requirements 
26.25 	for: teacher applicants to demonstrate mastery of college-level reading, writing, and 
26.26 	mathematics skills through nationally normed assessments, a college-level skills portfolio, 
26.27 	or accredited college coursework, among other methods of demonstrating basic skills 
26.28 	mastery; and an alternative licensure pathway for nonnative English speakers seeking 
26.29 	licensure to teach in a language immersion program.
26.30 	(b) Task force recommendations on how teacher candidates demonstrate 
26.31 	college-level skills mastery must encompass the following criteria:
26.32 	(1) assessment content must be relevant to the teacher's subject area licensure;
26.33 	(2) the scope of assessment content must be documented in sufficient detail to 
26.34 	correspond to a similarly detailed description of relevant public school curriculum;
27.1 	(3) the scope of assessment content must be publicly available and readily accessible 
27.2 	on the Web site of the Board of Teaching and all Minnesota board-approved teacher 
27.3 	preparation programs and institutions;
27.4 	(4) the Board of Teaching and all Minnesota board-approved teacher preparation 
27.5 	programs and institutions, upon request, must make available to the public at cost a written 
27.6 	review of the scope of assessment content;
27.7 	(5) if applicable, the Board of Teaching and all Minnesota board-approved teacher 
27.8 	preparation programs and institutions annually must post on their Web site up-to-date 
27.9 	longitudinal summary data showing teacher candidates' overall passing rate and the 
27.10 	passing rate for each demographic group of teacher candidates taking a college-level skills 
27.11 	assessment in that school year and in previous school years;
27.12 	(6) reliable evidence showing assessment content is not culturally biased;
27.13 	(7) the Board of Teaching and all Minnesota board-approved teacher preparation 
27.14 	programs and institutions must appropriately accommodate teacher candidates 
27.15 	with documented learning disabilities, including an appeals process if a request for 
27.16 	accommodations is denied; and
27.17 	(8) if applicable, give timely, detailed item analysis feedback to teacher candidates 
27.18 	who do not pass the basic skills assessment sufficient for the candidate to target specific 
27.19 	areas of deficiency for appropriate remediation.
27.20 		Subd. 2.Membership. The Teacher Licensure Advisory Task Force shall be 
27.21 	composed of the following 20 members appointed by July 15, 2013:
27.22 	(1) two members of the Board of Teaching appointed by the board's executive 
27.23 	director;
27.24 	(2) two representatives from the Department of Education appointed by the 
27.25 	commissioner of education;
27.26 	(3) two members of the house of representatives, one appointed by the speaker of the 
27.27 	house of representatives, and one appointed by the minority leader;
27.28 	(4) two senators, one appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the 
27.29 	Committee on Rules and Administration, and one appointed by the minority leader;
27.30 	(5) one elementary school principal from rural Minnesota appointed by the 
27.31 	Minnesota Elementary School Principals Association and one secondary school principal 
27.32 	from the seven-county metropolitan area appointed by the Minnesota Secondary School 
27.33 	Principals Association;
27.34 	(6) one licensed and practicing public elementary school teacher and one licensed 
27.35 	and practicing secondary school teacher appointed by Education Minnesota;
28.1 	(7) one teacher preparation faculty member each from the University of Minnesota 
28.2 	system appointed by the system president, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 
28.3 	system appointed by the system chancellor, and the Minnesota Private Colleges and 
28.4 	Universities system appointed by the Minnesota Private Colleges Council;
28.5 	(8) one member of the nonpublic education council appointed by the council; 
28.6 	(9) one representative of Minnesota charter schools appointed by the Minnesota 
28.7 	Charter Schools Association; 
28.8 	(10) two representatives from the business community, appointed by the Minnesota 
28.9 	Chamber of Commerce; and
28.10 	(11) one representative from the Minnesota School Boards Association.
28.11 		Subd. 3.First meeting; chair. The executive director of the Board of Teaching 
28.12 	must convene the task force by August 1, 2013, and shall appoint a chair from the 
28.13 	membership of the task force.
28.14 		Subd. 4.Compensation. Task force members are not eligible for compensation or 
28.15 	reimbursement for expenses related to task force activities.
28.16 		Subd. 5.Support. The executive director of the board and the commissioner of 
28.17 	education must provide technical assistance to task force members upon request.
28.18 		Subd. 6.Report. By February 1, 2014, task force members must submit to the 
28.19 	Board of Teaching, the education commissioner, and to the chairs and ranking minority 
28.20 	members of the senate and house of representatives committees and divisions with 
28.21 	primary jurisdiction over K-12 education their written recommendations on requirements 
28.22 	for teacher applicants to demonstrate mastery of basic reading, writing, and mathematics 
28.23 	skills and for an alternative licensure pathway for nonnative English speakers seeking 
28.24 	licensure to teach in a language immersion program.
28.25 		Subd. 7.Sunset. The task force shall sunset the day after submitting the report 
28.26 	under subdivision 6, or February 2, 2014, whichever is earlier.

28.27 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

28.28 	Sec. 14. STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES; TEAM STAFFING APPROACH.
 28.29 	The commissioner of education shall develop and submit to the kindergarten 
28.30 	through grade 12 education policy and finance committees of the legislature by February 
28.31 	1, 2014, recommendations for providing access to licensed student support services, 
28.32 	including licensed school counselors, licensed school psychologists, licensed school 
28.33 	nurses, licensed school social workers, and licensed chemical health counselors, to public 
28.34 	school students throughout Minnesota using a multidisciplinary team staffing structure. 
28.35 	The recommendations must reflect:
29.1 	(1) the extent to which students need academic, career, physical, emotional, social, 
29.2 	and early-onset mental health services to ensure educational achievement, safety and 
29.3 	enhancement of student's physical, emotional, and social well-being;
29.4 	(2) the extent to which such services or teams do not exist, are incomplete or 
29.5 	inadequate given the number of students with unmet psychological, social, and health 
29.6 	needs that interfere with learning;
29.7 	(3) existing funding streams and opportunities for additional funds to improve 
29.8 	students' access to needed licensed student support services; and
29.9 	(4) caseloads and best practices when working to improve access to needed licensed 
29.10 	student support services.

29.11 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

29.12 	ARTICLE 4
29.13 	CHARTER SCHOOLS

29.14 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.10, is amended to read:
29.15 	124D.10 CHARTER SCHOOLS.
29.16 		Subdivision 1.Purposes. (a) The primary purpose of this section is to:
29.17 	(1) improve pupil learning and student achievement;. Additional purposes include to:
29.18 	(2) (1) increase learning opportunities for pupils;
29.19 	(3) (2) encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods;
29.20 	(4) (3) measure learning outcomes and create different and innovative forms of 
29.21 	measuring outcomes;
29.22 	(5) (4) establish new forms of accountability for schools; and or
29.23 	(6) (5) create new professional opportunities for teachers, including the opportunity 
29.24 	to be responsible for the learning program at the school site.
29.25 	(b) This section does not provide a means to keep open a school that a school board 
29.26 	decides to close. However, a school board may endorse or authorize the establishing of 
29.27 	a charter school to replace the school the board decided to close. Applicants seeking a 
29.28 	charter under this circumstance must demonstrate to the authorizer that the charter sought 
29.29 	is substantially different in purpose and program from the school the board closed and 
29.30 	that the proposed charter satisfies the requirements of this subdivision. If the school 
29.31 	board that closed the school authorizes the charter, it must document in its affidavit to the 
29.32 	commissioner that the charter is substantially different in program and purpose from 
29.33 	the school it closed.
30.1 	An authorizer shall not approve an application submitted by a charter school 
30.2 	developer under subdivision 4, paragraph (a), if the application does not comply with this 
30.3 	subdivision. The commissioner shall not approve an affidavit submitted by an authorizer 
30.4 	under subdivision 4, paragraph (b), if the affidavit does not comply with this subdivision.
30.5 		Subd. 2.Applicability. This section applies only to charter schools formed and 
30.6 	operated under this section.
30.7 		Subd. 3.Authorizer. (a) For purposes of this section, the terms defined in this 
30.8 	subdivision have the meanings given them.
30.9 	"Application" to receive approval as an authorizer means the proposal an eligible 
30.10 	authorizer submits to the commissioner under paragraph (c) before that authorizer is able 
30.11 	to submit any affidavit to charter to a school.
30.12 	"Application" under subdivision 4 means the charter school business plan a 
30.13 	school developer submits to an authorizer for approval to establish a charter school that 
30.14 	documents the school developer's mission statement, school purposes, program design, 
30.15 	financial plan, governance and management structure, and background and experience, 
30.16 	plus any other information the authorizer requests. The application also shall include a 
30.17 	"statement of assurances" of legal compliance prescribed by the commissioner.
30.18 	"Affidavit" means a written statement the authorizer submits to the commissioner 
30.19 	for approval to establish a charter school under subdivision 4 attesting to its review and 
30.20 	approval process before chartering a school.
30.21 	(b) The following organizations may authorize one or more charter schools:
30.22 	(1) a school board, intermediate school district school board, or education district 
30.23 	organized under sections 123A.15 to 123A.19;
30.24 	(2) a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
30.25 	of 1986, excluding a nonpublic sectarian or religious institution; any person other than a 
30.26 	natural person that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, 
30.27 	is controlled by, or is under common control with the nonpublic sectarian or religious 
30.28 	institution; and any other charitable organization under this clause that in the federal IRS 
30.29 	Form 1023, Part IV, describes activities indicating a religious purpose, that:
30.30 	(i) is a member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits or the Minnesota Council on 
30.31 	Foundations;
30.32 	(ii) is registered with the attorney general's office; and
30.33 	(iii) is incorporated in the state of Minnesota and has been operating continuously 
30.34 	for at least five years but does not operate a charter school;
30.35 	(3) a Minnesota private college, notwithstanding clause (2), that grants two- or 
30.36 	four-year degrees and is registered with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education under 
31.1 	chapter 136A; community college, state university, or technical college governed by the 
31.2 	Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; or the University 
31.3 	of Minnesota;
31.4 	(4) a nonprofit corporation subject to chapter 317A, described in section 317A.905, 
31.5 	and exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code 
31.6 	of 1986, may authorize one or more charter schools if the charter school has operated 
31.7 	for at least three years under a different authorizer and if the nonprofit corporation has 
31.8 	existed for at least 25 years; or
31.9 	(5) single-purpose authorizers that are charitable, nonsectarian organizations formed 
31.10 	under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and incorporated in the state 
31.11 	of Minnesota whose sole purpose is to charter schools. Eligible organizations interested 
31.12 	in being approved as an authorizer under this paragraph must submit a proposal to the 
31.13 	commissioner that includes the provisions of paragraph (c) and a five-year financial plan. 
31.14 	Such authorizers shall consider and approve charter school applications using the criteria 
31.15 	provided in subdivision 4 and shall not limit the applications it solicits, considers, or 
31.16 	approves to any single curriculum, learning program, or method.
31.17 	(c) An eligible authorizer under this subdivision must apply to the commissioner for 
31.18 	approval as an authorizer before submitting any affidavit to the commissioner to charter 
31.19 	a school. The application for approval as a charter school authorizer must demonstrate 
31.20 	the applicant's ability to implement the procedures and satisfy the criteria for chartering a 
31.21 	school under this section. The commissioner must approve or disapprove an application 
31.22 	within 45 business days of the application deadline. If the commissioner disapproves 
31.23 	the application, the commissioner must notify the applicant of the specific deficiencies 
31.24 	in writing and the applicant then has 20 business days to address the deficiencies to the 
31.25 	commissioner's satisfaction. After the 20 business days expire, the commissioner has 15 
31.26 	business days to make a final decision to approve or disapprove the application. Failing to 
31.27 	address the deficiencies to the commissioner's satisfaction makes an applicant ineligible to 
31.28 	be an authorizer. The commissioner, in establishing criteria for approval, must consider 
31.29 	the applicant's:
31.30 	(1) capacity and infrastructure;
31.31 	(2) application criteria and process;
31.32 	(3) contracting process;
31.33 	(4) ongoing oversight and evaluation processes; and
31.34 	(5) renewal criteria and processes.
31.35 	(d) An applicant must include in its application to the commissioner to be an 
31.36 	approved authorizer at least the following:
32.1 	(1) how chartering schools is a way for the organization to carry out its mission;
32.2 	(2) a description of the capacity of the organization to serve as an authorizer, 
32.3 	including the personnel who will perform the authorizing duties, their qualifications, the 
32.4 	amount of time they will be assigned to this responsibility, and the financial resources 
32.5 	allocated by the organization to this responsibility;
32.6 	(3) a description of the application and review process the authorizer will use to 
32.7 	make decisions regarding the granting of charters;
32.8 	(4) a description of the type of contract it will arrange with the schools it charters 
32.9 	that meets the provisions of subdivision 6;
32.10 	(5) the process to be used for providing ongoing oversight of the school consistent 
32.11 	with the contract expectations specified in clause (4) that assures that the schools chartered 
32.12 	are complying with both the provisions of applicable law and rules, and with the contract;
32.13 	(6) a description of the criteria and process the authorizer will use to grant expanded 
32.14 	applications under subdivision 4, paragraph (j);
32.15 	(7) the process for making decisions regarding the renewal or termination of 
32.16 	the school's charter based on evidence that demonstrates the academic, organizational, 
32.17 	and financial competency of the school, including its success in increasing student 
32.18 	achievement and meeting the goals of the charter school agreement; and
32.19 	(8) an assurance specifying that the organization is committed to serving as an 
32.20 	authorizer for the full five-year term.
32.21 	(e) A disapproved applicant under this section may resubmit an application during a 
32.22 	future application period.
32.23 	(f) If the governing board of an approved authorizer votes to withdraw as an 
32.24 	approved authorizer for a reason unrelated to any cause under subdivision 23, the 
32.25 	authorizer must notify all its chartered schools and the commissioner in writing by July 
32.26 	15 of its intent to withdraw as an authorizer on June 30 in the next calendar year. The 
32.27 	commissioner may approve the transfer of a charter school to a new authorizer under this 
32.28 	paragraph after the new authorizer submits an affidavit to the commissioner.
32.29 	(g) The authorizer must participate in department-approved training.
32.30 	(h) An authorizer that chartered a school before August 1, 2009, must apply by 
32.31 	June 30, 2012, to the commissioner for approval, under paragraph (c), to continue as an 
32.32 	authorizer under this section. For purposes of this paragraph, an authorizer that fails to 
32.33 	submit a timely application is ineligible to charter a school.
32.34 	(i) (h) The commissioner shall review an authorizer's performance every five years 
32.35 	in a manner and form determined by the commissioner and may review an authorizer's 
32.36 	performance more frequently at the commissioner's own initiative or at the request of a 
33.1 	charter school operator, charter school board member, or other interested party. The 
33.2 	commissioner, after completing the review, shall transmit a report with findings to the 
33.3 	authorizer. If, consistent with this section, the commissioner finds that an authorizer has 
33.4 	not fulfilled the requirements of this section, the commissioner may subject the authorizer 
33.5 	to corrective action, which may include terminating the contract with the charter school 
33.6 	board of directors of a school it chartered. The commissioner must notify the authorizer 
33.7 	in writing of any findings that may subject the authorizer to corrective action and 
33.8 	the authorizer then has 15 business days to request an informal hearing before the 
33.9 	commissioner takes corrective action. If the commissioner terminates a contract between 
33.10 	an authorizer and a charter school under this paragraph, the commissioner may assist the 
33.11 	charter school in acquiring a new authorizer.
33.12 	(j) (i) The commissioner may at any time take corrective action against an authorizer, 
33.13 	including terminating an authorizer's ability to charter a school for:
33.14 	(1) failing to demonstrate the criteria under paragraph (c) under which the 
33.15 	commissioner approved the authorizer;
33.16 	(2) violating a term of the chartering contract between the authorizer and the charter 
33.17 	school board of directors;
33.18 	(3) unsatisfactory performance as an approved authorizer; or
33.19 	(4) any good cause shown that provides the commissioner a legally sufficient reason 
33.20 	to take corrective action against an authorizer.
33.21 		Subd. 4.Formation of school. (a) An authorizer, after receiving an application from 
33.22 	a school developer, may charter a licensed teacher under section 122A.18, subdivision 
33.23 	1, or a group of individuals that includes one or more licensed teachers under section 
33.24 	122A.18, subdivision 1, to operate a school subject to the commissioner's approval of the 
33.25 	authorizer's affidavit under paragraph (b). The school must be organized and operated as a 
33.26 	nonprofit corporation under chapter 317A and the provisions under the applicable chapter 
33.27 	shall apply to the school except as provided in this section.
33.28 	Notwithstanding sections 465.717 and 465.719, a school district, subject to this 
33.29 	section and section 124D.11, may create a corporation for the purpose of establishing a 
33.30 	charter school.
33.31 	(b) Before the operators may establish and operate a school, the authorizer must file 
33.32 	an affidavit with the commissioner stating its intent to charter a school. An authorizer 
33.33 	must file a separate affidavit for each school it intends to charter. The affidavit must state 
33.34 	the terms and conditions under which the authorizer would charter a school and how the 
33.35 	authorizer intends to oversee the fiscal and student performance of the charter school and to 
33.36 	comply with the terms of the written contract between the authorizer and the charter school 
34.1 	board of directors under subdivision 6. The commissioner must approve or disapprove the 
34.2 	authorizer's affidavit within 60 business days of receipt of the affidavit. If the commissioner 
34.3 	disapproves the affidavit, the commissioner shall notify the authorizer of the deficiencies 
34.4 	in the affidavit and the authorizer then has 20 business days to address the deficiencies. 
34.5 	If the authorizer does not address deficiencies to the commissioner's satisfaction, the 
34.6 	commissioner's disapproval is final. Failure to obtain commissioner approval precludes an 
34.7 	authorizer from chartering the school that is the subject of this affidavit.
34.8 	(c) The authorizer may prevent an approved charter school from opening for 
34.9 	operation if, among other grounds, the charter school violates this section or does not meet 
34.10 	the ready-to-open standards that are part of the authorizer's oversight and evaluation 
34.11 	process or are stipulated in the charter school contract.
34.12 	(d) The operators authorized to organize and operate a school, before entering into a 
34.13 	contract or other agreement for professional or other services, goods, or facilities, must 
34.14 	incorporate as a nonprofit corporation under chapter 317A and must establish a board of 
34.15 	directors composed of at least five members who are not related parties until a timely 
34.16 	election for members of the ongoing charter school board of directors is held according to 
34.17 	the school's articles and bylaws under paragraph (f). A charter school board of directors 
34.18 	must be composed of at least five members who are not related parties. Staff members 
34.19 	employed at the school, including teachers providing instruction under a contract with a 
34.20 	cooperative, and all parents or legal guardians of children enrolled in the school are the 
34.21 	voters eligible to elect the members of the school's board of directors. A charter school 
34.22 	must notify eligible voters of the school board election dates at least 30 days before the 
34.23 	election. Board of director meetings must comply with chapter 13D.
34.24 	(e) A charter school shall publish and maintain on the school's official Web site: (1) 
34.25 	the minutes of meetings of the board of directors, and of members and committees having 
34.26 	any board-delegated authority, for at least one calendar year from the date of publication; 
34.27 	(2) directory information for members of the board of directors and committees having 
34.28 	board-delegated authority; and (3) identifying and contact information for the school's 
34.29 	authorizer. Identifying and contact information for the school's authorizer must be 
34.30 	included in other school materials made available to the public. Upon request of an 
34.31 	individual, the charter school must also make available in a timely fashion financial 
34.32 	statements showing all operations and transactions affecting income, surplus, and deficit 
34.33 	during the school's last annual accounting period; and a balance sheet summarizing assets 
34.34 	and liabilities on the closing date of the accounting period. A charter school also must post 
34.35 	on its official Web site information identifying its authorizer and indicate how to contact 
35.1 	that authorizer and include that same information about its authorizer in other school 
35.2 	materials that it makes available to the public.
35.3 	(f) Every charter school board member shall attend ongoing training throughout 
35.4 	the member's term on board governance, including training on the board's role and 
35.5 	responsibilities, employment policies and practices, and financial management. A board 
35.6 	member who does not begin the required initial training within six months after being 
35.7 	seated and complete that training within 12 months of being seated on the board is 
35.8 	ineligible to continue to serve as a board member. The school shall include in its annual 
35.9 	report the training attended by each board member during the previous year.
35.10 	(g) The ongoing board must be elected before the school completes its third year of 
35.11 	operation. Board elections must be held during the school year but may not be conducted 
35.12 	on days when the school is closed for holidays, breaks, or vacations. The charter school 
35.13 	board of directors shall be composed of at least five nonrelated members and include: (i) 
35.14 	at least one licensed teacher employed as a teacher at the school or a licensed teacher
35.15 	 providing instruction under contract between the charter school and a cooperative; (ii) the 
35.16 	parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in the charter school who is not an employee 
35.17 	of the charter school; and (iii) an interested community member who is not employed by 
35.18 	the charter school and does not have a child enrolled in the school. The board may be 
35.19 	a teacher majority board composed of teachers described in this paragraph. The chief 
35.20 	financial officer and the chief administrator may only serve as ex-officio nonvoting board 
35.21 	members and may not serve as a voting member of the board. Charter school employees 
35.22 	shall not serve on the board unless item (i) applies. Contractors providing facilities, goods, 
35.23 	or services to a charter school shall not serve on the board of directors of the charter school. 
35.24 	Board bylaws shall outline the process and procedures for changing the board's governance 
35.25 	model, consistent with chapter 317A. A board may change its governance model only:
35.26 	(1) by a majority vote of the board of directors and the licensed teachers employed 
35.27 	by the school, including licensed teachers providing instruction under a contract between 
35.28 	the school and a cooperative; and
35.29 	(2) with the authorizer's approval.
35.30 	Any change in board governance must conform with the board structure established 
35.31 	under this paragraph.
35.32 	(h) The granting or renewal of a charter by an authorizer must not be conditioned 
35.33 	upon the bargaining unit status of the employees of the school.
35.34 	(i) The granting or renewal of a charter school by an authorizer must not be 
35.35 	contingent on the charter school being required to contract, lease, or purchase services 
35.36 	from the authorizer. Any potential contract, lease, or purchase of service from an 
36.1 	authorizer must be disclosed to the commissioner, accepted through an open bidding 
36.2 	process, and be a separate contract from the charter contract. The school must document 
36.3 	the open bidding process. An authorizer must not enter into a contract to provide 
36.4 	management and financial services for a school that it authorizes, unless the school 
36.5 	documents that it received at least two competitive bids.
36.6 	(j) An authorizer may permit the board of directors of a charter school to expand 
36.7 	the operation of the charter school to additional sites or to add additional grades at the 
36.8 	school beyond those described in the authorizer's original affidavit as approved by 
36.9 	the commissioner only after submitting a supplemental affidavit for approval to the 
36.10 	commissioner in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The supplemental 
36.11 	affidavit must document that:
36.12 	(1) the proposed expansion plan demonstrates need and projected enrollment;
36.13 	(2) the expansion is warranted, at a minimum, by longitudinal data demonstrating 
36.14 	students' improved academic performance and growth on statewide assessments under 
36.15 	chapter 120B;
36.16 	(3) the charter school is financially sound and the financing it needs to implement 
36.17 	the proposed expansion exists; and
36.18 	(4) the charter school has the governance structure and management capacity to 
36.19 	carry out its expansion.
36.20 	(k) The commissioner shall have 30 business days to review and comment on the 
36.21 	supplemental affidavit. The commissioner shall notify the authorizer of any deficiencies in 
36.22 	the supplemental affidavit and the authorizer then has 20 business days to address, to the 
36.23 	commissioner's satisfaction, any deficiencies in the supplemental affidavit. The school 
36.24 	may not expand grades or add sites until the commissioner has approved the supplemental 
36.25 	affidavit. The commissioner's approval or disapproval of a supplemental affidavit is final.
36.26 		Subd. 4a.Conflict of interest. (a) An individual is prohibited from serving as a 
36.27 	member of the charter school board of directors if the individual, an immediate family 
36.28 	member, or the individual's partner is an owner, employee or agent of, or a contractor with a 
36.29 	for-profit or nonprofit entity or individual with whom the charter school contracts, directly 
36.30 	or indirectly, for professional services, goods, or facilities. A violation of this prohibition 
36.31 	renders a contract voidable at the option of the commissioner or the charter school board 
36.32 	of directors. A member of a charter school board of directors who violates this prohibition 
36.33 	is individually liable to the charter school for any damage caused by the violation.
36.34 	(b) No member of the board of directors, employee, officer, or agent of a charter 
36.35 	school shall participate in selecting, awarding, or administering a contract if a conflict 
36.36 	of interest exists. A conflict exists when:
37.1 	(1) the board member, employee, officer, or agent;
37.2 	(2) the immediate family of the board member, employee, officer, or agent;
37.3 	(3) the partner of the board member, employee, officer, or agent; or
37.4 	(4) an organization that employs, or is about to employ any individual in clauses 
37.5 	(1) to (3),
37.6 	has a financial or other interest in the entity with which the charter school is contracting. 
37.7 	A violation of this prohibition renders the contract void.
37.8 	(c) Any employee, agent, or board member of the authorizer who participates 
37.9 	in the initial review, approval, ongoing oversight, evaluation, or the charter renewal or 
37.10 	nonrenewal process or decision is ineligible to serve on the board of directors of a school 
37.11 	chartered by that authorizer.
37.12 	(d) An individual may serve as a member of the board of directors if no conflict of 
37.13 	interest under paragraph (a) exists.
37.14 	(e) The conflict of interest provisions under this subdivision do not apply to 
37.15 	compensation paid to a teacher employed as a teacher by the charter school who or a 
37.16 	teacher who provides instructional services to the charter school through a cooperative 
37.17 	formed under chapter 308A when the teacher also serves as a member of on the charter 
37.18 	school board of directors.
37.19 	(f) The conflict of interest provisions under this subdivision do not apply to a teacher 
37.20 	who provides services to a charter school through a cooperative formed under chapter 
37.21 	308A when the teacher also serves on the charter school board of directors.
37.22 		Subd. 5.Conversion of existing schools. A board of an independent or special 
37.23 	school district may convert one or more of its existing schools to charter schools under 
37.24 	this section if 60 percent of the full-time teachers at the school sign a petition seeking 
37.25 	conversion. The conversion must occur at the beginning of an academic year.
37.26 		Subd. 6.Charter contract. The authorization for a charter school must be in the 
37.27 	form of a written contract signed by the authorizer and the board of directors of the charter 
37.28 	school. The contract must be completed within 45 business days of the commissioner's 
37.29 	approval of the authorizer's affidavit. The authorizer shall submit to the commissioner a 
37.30 	copy of the signed charter contract within ten business days of its execution. The contract 
37.31 	for a charter school must be in writing and contain at least the following:
37.32 	(1) a declaration that the charter school will carry out the primary purpose in 
37.33 	subdivision 1 and how the school will report its implementation of the primary purpose;
37.34 	(1) (2) a declaration of the any additional purposes in subdivision 1 that the school 
37.35 	intends to carry out and how the school will report its implementation of those purposes;
38.1 	(2) (3) a description of the school program and the specific academic and 
38.2 	nonacademic outcomes that pupils must achieve;
38.3 	(3) (4) a statement of admission policies and procedures;
38.4 	(4) (5) a governance, management, and administration plan for the school;
38.5 	(5) (6) signed agreements from charter school board members to comply with all 
38.6 	federal and state laws governing organizational, programmatic, and financial requirements 
38.7 	applicable to charter schools;
38.8 	(6) (7) the criteria, processes, and procedures that the authorizer will use for 
38.9 	ongoing oversight of operational, financial, and academic performance to monitor and 
38.10 	evaluate the fiscal, operational, and academic performance consistent with subdivision 
38.11 	15, paragraphs (a) and (b);
38.12 	(7) (8) for contract renewal, the formal written performance evaluation of the school 
38.13 	that is a prerequisite for reviewing a charter contract under subdivision 15;
38.14 	(8) (9) types and amounts of insurance liability coverage to be obtained by the 
38.15 	charter school, consistent with subdivision 8, paragraph (k);
38.16 	(9) (10) consistent with subdivision 25, paragraph (d), a provision to indemnify and 
38.17 	hold harmless the authorizer and its officers, agents, and employees from any suit, claim, 
38.18 	or liability arising from any operation of the charter school, and the commissioner and 
38.19 	department officers, agents, and employees notwithstanding section 3.736;
38.20 	(10) (11) the term of the initial contract, which may be up to five years plus an 
38.21 	additional preoperational planning year, and up to five years for a renewed contract or a 
38.22 	contract with a new authorizer after a transfer of authorizers, if warranted by the school's 
38.23 	academic, financial, and operational performance;
38.24 	(11) (12) how the board of directors or the operators of the charter school will 
38.25 	provide special instruction and services for children with a disability under sections 
38.26 	125A.03 to 125A.24, and 125A.65, a description of the financial parameters within 
38.27 	which the charter school will operate to provide the special instruction and services to 
38.28 	children with a disability;
38.29 	(12) the process and criteria the authorizer intends to use to monitor and evaluate the 
38.30 	fiscal and student performance of the charter school, consistent with subdivision 15; and
38.31 	(13) the specific conditions for contract renewal, which identify performance under 
38.32 	the primary purpose of subdivision 1 as the most important factor in determining contract 
38.33 	renewal; and
38.34 	(13) (14) the plan for an orderly closing of the school under chapter 317A, if
38.35 	 whether the closure is a termination for cause, a voluntary termination, or a nonrenewal 
38.36 	of the contract, and that includes establishing the responsibilities of the school board of 
39.1 	directors and the authorizer and notifying the commissioner, authorizer, school district in 
39.2 	which the charter school is located, and parents of enrolled students about the closure, 
39.3 	the transfer of student records to students' resident districts, and procedures for closing 
39.4 	financial operations.
39.5 		Subd. 6a.Audit report. (a) The charter school must submit an audit report to the 
39.6 	commissioner and its authorizer by December 31 each year.
39.7 	(b) The charter school, with the assistance of the auditor conducting the audit, 
39.8 	must include with the report, as supplemental information, a copy of all charter school 
39.9 	agreements for corporate management services, including parent company or other 
39.10 	administrative, financial, and staffing services. If the entity that provides the professional 
39.11 	services to the charter school is exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal 
39.12 	Revenue Code of 1986, that entity must file with the commissioner by February 15 a copy 
39.13 	of the annual return required under section 6033 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
39.14 	(c) A charter school independent audit report shall include audited financial data of 
39.15 	an affiliated building corporation or other component unit.
39.16 	(c) (d) If the audit report finds that a material weakness exists in the financial 
39.17 	reporting systems of a charter school, the charter school must submit a written report to 
39.18 	the commissioner explaining how the material weakness will be resolved. An auditor, 
39.19 	as a condition of providing financial services to a charter school, must agree to make 
39.20 	available information about a charter school's financial audit to the commissioner and 
39.21 	authorizer upon request.
39.22 		Subd. 7.Public status; exemption from statutes and rules. A charter school is 
39.23 	a public school and is part of the state's system of public education. A charter school is 
39.24 	exempt from all statutes and rules applicable to a school, school board, or school district 
39.25 	unless a statute or rule is made specifically applicable to a charter school or is included 
39.26 	in this section.
39.27 		Subd. 8.Federal, state, and local requirements. (a) A charter school shall meet all 
39.28 	federal, state, and local health and safety requirements applicable to school districts.
39.29 	(b) A school must comply with statewide accountability requirements governing 
39.30 	standards and assessments in chapter 120B.
39.31 	(c) A school authorized by a school board may be located in any district, unless the 
39.32 	school board of the district of the proposed location disapproves by written resolution.
39.33 	(d) A charter school must be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, 
39.34 	employment practices, and all other operations. An authorizer may not authorize a charter 
39.35 	school or program that is affiliated with a nonpublic sectarian school or a religious 
40.1 	institution. A charter school student must be released for religious instruction, consistent 
40.2 	with section 120A.22, subdivision 12, clause (3).
40.3 	(e) Charter schools must not be used as a method of providing education or 
40.4 	generating revenue for students who are being home-schooled. This paragraph does not 
40.5 	apply to shared time aid under section 126C.19.
40.6 	(f) The primary focus of a charter school must be to provide a comprehensive 
40.7 	program of instruction for at least one grade or age group from five through 18 years 
40.8 	of age. Instruction may be provided to people younger than five years and older than 
40.9 	18 years of age.
40.10 	(g) A charter school may not charge tuition.
40.11 	(h) A charter school is subject to and must comply with chapter 363A and section 
40.12 	121A.04.
40.13 	(i) A charter school is subject to and must comply with the Pupil Fair Dismissal 
40.14 	Act, sections 121A.40 to 121A.56, and the Minnesota Public School Fee Law, sections 
40.15 	123B.34 to 123B.39.
40.16 	(j) A charter school is subject to the same financial audits, audit procedures, and 
40.17 	audit requirements as a district, except as required under subdivision 6a. Audits must be 
40.18 	conducted in compliance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards, the 
40.19 	federal Single Audit Act, if applicable, and section 6.65. A charter school is subject 
40.20 	to and must comply with sections 15.054; 118A.01; 118A.02; 118A.03; 118A.04; 
40.21 	118A.05; 118A.06; 471.38; 471.391; 471.392; and 471.425. The audit must comply with 
40.22 	the requirements of sections 123B.75 to 123B.83, except to the extent deviations are 
40.23 	necessary because of the program at the school. Deviations must be approved by the 
40.24 	commissioner and authorizer. The Department of Education, state auditor, legislative 
40.25 	auditor, or authorizer may conduct financial, program, or compliance audits. A charter 
40.26 	school determined to be in statutory operating debt under sections 123B.81 to 123B.83
40.27 	must submit a plan under section 123B.81, subdivision 4.
40.28 	(k) A charter school is a district for the purposes of tort liability under chapter 466.
40.29 	(l) A charter school must comply with chapters 13 and 13D; and sections 120A.22, 
40.30 	subdivision 7; 121A.75; and 260B.171, subdivisions 3 and 5.
40.31 	(m) A charter school is subject to the Pledge of Allegiance requirement under 
40.32 	section 121A.11, subdivision 3.
40.33 	(n) A charter school offering online courses or programs must comply with section 
40.34 	124D.095.
40.35 	(o) A charter school and charter school board of directors are subject to chapter 181.
41.1 	(p) A charter school must comply with section 120A.22, subdivision 7, governing 
41.2 	the transfer of students' educational records and sections 138.163 and 138.17 governing 
41.3 	the management of local records.
41.4 	(q) A charter school that provides early childhood health and developmental 
41.5 	screening must comply with sections 121A.16 to 121A.19.
41.6 	(r) A charter school that provides school-sponsored youth athletic activities must 
41.7 	comply with section 121A.38.
41.8 	(s) A charter school is subject to and must comply with continuing truant notification 
41.9 	under section 260A.03.
41.10 		Subd. 8a.Aid reduction. The commissioner may reduce a charter school's state aid 
41.11 	under section 127A.42 or 127A.43 if the charter school board fails to correct a violation 
41.12 	under this section.
41.13 		Subd. 8b.Aid reduction for violations. The commissioner may reduce a charter 
41.14 	school's state aid by an amount not to exceed 60 percent of the charter school's basic 
41.15 	revenue for the period of time that a violation of law occurs.
41.16 		Subd. 9.Admission requirements. (a) A charter school may limit admission to:
41.17 	(1) pupils within an age group or grade level;
41.18 	(2) pupils who are eligible to participate in the graduation incentives program under 
41.19 	section 124D.68; or
41.20 	(3) residents of a specific geographic area in which the school is located when the 
41.21 	majority of students served by the school are members of underserved populations.
41.22 	(b) A charter school shall enroll an eligible pupil who submits a timely application, 
41.23 	unless the number of applications exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or 
41.24 	building. In this case, pupils must be accepted by lot. The charter school must develop 
41.25 	and publish, including on its Web site, a lottery policy and process that it must use when 
41.26 	accepting pupils by lot.
41.27 	(c) A charter school shall give enrollment preference to a sibling of an enrolled pupil 
41.28 	and to a foster child of that pupil's parents and may give preference for enrolling children 
41.29 	of the school's staff before accepting other pupils by lot.
41.30 	(d) A person shall not be admitted to a charter school (1) as a kindergarten pupil, 
41.31 	unless the pupil is at least five years of age on September 1 of the calendar year in which 
41.32 	the school year for which the pupil seeks admission commences; or (2) as a first grade 
41.33 	student, unless the pupil is at least six years of age on September 1 of the calendar year in 
41.34 	which the school year for which the pupil seeks admission commences or has completed 
41.35 	kindergarten; except that a charter school may establish and publish on its Web site a 
42.1 	policy for admission of selected pupils at an earlier age, consistent with the enrollment 
42.2 	process in paragraphs (b) and (c).
42.3 	(e) Except as permitted in paragraph (d), a charter school may not limit admission 
42.4 	to pupils on the basis of intellectual ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or 
42.5 	athletic ability and may not establish any criteria or requirements for admission that are 
42.6 	inconsistent with this subdivision.
42.7 	(f) The charter school shall not distribute any services or goods of value to students, 
42.8 	parents, or guardians as an inducement, term, or condition of enrolling a student in a 
42.9 	charter school.
42.10 		Subd. 10.Pupil performance. A charter school must design its programs to at 
42.11 	least meet the outcomes adopted by the commissioner for public school students. In 
42.12 	the absence of the commissioner's requirements, the school must meet the outcomes 
42.13 	contained in the contract with the authorizer. The achievement levels of the outcomes 
42.14 	contained in the contract may exceed the achievement levels of any outcomes adopted by 
42.15 	the commissioner for public school students.
42.16 		Subd. 11.Employment and other operating matters. (a) A charter school must 
42.17 	employ or contract with necessary teachers, as defined by section 122A.15, subdivision 1, 
42.18 	who hold valid licenses to perform the particular service for which they are employed in 
42.19 	the school. The charter school's state aid may be reduced under section 127A.43 if the 
42.20 	school employs a teacher who is not appropriately licensed or approved by the board of 
42.21 	teaching. The school may employ necessary employees who are not required to hold 
42.22 	teaching licenses to perform duties other than teaching and may contract for other services. 
42.23 	The school may discharge teachers and nonlicensed employees. The charter school board 
42.24 	is subject to section 181.932. When offering employment to a prospective employee, a 
42.25 	charter school must give that employee a written description of the terms and conditions 
42.26 	of employment and the school's personnel policies.
42.27 	(b) A person, without holding a valid administrator's license, may perform 
42.28 	administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership duties. The board of directors shall 
42.29 	establish qualifications for persons that hold administrative, supervisory, or instructional 
42.30 	leadership roles. The qualifications shall include at least the following areas: instruction 
42.31 	and assessment; human resource and personnel management; financial management; 
42.32 	legal and compliance management; effective communication; and board, authorizer, and 
42.33 	community relationships. The board of directors shall use those qualifications as the basis 
42.34 	for job descriptions, hiring, and performance evaluations of those who hold administrative, 
42.35 	supervisory, or instructional leadership roles. The board of directors and an individual 
42.36 	who does not hold a valid administrative license and who serves in an administrative, 
43.1 	supervisory, or instructional leadership position shall develop a professional development 
43.2 	plan. Documentation of the implementation of the professional development plan of these 
43.3 	persons shall be included in the school's annual report.
43.4 	(c) The board of directors also shall decide and be responsible for matters related to 
43.5 	the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum and operating procedures.
43.6 		Subd. 12.Pupils with a disability. A charter school must comply with sections 
43.7 	125A.02, 125A.03 to 125A.24, and 125A.65 and rules relating to the education of pupils 
43.8 	with a disability as though it were a district.
43.9 		Subd. 13.Length of school year. A charter school must provide instruction each 
43.10 	year for at least the number of hours required by section 120A.41. It may provide 
43.11 	instruction throughout the year according to sections 124D.12 to 124D.127 or 124D.128.
43.12 		Subd. 14.Annual public reports. A charter school must publish an annual report 
43.13 	approved by the board of directors. The annual report must at least include information 
43.14 	on school enrollment, student attrition, governance and management, staffing, finances, 
43.15 	academic performance, operational performance, innovative practices and implementation, 
43.16 	and future plans. A charter school must post the annual report on the school's official Web 
43.17 	site. The charter school must also distribute the annual report by publication, mail, or 
43.18 	electronic means to the commissioner, its authorizer, school employees, and parents and 
43.19 	legal guardians of students enrolled in the charter school and must also post the report on 
43.20 	the charter school's official Web site. The reports are public data under chapter 13.
43.21 		Subd. 15.Review and comment. (a) The authorizer shall provide a formal written 
43.22 	evaluation of the school's performance before the authorizer renews the charter contract. 
43.23 	The department must review and comment on the authorizer's evaluation process at the 
43.24 	time the authorizer submits its application for approval and each time the authorizer 
43.25 	undergoes its five-year review under subdivision 3, paragraph (i).
43.26 	(b) An authorizer shall monitor and evaluate the fiscal, academic, financial, and
43.27 	 operational, and student performance of the school, and may for this purpose annually 
43.28 	assess a charter school a fee according to paragraph (c). The agreed-upon fee structure 
43.29 	must be stated in the charter school contract.
43.30 	(c) The fee that each charter school pays to an authorizer each year an authorizer 
43.31 	may annually assess is the greater of:
43.32 	(1) the basic formula allowance for that year; or
43.33 	(2) the lesser of:
43.34 	(i) the maximum fee factor times the basic formula allowance for that year; or
43.35 	(ii) the fee factor times the basic formula allowance for that year times the charter 
43.36 	school's adjusted marginal cost pupil units for that year. The fee factor equals .005 in fiscal 
44.1 	year 2010, .01 in fiscal year 2011, .013 in fiscal year 2012, and .015 in fiscal years 2013 
44.2 	and later. The maximum fee factor equals 1.5 in fiscal year 2010, 2.0 in fiscal year 2011, 
44.3 	3.0 in fiscal year 2012, and 4.0 in fiscal years 2013 and later.
44.4 	(d) An authorizer may not assess a fee for any required services other than as 
44.5 	provided in this subdivision.
44.6 	(e) For the preoperational planning period, after a school is chartered, the authorizer 
44.7 	may assess a charter school a fee equal to the basic formula allowance.
44.8 	(f) By September 30 of each year, an authorizer shall submit to the commissioner a 
44.9 	statement of income and expenditures related to chartering activities during the previous 
44.10 	school year ending June 30. A copy of the statement shall be given to all schools chartered 
44.11 	by the authorizer.
44.12 		Subd. 16.Transportation. (a) A charter school after its first fiscal year of operation 
44.13 	by March 1 of each fiscal year and a charter school by July 1 of its first fiscal year of 
44.14 	operation must notify the district in which the school is located and the Department of 
44.15 	Education if it will provide its own transportation or use the transportation services of the 
44.16 	district in which it is located for the fiscal year.
44.17 	(b) If a charter school elects to provide transportation for pupils, the transportation 
44.18 	must be provided by the charter school within the district in which the charter school is 
44.19 	located. The state must pay transportation aid to the charter school according to section 
44.20 	124D.11, subdivision 2.
44.21 	For pupils who reside outside the district in which the charter school is located, the 
44.22 	charter school is not required to provide or pay for transportation between the pupil's 
44.23 	residence and the border of the district in which the charter school is located. A parent 
44.24 	may be reimbursed by the charter school for costs of transportation from the pupil's 
44.25 	residence to the border of the district in which the charter school is located if the pupil is 
44.26 	from a family whose income is at or below the poverty level, as determined by the federal 
44.27 	government. The reimbursement may not exceed the pupil's actual cost of transportation 
44.28 	or 15 cents per mile traveled, whichever is less. Reimbursement may not be paid for 
44.29 	more than 250 miles per week.
44.30 	At the time a pupil enrolls in a charter school, the charter school must provide the 
44.31 	parent or guardian with information regarding the transportation.
44.32 	(c) If a charter school does not elect to provide transportation, transportation for 
44.33 	pupils enrolled at the school must be provided by the district in which the school is 
44.34 	located, according to sections 123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, subdivision 8, for a 
44.35 	pupil residing in the same district in which the charter school is located. Transportation 
44.36 	may be provided by the district in which the school is located, according to sections 
45.1 	123B.88, subdivision 6, and 124D.03, subdivision 8, for a pupil residing in a different 
45.2 	district. If the district provides the transportation, the scheduling of routes, manner and 
45.3 	method of transportation, control and discipline of the pupils, and any other matter relating 
45.4 	to the transportation of pupils under this paragraph shall be within the sole discretion, 
45.5 	control, and management of the district.
45.6 		Subd. 17.Leased space. A charter school may lease space from an independent 
45.7 	or special school board eligible to be an authorizer, other public organization, private, 
45.8 	nonprofit nonsectarian organization, private property owner, or a sectarian organization 
45.9 	if the leased space is constructed as a school facility. The department must review and 
45.10 	approve or disapprove leases, including modifications and renewals prior to execution of 
45.11 	the lease by the lessee and lessor, in a timely manner. Leases for a school year must be 
45.12 	submitted to the department no later than July 1 before that school year. The commissioner 
45.13 	may waive this date based on an appeal by a charter school when circumstances beyond 
45.14 	the control of the charter school do not allow a lease agreement to be written prior to that 
45.15 	date. The commissioner shall not approve a facility lease that does not have (1) a sum 
45.16 	certain annual cost and (2) an escape clause that may be exercised by the charter school in 
45.17 	the event of nonrenewal or termination of the charter school contract.
45.18 		Subd. 17a.Affiliated nonprofit building corporation. (a) Before a charter school 
45.19 	may organize an affiliated nonprofit building corporation (i) to renovate or purchase an 
45.20 	existing facility to serve as a school or (ii) to expand an existing building or construct 
45.21 	a new school facility, an authorizer must submit an affidavit to the commissioner for 
45.22 	approval in the form and manner the commissioner prescribes, and consistent with 
45.23 	paragraphs (b) and (c) or (d).
45.24 	(b) An affiliated nonprofit building corporation under this subdivision must:
45.25 	(1) be incorporated under section 317A;
45.26 	(2) comply with applicable Internal Revenue Service regulations, including 
45.27 	regulations for "supporting organizations" as defined by the Internal Revenue Service;
45.28 	(3) submit to the commissioner each fiscal year a list of current board members 
45.29 	and a copy of its annual audit; and
45.30 	(4) comply with government data practices law under chapter 13.
45.31 	An affiliated nonprofit building corporation must not serve as the leasing agent for 
45.32 	property or facilities it does not own. A charter school that leases a facility from an 
45.33 	affiliated nonprofit building corporation that does not own the leased facility is ineligible 
45.34 	to receive charter school lease aid. The state is immune from liability resulting from a 
45.35 	contract between a charter school and an affiliated nonprofit building corporation.
46.1 	(c) A charter school may organize an affiliated nonprofit building corporation to 
46.2 	renovate or purchase an existing facility to serve as a school if the charter school:
46.3 	(1) has been operating for at least five consecutive school years;
46.4 	(2) has had a net positive unreserved general fund balance as of June 30 in the 
46.5 	preceding five fiscal years;
46.6 	(3) has a long-range strategic and financial plan;
46.7 	(4) completes a feasibility study of available buildings;
46.8 	(5) documents enrollment projections and the need to use an affiliated building 
46.9 	corporation to renovate or purchase an existing facility to serve as a school; and
46.10 	(6) has a plan for the renovation or purchase, which describes the parameters and 
46.11 	budget for the project.
46.12 	(d) A charter school may organize an affiliated nonprofit building corporation to 
46.13 	expand an existing school facility or construct a new school facility if the charter school:
46.14 	(1) demonstrates the lack of facilities available to serve as a school;
46.15 	(2) has been operating for at least eight consecutive school years;
46.16 	(3) has had a net positive unreserved general fund balance as of June 30 in the 
46.17 	preceding five fiscal years;
46.18 	(4) completes a feasibility study of facility options;
46.19 	(5) has a long-range strategic and financial plan that includes enrollment projections 
46.20 	and demonstrates the need for constructing a new school facility; and
46.21 	(6) has a plan for the expansion or new school facility, which describes the 
46.22 	parameters and budget for the project.
46.23 		Subd. 17b.Positive review and comment. (e) A charter school or an affiliated 
46.24 	nonprofit building corporation organized by a charter school must not initiate an 
46.25 	installment contract for purchase, or a lease agreement, or solicit bids for new construction, 
46.26 	expansion, or remodeling of an educational facility that requires an expenditure in 
46.27 	excess of $1,400,000, unless it meets the criteria in subdivision 17a, paragraph (b) and 
46.28 	paragraph (c) or (d), as applicable, and receives a positive review and comment from 
46.29 	the commissioner under section 123B.71.
46.30 		Subd. 19.Disseminate information. (a) The authorizer, the operators, Authorizers
46.31 	 and the department must disseminate information to the public on how to form and 
46.32 	operate a charter school. Charter schools must disseminate information about how to 
46.33 	use the offerings of a charter school. Targeted groups include low-income families and 
46.34 	communities, students of color, and students who are at risk of academic failure.
47.1 	(b) Authorizers, operators, and the department also may disseminate information 
47.2 	about the successful best practices in teaching and learning demonstrated by charter 
47.3 	schools.
47.4 		Subd. 20.Leave to teach in a charter school. If a teacher employed by a district 
47.5 	makes a written request for an extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school, 
47.6 	the district must grant the leave. The district must grant a leave not to exceed a total of 
47.7 	five years. Any request to extend the leave shall be granted only at the discretion of the 
47.8 	school board. The district may require that the request for a leave or extension of leave 
47.9 	be made before February 1 in the school year preceding the school year in which the 
47.10 	teacher intends to leave, or February 1 of the calendar year in which the teacher's leave is 
47.11 	scheduled to terminate. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and except for 
47.12 	section 122A.46, subdivision 7, the leave is governed by section 122A.46, including, but 
47.13 	not limited to, reinstatement, notice of intention to return, seniority, salary, and insurance.
47.14 	During a leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the 
47.15 	Teachers' Retirement Association account under chapters 354 and 354A, consistent with 
47.16 	subdivision 22.
47.17 		Subd. 21.Collective bargaining. Employees of the board of directors of a charter 
47.18 	school may, if otherwise eligible, organize under chapter 179A and comply with its 
47.19 	provisions. The board of directors of a charter school is a public employer, for the 
47.20 	purposes of chapter 179A, upon formation of one or more bargaining units at the school. 
47.21 	Bargaining units at the school must be separate from any other units within an authorizing 
47.22 	district, except that bargaining units may remain part of the appropriate unit within an 
47.23 	authorizing district, if the employees of the school, the board of directors of the school, 
47.24 	the exclusive representative of the appropriate unit in the authorizing district, and the 
47.25 	board of the authorizing district agree to include the employees in the appropriate unit of 
47.26 	the authorizing district.
47.27 		Subd. 22.Teacher and other employee retirement. (a) Teachers in a charter 
47.28 	school must be public school teachers for the purposes of chapters 354 and 354A.
47.29 	(b) Except for teachers under paragraph (a), employees in a charter school must be 
47.30 	public employees for the purposes of chapter 353.
47.31 		Subd. 23.Causes for nonrenewal or termination of charter school contract. (a) 
47.32 	The duration of the contract with an authorizer must be for the term contained in the 
47.33 	contract according to subdivision 6. The authorizer may or may not renew a contract at 
47.34 	the end of the term for any ground listed in paragraph (b). An authorizer may unilaterally 
47.35 	terminate a contract during the term of the contract for any ground listed in paragraph (b). 
47.36 	At least 60 business days before not renewing or terminating a contract, the authorizer 
48.1 	shall notify the board of directors of the charter school of the proposed action in writing. 
48.2 	The notice shall state the grounds for the proposed action in reasonable detail and that the 
48.3 	charter school's board of directors may request in writing an informal hearing before the 
48.4 	authorizer within 15 business days of receiving notice of nonrenewal or termination of 
48.5 	the contract. Failure by the board of directors to make a written request for an informal 
48.6 	hearing within the 15-business-day period shall be treated as acquiescence to the proposed 
48.7 	action. Upon receiving a timely written request for a hearing, the authorizer shall give ten 
48.8 	business days' notice to the charter school's board of directors of the hearing date. The 
48.9 	authorizer shall conduct an informal hearing before taking final action. The authorizer 
48.10 	shall take final action to renew or not renew a contract no later than 20 business days 
48.11 	before the proposed date for terminating the contract or the end date of the contract.
48.12 	(b) A contract may be terminated or not renewed upon any of the following grounds:
48.13 	(1) failure to meet demonstrate satisfactory academic achievement for all groups of 
48.14 	students, including the requirements for pupil performance contained in the contract;
48.15 	(2) failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management;
48.16 	(3) violations of law; or
48.17 	(4) other good cause shown.
48.18 	If a contract is terminated or not renewed under this paragraph, the school must be 
48.19 	dissolved according to the applicable provisions of chapter 317A.
48.20 	(c) If the authorizer and the charter school board of directors mutually agree to 
48.21 	terminate or not renew the contract, a change in authorizers is allowed if the commissioner 
48.22 	approves the change to a different eligible authorizer to authorize the charter school. 
48.23 	Both parties must jointly submit their intent in writing to the commissioner to mutually 
48.24 	terminate the contract. The authorizer that is a party to the existing contract must inform 
48.25 	the proposed authorizer about the fiscal and operational status and student performance 
48.26 	of the school. Before the commissioner determines whether to approve a change in 
48.27 	authorizer, the proposed authorizer must identify any outstanding issues in the proposed 
48.28 	charter contract that were unresolved in the previous charter contract and have the charter 
48.29 	school agree to resolve those issues. If no change in authorizer is approved, the school 
48.30 	must be dissolved according to applicable law and the terms of the contract.
48.31 	(d) The commissioner, after providing reasonable notice to the board of directors of 
48.32 	a charter school and the existing authorizer, and after providing an opportunity for a public 
48.33 	hearing, may terminate the existing contract between the authorizer and the charter school 
48.34 	board if the charter school has a history of:
48.35 	(1) failure to meet pupil performance requirements consistent with state law;
49.1 	(2) financial mismanagement or failure to meet generally accepted standards of 
49.2 	fiscal management; or
49.3 	(3) repeated or major violations of the law.
49.4 	(e) Notwithstanding other provisions of this subdivision, the authorizer of a charter 
49.5 	school may terminate an existing contract between the authorizer and the charter school at 
49.6 	the end of the current school year, after notifying the charter school board of directors by 
49.7 	December 1, if in each of the previous three consecutive school years the performance of 
49.8 	the charter school based on federal school accountability measures and on state measures 
49.9 	of student performance and growth would place the school in the bottom quartile of all 
49.10 	public schools as determined by the commissioner. If an authorizer chooses to terminate 
49.11 	the contract, the school must be closed according to applicable law and the terms of 
49.12 	the contract. The authorizer must work with the charter school's board of directors to 
49.13 	ensure parents of children currently enrolled at the school are aware of school choice 
49.14 	options and receive assistance in selecting an appropriate choice for the next school year. 
49.15 	If the authorizer chooses not to terminate the existing contract under these conditions, the 
49.16 	authorizer must submit a public, written justification of the decision to the commissioner 
49.17 	by December 1. The commissioner may use this decision as a factor in reviewing the 
49.18 	authorizer's performance under subdivision 3, paragraph (i). The federal and state measures 
49.19 	identified in this paragraph are minimum conditions and are not intended to discourage 
49.20 	and do not prevent an authorizer from closing schools which do not meet these conditions. 
49.21 		Subd. 23a.Related party lease costs. (a) A charter school is prohibited from 
49.22 	entering a lease of real property with a related party unless the lessor is a nonprofit 
49.23 	corporation under chapter 317A or a cooperative under chapter 308A, and the lease cost is 
49.24 	reasonable under section 124D.11, subdivision 4, clause (1).
49.25 	(b) For purposes of this section and section 124D.11:
49.26 	(1) "related party" means an affiliate or immediate relative of the other party in 
49.27 	question, an affiliate of an immediate relative, or an immediate relative of an affiliate;
49.28 	(2) "affiliate" means a person that directly or indirectly, through one or more 
49.29 	intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another person;
49.30 	(3) "immediate family" means an individual whose relationship by blood, marriage, 
49.31 	adoption, or partnering is no more remote than first cousin;
49.32 	(4) "person" means an individual or entity of any kind; and
49.33 	(5) "control" means the ability to affect the management, operations, or policy 
49.34 	actions or decisions of a person, whether through ownership of voting securities, by 
49.35 	contract, or otherwise.
50.1 	(c) A lease of real property to be used for a charter school, not excluded in paragraph 
50.2 	(a), must contain the following statement: "This lease is subject to Minnesota Statutes, 
50.3 	section 124D.10, subdivision 23a."
50.4 	(d) If a charter school enters into as lessee a lease with a related party and the 
50.5 	charter school subsequently closes, the commissioner has the right to recover from the 
50.6 	lessor any lease payments in excess of those that are reasonable under section 124D.11, 
50.7 	subdivision 4, clause (1).
50.8 		Subd. 24.Pupil enrollment upon nonrenewal or termination of charter school 
50.9 	contract. If a contract is not renewed or is terminated according to subdivision 23, a 
50.10 	pupil who attended the school, siblings of the pupil, or another pupil who resides in the 
50.11 	same place as the pupil may enroll in the resident district or may submit an application 
50.12 	to a nonresident district according to section 124D.03 at any time. Applications and 
50.13 	notices required by section 124D.03 must be processed and provided in a prompt manner. 
50.14 	The application and notice deadlines in section 124D.03 do not apply under these 
50.15 	circumstances. The closed charter school must transfer the student's educational records 
50.16 	within ten business days of closure to the student's school district of residence where the 
50.17 	records must be retained or transferred under section 120A.22, subdivision 7.
50.18 		Subd. 25.Extent of specific legal authority. (a) The board of directors of a charter 
50.19 	school may sue and be sued.
50.20 	(b) The board may not levy taxes or issue bonds.
50.21 	(c) The commissioner, an authorizer, members of the board of an authorizer in 
50.22 	their official capacity, and employees of an authorizer are immune from civil or criminal 
50.23 	liability with respect to all activities related to a charter school they approve or authorize. 
50.24 	The board of directors shall obtain at least the amount of and types of insurance up to the 
50.25 	applicable tort liability limits under chapter 466. The charter school board must submit 
50.26 	a copy of the insurance policy to its authorizer and the commissioner before starting 
50.27 	operations. The charter school board must submit changes in its insurance carrier or policy 
50.28 	to its authorizer and the commissioner within 20 business days of the change.
50.29 	(d) Notwithstanding section 3.736, the charter school shall assume full liability for 
50.30 	its activities and indemnify and hold harmless the authorizer and its officers, agents, and 
50.31 	employees from any suit, claim, or liability arising from any operation of the charter school 
50.32 	and the commissioner and department officers, agents, and employees. A charter school 
50.33 	is not required to indemnify or hold harmless a state employee if the state would not be 
50.34 	required to indemnify and hold the employee harmless under section 3.736, subdivision 9.
50.35 		Subd. 27.Collaboration between charter school and school district. (a) A charter 
50.36 	school board may voluntarily enter into a two-year, renewable agreement for collaboration 
51.1 	to enhance student achievement with a school district within whose geographic boundary 
51.2 	it operates.
51.3 	(b) A school district need not be an approved authorizer to enter into a collaboration 
51.4 	agreement with a charter school. A charter school need not be authorized by the school 
51.5 	district with which it seeks to collaborate.
51.6 	(c) A charter school authorizer is prohibited from requiring a collaboration agreement 
51.7 	as a condition of entering into or renewing a charter contract as defined in subdivision 6.
51.8 	(d) Nothing in this subdivision or in the collaboration agreement may impact in any 
51.9 	way the authority or autonomy of the charter school.
51.10 	(e) Nothing in this subdivision or in the collaboration agreement shall cause the state 
51.11 	to pay twice for the same student, service, or facility or otherwise impact state funding, or 
51.12 	the flow thereof, to the school district or the charter school.
51.13 	(f) The collaboration agreement may include, but need not be limited to, 
51.14 	collaboration regarding facilities, transportation, training, student achievement, 
51.15 	assessments, mutual performance standards, and other areas of mutual agreement.
51.16 	(g) The school district may include the academic performance of the students of a 
51.17 	collaborative charter school site operating within the geographic boundaries of the school 
51.18 	district, for purposes of student assessment and reporting to the state.
51.19 	(h) Districts, authorizers, or charter schools entering into a collaborative agreement 
51.20 	are equally and collectively subject to the same state and federal accountability measures 
51.21 	for student achievement, school performance outcomes, and school improvement 
51.22 	strategies. The collaborative agreement and all accountability measures must be posted 
51.23 	on the district, charter school, and authorizer Web sites.

51.24 	EFFECTIVE DATE. Subdivision 23 is effective July 1, 2013, and applies to federal 
51.25 	school accountability measures and state measures of student performance and growth 
51.26 	from the 2010-2011 school year and later.

51.27 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 260A.02, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
51.28 		Subd. 3.Continuing truant. "Continuing truant" means a child who is subject to the 
51.29 	compulsory instruction requirements of section 120A.22 and is absent from instruction in a 
51.30 	school, as defined in section 120A.05, without valid excuse within a single school year for:
51.31 	(1) three days if the child is in elementary school; or
51.32 	(2) three or more class periods on three days if the child is in middle school, junior 
51.33 	high school, or high school.
52.1 	Nothing in this section shall prevent a school district or charter school from notifying 
52.2 	a truant child's parent or legal guardian of the child's truancy or otherwise addressing a 
52.3 	child's attendance problems prior to the child becoming a continuing truant.

52.4 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 260A.03, is amended to read:
52.5 	260A.03 NOTICE TO PARENT OR GUARDIAN WHEN CHILD IS A 
52.6 	CONTINUING TRUANT.
52.7 	Upon a child's initial classification as a continuing truant, the school attendance 
52.8 	officer or other designated school official shall notify the child's parent or legal guardian, 
52.9 	by first-class mail or other reasonable means, of the following:
52.10 	(1) that the child is truant;
52.11 	(2) that the parent or guardian should notify the school if there is a valid excuse 
52.12 	for the child's absences;
52.13 	(3) that the parent or guardian is obligated to compel the attendance of the child 
52.14 	at school pursuant to section 120A.22 and parents or guardians who fail to meet this 
52.15 	obligation may be subject to prosecution under section 120A.34;
52.16 	(4) that this notification serves as the notification required by section 120A.34;
52.17 	(5) that alternative educational programs and services may be available in the child's 
52.18 	enrolling or resident district;
52.19 	(6) that the parent or guardian has the right to meet with appropriate school personnel 
52.20 	to discuss solutions to the child's truancy;
52.21 	(7) that if the child continues to be truant, the parent and child may be subject to 
52.22 	juvenile court proceedings under chapter 260C;
52.23 	(8) that if the child is subject to juvenile court proceedings, the child may be subject 
52.24 	to suspension, restriction, or delay of the child's driving privilege pursuant to section 
52.25 	260C.201; and
52.26 	(9) that it is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the child to school 
52.27 	and attend classes with the child for one day.

52.28 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 260A.05, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
52.29 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. A school district or charter school may establish 
52.30 	one or more school attendance review boards to exercise the powers and duties in this 
52.31 	section. The school district or charter school board shall appoint the members of the 
52.32 	school attendance review board and designate the schools within the board's jurisdiction. 
52.33 	Members of a school attendance review board may include:
53.1 	(1) the superintendent of the school district or the superintendent's designee or 
53.2 	charter director or the director's designee;
53.3 	(2) a principal and one or more other school officials from within the district or 
53.4 	charter school;
53.5 	(3) parent representatives;
53.6 	(4) representatives from community agencies that provide services for truant 
53.7 	students and their families;
53.8 	(5) a juvenile probation officer;
53.9 	(6) school counselors and attendance officers; and
53.10 	(7) law enforcement officers.

53.11 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 260A.07, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
53.12 		Subdivision 1.Establishment; referrals. A county attorney may establish a truancy 
53.13 	mediation program for the purpose of resolving truancy problems without court action. If 
53.14 	a student is in a school district or charter school that has established a school attendance 
53.15 	review board, the student may be referred to the county attorney under section 260A.06, 
53.16 	subdivision 3. If the student's school district or charter school has not established a board, 
53.17 	the student may be referred to the county attorney by the school district or charter school 
53.18 	if the student continues to be truant after the parent or guardian has been sent or conveyed 
53.19 	the notice under section 260A.03.

53.20 	ARTICLE 5
53.21 	SPECIAL PROGRAMS

53.22 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 15.059, subdivision 5b, is amended to read:
53.23 		Subd. 5b.Continuation dependent on federal law. Notwithstanding this section, 
53.24 	the following councils and committees do not expire unless federal law no longer requires 
53.25 	the existence of the council or committee:
53.26 	(1) Rehabilitation Council for the Blind, created in section 248.10;
53.27 	(2) Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, created in section 299A.72;
53.28 	(3) Governor's Workforce Development Council, created in section 116L.665;
53.29 	(4) local workforce councils, created in section 116L.666, subdivision 2;
53.30 	(5) Rehabilitation Council, created in section 268A.02, subdivision 2; and
53.31 	(6) Statewide Independent Living Council, created in section 268A.02, subdivision 
53.32 	2; and
53.33 	(7) Interagency Coordinating Council, created in section 125A.28.

54.1 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.0941, is amended to read:
54.2 	125A.0941 DEFINITIONS.
54.3 	(a) The following terms have the meanings given them.
54.4 	(b) "Emergency" means a situation where immediate intervention is needed to 
54.5 	protect a child or other individual from physical injury or to prevent serious property 
54.6 	damage. Emergency does not mean circumstances such as: a child who does not respond 
54.7 	to a task or request and instead places his or her head on a desk or hides under a desk or 
54.8 	table; a child who does not respond to a staff person's request unless failing to respond 
54.9 	would result in physical injury to the child or other individual; or an emergency incident 
54.10 	has already occurred and no threat of physical injury currently exists.
54.11 	(c) "Physical holding" means physical intervention intended to hold a child immobile 
54.12 	or limit a child's movement, where body contact is the only source of physical restraint, 
54.13 	and where immobilization is used to effectively gain control of a child in order to protect 
54.14 	the a child or other person individual from physical injury. The term physical holding does 
54.15 	not mean physical contact that:
54.16 	(1) helps a child respond or complete a task;
54.17 	(2) assists a child without restricting the child's movement;
54.18 	(3) is needed to administer an authorized health-related service or procedure; or
54.19 	(4) is needed to physically escort a child when the child does not resist or the child's 
54.20 	resistance is minimal.
54.21 	(d) "Positive behavioral interventions and supports" means interventions and 
54.22 	strategies to improve the school environment and teach children the skills to behave 
54.23 	appropriately.
54.24 	(e) "Prone restraint" means placing a child in a face down position.
54.25 	(f) "Restrictive procedures" means the use of physical holding or seclusion in an 
54.26 	emergency. Restrictive procedures must not be used to punish or otherwise discipline a 
54.27 	child.
54.28 	(g) "Seclusion" means confining a child alone in a room from which egress is barred. 
54.29 	Egress may be barred by an adult locking or closing the door in the room or preventing the 
54.30 	child from leaving the room. Removing a child from an activity to a location where the 
54.31 	child cannot participate in or observe the activity is not seclusion.

54.32 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

54.33 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.0942, is amended to read:
54.34 	125A.0942 STANDARDS FOR RESTRICTIVE PROCEDURES.
55.1 		Subdivision 1.Restrictive procedures plan. (a) Schools that intend to use 
55.2 	restrictive procedures shall maintain and make publicly accessible a restrictive procedures 
55.3 	plan for children with disabilities that includes at least the following:
55.4 	(1) lists the list of restrictive procedures the school intends to use;
55.5 	(2) describes how the school will implement a range of positive behavior strategies 
55.6 	and provide links to mental health services;
55.7 	(3) describes how the school will monitor and review the use of restrictive 
55.8 	procedures, including:
55.9 	(i)  conducting post-use debriefings, consistent with subdivision 3, paragraph (a), 
55.10 	clause (5); and 
55.11 	(ii) convening an oversight committee to undertake a quarterly review of the use 
55.12 	of restrictive procedures based on patterns or problems indicated by similarities in the 
55.13 	time of day, day of the week, duration of the use of a procedure, the individuals involved, 
55.14 	or other factors associated with the use of restrictive procedures; the number of times a 
55.15 	restrictive procedure is used schoolwide and for individual children; the number and types 
55.16 	of injuries, if any, resulting from the use of restrictive procedures; whether restrictive 
55.17 	procedures are used in nonemergency situations; the need for additional staff training; and 
55.18 	proposed actions to minimize the use of restrictive procedures; and
55.19 	(3) (4) includes a written description and documentation of the training staff 
55.20 	completed under subdivision 5.
55.21 	(b) Schools annually must publicly identify oversight committee members who 
55.22 	must at least include: 
55.23 	(1) a mental health professional, school psychologist, or school social worker; 
55.24 	(2) an expert in positive behavior strategies; 
55.25 	(3) a special education administrator; and 
55.26 	(4) a general education administrator.
55.27 		Subd. 2.Restrictive procedures. (a) Restrictive procedures may be used only by a 
55.28 	licensed special education teacher, school social worker, school psychologist, behavior 
55.29 	analyst certified by the National Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a person with a 
55.30 	master's degree in behavior analysis, other licensed education professional, highly qualified 
55.31 	paraprofessional under section 120B.363, or mental health professional under section 
55.32 	245.4871, subdivision 27, who has completed the training program under subdivision 5.
55.33 	(b) A school shall make reasonable efforts to notify the parent on the same day a 
55.34 	restrictive procedure is used on the child, or if the school is unable to provide same-day 
55.35 	notice, notice is sent within two days by written or electronic means or as otherwise 
55.36 	indicated by the child's parent under paragraph (d).
56.1 	(c) When restrictive procedures are used twice in 30 days or when a pattern emerges 
56.2 	and restrictive procedures are not included in a child's individualized education program 
56.3 	or behavior intervention plan, The district must hold a meeting of the individualized 
56.4 	education program team, conduct or review a functional behavioral analysis, review data, 
56.5 	consider developing additional or revised positive behavioral interventions and supports, 
56.6 	consider actions to reduce the use of restrictive procedures, and modify the individualized 
56.7 	education program or behavior intervention plan as appropriate. The district must hold 
56.8 	the meeting: within ten calendar days after district staff use restrictive procedures on two 
56.9 	separate school days within 30 calendar days or a pattern of use emerges and the child's 
56.10 	individualized education program or behavior intervention plan does not provide for using 
56.11 	restrictive procedures in an emergency; or at the request of a parent or the district after 
56.12 	restrictive procedures are used.  The district must review use of restrictive procedures at a 
56.13 	child's annual individualized education program meeting when the child's individualized 
56.14 	education program provides for using restrictive procedures in an emergency.
56.15 	(d) If the individualized education program team under paragraph (c) determines 
56.16 	that existing interventions and supports are ineffective in reducing the use of restrictive 
56.17 	procedures or the district uses restrictive procedures on a child on ten or more school days 
56.18 	during the same school year, the team, as appropriate, either must consult with other 
56.19 	professionals working with the child; consult with experts in behavior analysis, mental 
56.20 	health, communication, or autism; consult with culturally competent professionals; 
56.21 	review existing evaluations, resources, and successful strategies; or consider whether to 
56.22 	reevaluate the child.
56.23 	(e) At the individualized education program meeting under paragraph (c), the team 
56.24 	must review any known medical or psychological limitations, including any medical 
56.25 	information the parent provides voluntarily, that contraindicate the use of a restrictive 
56.26 	procedure, consider whether to prohibit that restrictive procedure, and document any 
56.27 	prohibition in the individualized education program or behavior intervention plan.
56.28 	(d) (f) An individualized education program team may plan for using restrictive 
56.29 	procedures and may include these procedures in a child's individualized education 
56.30 	program or behavior intervention plan; however, the restrictive procedures may be used 
56.31 	only in response to behavior that constitutes an emergency, consistent with this section. 
56.32 	The individualized education program or behavior intervention plan shall indicate how the 
56.33 	parent wants to be notified when a restrictive procedure is used.
56.34 		Subd. 3.Physical holding or seclusion. (a) Physical holding or seclusion may be 
56.35 	used only in an emergency. A school that uses physical holding or seclusion shall meet the 
56.36 	following requirements:
57.1 	(1) the physical holding or seclusion must be is the least intrusive intervention 
57.2 	that effectively responds to the emergency;
57.3 	(2) physical holding or seclusion is not used to discipline a noncompliant child;
57.4 	(3) physical holding or seclusion must endends when the threat of harm ends and 
57.5 	the staff determines that the child can safely return to the classroom or activity;
57.6 	(3) (4) staff must directly observe observes the child while physical holding or 
57.7 	seclusion is being used;
57.8 	(4) (5) each time physical holding or seclusion is used, the staff person who 
57.9 	implements or oversees the physical holding or seclusion shall document documents, as 
57.10 	soon as possible after the incident concludes, the following information:
57.11 	(i) a description of the incident that led to the physical holding or seclusion;
57.12 	(ii) why a less restrictive measure failed or was determined by staff to be 
57.13 	inappropriate or impractical;
57.14 	(iii) the time the physical holding or seclusion began and the time the child was 
57.15 	released; and
57.16 	(iv) a brief record of the child's behavioral and physical status;
57.17 	(5) (6) the room used for seclusion must:
57.18 	(i) be at least six feet by five feet;
57.19 	(ii) be well lit, well ventilated, adequately heated, and clean;
57.20 	(iii) have a window that allows staff to directly observe a child in seclusion;
57.21 	(iv) have tamperproof fixtures, electrical switches located immediately outside the 
57.22 	door, and secure ceilings;
57.23 	(v) have doors that open out and are unlocked, locked with keyless locks that 
57.24 	have immediate release mechanisms, or locked with locks that have immediate release 
57.25 	mechanisms connected with a fire and emergency system; and
57.26 	(vi) not contain objects that a child may use to injure the child or others;
57.27 	(6) (7) before using a room for seclusion, a school must:
57.28 	(i) receive written notice from local authorities that the room and the locking 
57.29 	mechanisms comply with applicable building, fire, and safety codes; and
57.30 	(ii) register the room with the commissioner, who may view that room; and
57.31 	(7) (8) until August 1, 2013 2015, a school district may use prone restraints with 
57.32 	children age five or older under the following conditions if:
57.33 	(i) a the district has provided to the department a list of staff who have had specific 
57.34 	training on the use of prone restraints;
57.35 	(ii) a the district provides information on the type of training that was provided 
57.36 	and by whom;
58.1 	(iii) prone restraints may only be used by staff who have received specific training
58.2 	 use prone restraints;
58.3 	(iv) each incident of the use of prone restraints is reported to the department within 
58.4 	five working days on a form provided by the department; and
58.5 	(v) a the district, prior to before using prone restraints, must review any known 
58.6 	medical or psychological limitations that contraindicate the use of prone restraints.
58.7 	The department will report back to the chairs and ranking minority members of the 
58.8 	legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over education policy by February 
58.9 	1, 2013, on the use of prone restraints in the schools. Consistent with item (iv), The 
58.10 	department must collect data on districts' use of prone restraints and publish the data in a 
58.11 	readily accessible format on the department's Web site on a quarterly basis.
58.12 	(b) The department must develop a statewide plan by February 1, 2013, to reduce 
58.13 	districts' use of restrictive procedures that includes By March 1, 2014, stakeholders must 
58.14 	recommend to the commissioner specific and measurable implementation and outcome 
58.15 	goals for reducing the use of restrictive procedures and the commissioner must submit to 
58.16 	the legislature a report on districts' progress in reducing the use of restrictive procedures 
58.17 	that recommends how to further reduce these procedures and eliminate the use of prone 
58.18 	restraints. The statewide plan includes the following components: measurable goals; the 
58.19 	resources, training, technical assistance, mental health services, and collaborative efforts 
58.20 	needed to significantly reduce districts' use of prone restraints; and recommendations 
58.21 	to clarify and improve the law governing districts' use of restrictive procedures. The 
58.22 	department must convene commissioner must consult with interested stakeholders to 
58.23 	develop the statewide plan and identify the need for technical assistance when preparing 
58.24 	the report, including representatives of advocacy organizations, special education 
58.25 	directors, intermediate school districts, school boards, day treatment providers, county 
58.26 	social services, state human services department staff, mental health professionals, and 
58.27 	autism experts. To assist the department and stakeholders under this paragraph, school 
58.28 	districts must report summary data to the department by July 1, 2012, on districts' use of 
58.29 	restrictive procedures during the 2011-2012 school year, including data on the number 
58.30 	of incidents involving restrictive procedures, the total number of students on which 
58.31 	restrictive procedures were used, the number of resulting injuries, relevant demographic 
58.32 	data on the students and school, and other relevant data collected by the district. By June 
58.33 	30 each year, districts must report summary data on their use of restrictive procedures to 
58.34 	the department, in a form and manner determined by the commissioner.
58.35 		Subd. 4.Prohibitions. The following actions or procedures are prohibited:
58.36 	(1) engaging in conduct prohibited under section 121A.58;
59.1 	(2) requiring a child to assume and maintain a specified physical position, activity, 
59.2 	or posture that induces physical pain;
59.3 	(3) totally or partially restricting a child's senses as punishment;
59.4 	(4) presenting an intense sound, light, or other sensory stimuli using smell, taste, 
59.5 	substance, or spray as punishment;
59.6 	(5) denying or restricting a child's access to equipment and devices such as walkers, 
59.7 	wheelchairs, hearing aids, and communication boards that facilitate the child's functioning, 
59.8 	except when temporarily removing the equipment or device is needed to prevent injury 
59.9 	to the child or others or serious damage to the equipment or device, in which case the 
59.10 	equipment or device shall be returned to the child as soon as possible;
59.11 	(6) interacting with a child in a manner that constitutes sexual abuse, neglect, or 
59.12 	physical abuse under section 626.556;
59.13 	(7) withholding regularly scheduled meals or water;
59.14 	(8) denying access to bathroom facilities; and
59.15 	(9) physical holding that restricts or impairs a child's ability to breathe, restricts or 
59.16 	impairs a child's ability to communicate distress, places pressure or weight on a child's 
59.17 	head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen, or results in 
59.18 	straddling a child's torso.
59.19 		Subd. 5.Training for staff. (a) To meet the requirements of subdivision 1, 
59.20 	staff who use restrictive procedures shall complete training in the following skills and 
59.21 	knowledge areas:
59.22 	(1) positive behavioral interventions;
59.23 	(2) communicative intent of behaviors;
59.24 	(3) relationship building;
59.25 	(4) alternatives to restrictive procedures, including techniques to identify events and 
59.26 	environmental factors that may escalate behavior;
59.27 	(5) de-escalation methods;
59.28 	(6) standards for using restrictive procedures only in an emergency;
59.29 	(7) obtaining emergency medical assistance;
59.30 	(8) the physiological and psychological impact of physical holding and seclusion;
59.31 	(9) monitoring and responding to a child's physical signs of distress when physical 
59.32 	holding is being used; and
59.33 	(10) recognizing the symptoms of and interventions that may cause positional 
59.34 	asphyxia when physical holding is used.;
59.35 	(11) district policies and procedures for timely reporting and documentation of each 
59.36 	incident involving use of a restricted procedure; and
60.1 	(12) schoolwide programs on positive behavior strategies.
60.2 	(b) The commissioner, after consulting with the commissioner of human services, 
60.3 	must develop and maintain a list of training programs that satisfy the requirements of 
60.4 	paragraph (a). The commissioner also must develop and maintain a list of experts to 
60.5 	help individualized education program teams reduce the use of restrictive procedures. 
60.6 	The district shall maintain records of staff who have been trained and the organization 
60.7 	or professional that conducted the training. The district may collaborate with children's 
60.8 	community mental health providers to coordinate trainings.
60.9 		Subd. 6.Behavior supports. School districts are encouraged to establish effective 
60.10 	schoolwide systems of positive behavior interventions and supports. Nothing in this 
60.11 	section or section 125A.0941 precludes the use of reasonable force under sections 
60.12 	121A.582; 609.06, subdivision 1; and 609.379.

60.13 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

60.14 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.27, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
60.15 		Subd. 8.Eligibility for Part C. "Eligibility for Part C" means eligibility for 
60.16 	early childhood special education infant and toddler intervention services under section 
60.17 	125A.02 and Minnesota Rules.

60.18 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.27, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
60.19 		Subd. 11.Interagency child find systems. "Interagency child find systems" means 
60.20 	activities developed on an interagency basis with the involvement of interagency early 
60.21 	intervention committees and other relevant community groups, including primary referral 
60.22 	sources included in Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303.303(c), using 
60.23 	rigorous standards to actively seek out, identify, and refer infants and young children, 
60.24 	with, or at risk of, disabilities, and their families, including a child to reduce the need for 
60.25 	future services. The child find system must mandate referrals for a child under the age of 
60.26 	three who: (1) is involved in the subject of a substantiated case of abuse or neglect, or 
60.27 	(2) is identified as directly affected by illegal substance abuse, or withdrawal symptoms 
60.28 	resulting from prenatal drug exposure, to reduce the need for future services. The referral 
60.29 	procedures must specify that a referral must occur within seven calendar days from the 
60.30 	date of identification.

60.31 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.27, subdivision 14, is amended to read:
60.32 		Subd. 14.Parent. "Parent" means the biological parent with parental rights, 
60.33 	adoptive parent, legal guardian, or surrogate parent "parent" as defined by Code of Federal 
61.1 	Regulations, title 34, section 303.27, or a surrogate parent appointed in accordance with 
61.2 	Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303.422, or United States Code, title 20, 
61.3 	section 1439(a)(5).

61.4 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.28, is amended to read:
61.5 	125A.28 STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.
61.6 	An Interagency Coordinating Council of at least 17, but not more than 25 members 
61.7 	is established, in compliance with Public Law 108-446, section 641. The members must 
61.8 	be appointed by the governor and reasonably represent the population of Minnesota. 
61.9 	Council members must elect the council chair, who may not be a representative of the 
61.10 	Department of Education. The representative of the commissioner may not serve as the 
61.11 	chair. The council must be composed of at least five parents, including persons of color, 
61.12 	of children with disabilities under age 12, including at least three parents of a child 
61.13 	with a disability under age seven, five representatives of public or private providers 
61.14 	of services for children with disabilities under age five, including a special education 
61.15 	director, county social service director, local Head Start director, and a community health 
61.16 	services or public health nursing administrator, one member of the senate, one member of 
61.17 	the house of representatives, one representative of teacher preparation programs in early 
61.18 	childhood-special education or other preparation programs in early childhood intervention, 
61.19 	at least one representative of advocacy organizations for children with disabilities under 
61.20 	age five, one physician who cares for young children with special health care needs, one 
61.21 	representative each from the commissioners of commerce, education, health, human 
61.22 	services, a representative from the state agency responsible for child care, foster care, 
61.23 	mental health, homeless coordinator of education of homeless children and youth, and a 
61.24 	representative from Indian health services or a tribal council. Section 15.059, subdivisions 
61.25 	2 to 5, apply to the council. The council must meet at least quarterly.
61.26 	The council must address methods of implementing the state policy of developing 
61.27 	and implementing comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary interagency programs of 
61.28 	early intervention services for children with disabilities and their families.
61.29 	The duties of the council include recommending policies to ensure a comprehensive 
61.30 	and coordinated system of all state and local agency services for children under age five 
61.31 	with disabilities and their families. The policies must address how to incorporate each 
61.32 	agency's services into a unified state and local system of multidisciplinary assessment 
61.33 	practices, individual intervention plans, comprehensive systems to find children in need of 
61.34 	services, methods to improve public awareness, and assistance in determining the role of 
61.35 	interagency early intervention committees.
62.1 	On the date that Minnesota Part C Annual Performance Report is submitted to the 
62.2 	federal Office of Special Education, the council must recommend to the governor and the 
62.3 	commissioners of education, health, human services, commerce, and employment and 
62.4 	economic development policies for a comprehensive and coordinated system.
62.5 	On an annual basis, the council must prepare and submit an annual report to the 
62.6 	governor and the secretary of the federal Department of Education on the status of early 
62.7 	intervention services and programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 
62.8 	families under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 
62.9 	20, sections 1471 to 1485 (Part C, Public Law 102-119), as operated in Minnesota. The 
62.10 	Minnesota Part C annual performance report may serve as the report.
62.11 	Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the State Interagency Coordinating 
62.12 	Council expires on June 30, 2014 does not expire unless federal law no longer requires 
62.13 	the existence of the council or committee.

62.14 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.29, is amended to read:
62.15 	125A.29 RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNTY BOARDS AND SCHOOL 
62.16 	BOARDS.
62.17 	(a) It is the joint responsibility of county boards and school boards to coordinate, 
62.18 	provide, and pay for appropriate services, and to facilitate payment for services from public 
62.19 	and private sources. Appropriate services for children eligible under section 125A.02 must 
62.20 	be determined in consultation with parents, physicians, and other educational, medical, 
62.21 	health, and human services providers. The services provided must be in conformity with:
62.22 	(1) an IFSP for each eligible infant and toddler from birth through age two and 
62.23 	the infant's or toddler's family including:
62.24 	(i) American Indian infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families residing 
62.25 	on a reservation geographically located in the state;
62.26 	(ii) infants and toddlers with disabilities who are homeless children and their 
62.27 	families; and
62.28 	(iii) infants and toddlers with disabilities who are wards of the state; or
62.29 	(2) an individualized education program (IEP) or individual service plan (ISP) for 
62.30 	each eligible child ages three through four.
62.31 	(b) Appropriate early intervention services include family education and 
62.32 	counseling, home visits, occupational and physical therapy, speech pathology, audiology, 
62.33 	psychological services, special instruction, nursing, respite, nutrition, assistive technology, 
62.34 	transportation and related costs, social work, vision services, case management services 
62.35 	provided in conformity with an IFSP that are designed to meet the special developmental 
63.1 	needs of an eligible child and the needs of the child's family related to enhancing the 
63.2 	child's development and that are selected in collaboration with the parent. These services 
63.3 	include core early intervention services and additional early intervention services listed in 
63.4 	this section and infant and toddler intervention services defined under United States Code, 
63.5 	title 20, sections 1431 to 1444, and Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303,
63.6 	 including service coordination under section 125A.33, medical services for diagnostic and 
63.7 	evaluation purposes, early identification, and screening, assessment, and health services 
63.8 	necessary to enable children with disabilities to benefit from early intervention services.
63.9 	(c) School and county boards shall coordinate early intervention services. In the 
63.10 	absence of agreements established according to section 125A.39, service responsibilities 
63.11 	for children birth through age two are as follows:
63.12 	(1) school boards must provide, pay for, and facilitate payment for special education 
63.13 	and related services required under sections 125A.03 and 125A.06;
63.14 	(2) county boards must provide, pay for, and facilitate payment for noneducational 
63.15 	services of social work, psychology, transportation and related costs, nursing, respite, and 
63.16 	nutrition services not required under clause (1).
63.17 	(d) School and county boards may develop an interagency agreement according 
63.18 	to section 125A.39 to establish agency responsibility that assures early intervention 
63.19 	services are coordinated, provided, paid for, and that payment is facilitated from public 
63.20 	and private sources.
63.21 	(e) County and school boards must jointly determine the primary agency in this 
63.22 	cooperative effort and must notify the commissioner of the state lead agency of their 
63.23 	decision.

63.24 	Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.30, is amended to read:
63.25 	125A.30 INTERAGENCY EARLY INTERVENTION COMMITTEES.
63.26 	(a) A school district, group of districts, or special education cooperative, in 
63.27 	cooperation with the health and human service agencies located in the county or counties 
63.28 	in which the district or cooperative is located, must establish an Interagency Early 
63.29 	Intervention Committee for children with disabilities under age five and their families 
63.30 	under this section, and for children with disabilities ages three to 22 consistent with 
63.31 	the requirements under sections 125A.023 and 125A.027. Committees must include 
63.32 	representatives of local health, education, and county human service agencies, county 
63.33 	boards, school boards, early childhood family education programs, Head Start, parents of 
63.34 	young children with disabilities under age 12, child care resource and referral agencies, 
63.35 	school readiness programs, current service providers, and agencies that serve families 
64.1 	experiencing homelessness, and may also include representatives from other private or 
64.2 	public agencies and school nurses. The committee must elect a chair from among its 
64.3 	members and must meet at least quarterly.
64.4 	(b) The committee must develop and implement interagency policies and procedures 
64.5 	concerning the following ongoing duties:
64.6 	(1) develop public awareness systems designed to inform potential recipient families, 
64.7 	especially parents with premature infants, or infants with other physical risk factors 
64.8 	associated with learning or development complications, of available programs and services;
64.9 	(2) to reduce families' need for future services, and especially parents with premature 
64.10 	infants, or infants with other physical risk factors associated with learning or development 
64.11 	complications, implement interagency child find systems designed to actively seek out, 
64.12 	identify, and refer infants and young children with, or at risk of, disabilities, including 
64.13 	a child under the age of three who: (i) is involved in the subject of a substantiated case 
64.14 	of abuse or neglect or (ii) is identified as directly affected by illegal substance abuse, or 
64.15 	withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure;
64.16 	(3) establish and evaluate the identification, referral, child screening, evaluation, 
64.17 	child- and family-directed assessment systems, procedural safeguard process, 
64.18 	and community learning systems to recommend, where necessary, alterations and 
64.19 	improvements;
64.20 	(4) assure the development of individualized family service plans for all eligible 
64.21 	infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth through age two, and their families, 
64.22 	and individualized education programs and individual service plans when necessary to 
64.23 	appropriately serve children with disabilities, age three and older, and their families and 
64.24 	recommend assignment of financial responsibilities to the appropriate agencies;
64.25 	(5) implement a process for assuring that services involve cooperating agencies at all 
64.26 	steps leading to individualized programs;
64.27 	(6) facilitate the development of a transitional transition plan if a service provider is 
64.28 	not recommended to continue to provide services in the individual family service plan by 
64.29 	the time a child is two years and nine months old;
64.30 	(7) identify the current services and funding being provided within the community 
64.31 	for children with disabilities under age five and their families;
64.32 	(8) develop a plan for the allocation and expenditure of additional state and federal 
64.33 	early intervention funds under United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part C, 
64.34 	Public Law 108-446) and United States Code, title 20, section 631, et seq. (Chapter I, 
64.35 	Public Law 89-313); and
65.1 	(9) develop a policy that is consistent with section 13.05, subdivision 9, and federal 
65.2 	law to enable a member of an interagency early intervention committee to allow another 
65.3 	member access to data classified as not public.
65.4 	(c) The local committee shall also:
65.5 	(1) participate in needs assessments and program planning activities conducted by 
65.6 	local social service, health and education agencies for young children with disabilities 
65.7 	and their families; and.
65.8 	(2) review and comment on the early intervention section of the total special 
65.9 	education system for the district, the county social service plan, the section or sections of 
65.10 	the community health services plan that address needs of and service activities targeted 
65.11 	to children with special health care needs, the section on children with special needs in 
65.12 	the county child care fund plan, sections in Head Start plans on coordinated planning and 
65.13 	services for children with special needs, any relevant portions of early childhood education 
65.14 	plans, such as early childhood family education or school readiness, or other applicable 
65.15 	coordinated school and community plans for early childhood programs and services, and 
65.16 	the section of the maternal and child health special project grants that address needs of and 
65.17 	service activities targeted to children with chronic illness and disabilities.

65.18 	Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.32, is amended to read:
65.19 	125A.32 INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (IFSP).
65.20 	(a) A team must participate in IFSP meetings to develop the IFSP. The team shall 
65.21 	include:
65.22 	(1) a parent or parents of the child, as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, 
65.23 	title 34, section 303.27;
65.24 	(2) other family members, as requested by the parent, if feasible to do so;
65.25 	(3) an advocate or person outside of the family, if the parent requests that the 
65.26 	person participate;
65.27 	(4) the service coordinator who has been working with the family since the 
65.28 	initial referral, or who has been designated by the public agency to be responsible for 
65.29 	implementation of the IFSP and coordination with other agencies including transition 
65.30 	services; and
65.31 	(5) a person or persons involved in conducting evaluations and assessments.; and
65.32 	(6) as appropriate, persons who will be providing early intervention services under 
65.33 	the plan to the child or family.
65.34 	(b) The IFSP must include:
65.35 	(1) information about the child's developmental status;
66.1 	(2) family information, with the consent of the family;
66.2 	(3) measurable results or major outcomes expected to be achieved by the child with 
66.3 	the family's assistance, that include developmentally appropriate preliteracy and language 
66.4 	skills for the child, and the criteria, procedures, and timelines;
66.5 	(4) specific early intervention services based on peer-reviewed research, to the 
66.6 	extent practicable, necessary to meet the unique needs of the child and the family to 
66.7 	achieve the outcomes;
66.8 	(5) payment arrangements, if any;
66.9 	(6) medical and other services that the child needs, but that are not required under 
66.10 	the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 
66.11 	et seq. (Part C, Public Law 108-446) including funding sources to be used in paying for 
66.12 	those services and the steps that will be taken to secure those services through public 
66.13 	or private sources;
66.14 	(7) dates and duration of early intervention services;
66.15 	(8) name of the service coordinator;
66.16 	(9) steps to be taken to support a child's transition from early infant and toddler
66.17 	 intervention services to other appropriate services, including convening a transition 
66.18 	conference at least 90 days or, at the discretion of all parties, not more than nine months 
66.19 	before the child is eligible for preschool services; and
66.20 	(10) signature of the parent and authorized signatures of the agencies responsible 
66.21 	for providing, paying for, or facilitating payment, or any combination of these, for early
66.22 	 infant and toddler intervention services.

66.23 	Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.33, is amended to read:
66.24 	125A.33 SERVICE COORDINATION.
66.25 	(a) The team responsible for the initial evaluation and the child- and family-directed 
66.26 	assessment and for developing the IFSP under section 125A.32, if appropriate, must 
66.27 	select a service coordinator to carry out service coordination activities on an interagency 
66.28 	basis. Service coordination must actively promote a family's capacity and competency 
66.29 	to identify, obtain, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate resources and services to meet the 
66.30 	family's needs. Service coordination activities include:
66.31 	(1) coordinating the performance of evaluations and assessments;
66.32 	(2) facilitating and participating in the development, review, and evaluation of 
66.33 	individualized family service plans;
66.34 	(3) assisting families in identifying available service providers;
66.35 	(4) coordinating and monitoring the delivery of available services;
67.1 	(5) informing families of the availability of advocacy services;
67.2 	(6) coordinating with medical, health, and other service providers;
67.3 	(7) facilitating the development of a transition plan to preschool, school, or if 
67.4 	appropriate, to other services, at least 90 days before the time the child is no longer 
67.5 	eligible for early infant and toddler intervention services or, at the discretion of all parties, 
67.6 	not more than nine months prior to the child's eligibility for preschool services third 
67.7 	birthday, if appropriate;
67.8 	(8) managing the early intervention record and submitting additional information to 
67.9 	the local primary agency at the time of periodic review and annual evaluations; and
67.10 	(9) notifying a local primary agency when disputes between agencies impact service 
67.11 	delivery required by an IFSP.
67.12 	(b) A service coordinator must be knowledgeable about children and families 
67.13 	receiving services under this section, requirements of state and federal law, and services 
67.14 	available in the interagency early childhood intervention system. The IFSP must include 
67.15 	the name of the services coordinator from the profession most relevant to the child's or 
67.16 	family's needs or who is otherwise qualified to carry out all applicable responsibilities 
67.17 	under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, 
67.18 	sections 1471 to 1485 (Part C, Public Law 102-119), who will be responsible for 
67.19 	implementing the early intervention services identified in the child's IFSP, including 
67.20 	transition services, and coordination with other agencies and persons.

67.21 	Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.35, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
67.22 		Subdivision 1.Lead agency; allocation of resources. The state lead agency must 
67.23 	administer the early intervention account that consists of federal allocations. The Part C 
67.24 	state plan must state the amount of federal resources in the early intervention account 
67.25 	available for use by local agencies. The state lead agency must distribute the funds to the 
67.26 	local primary agency designated by an Interagency Early Intervention Committee based 
67.27 	on a formula that includes a December 1 count of the prior year of Part C eligible children 
67.28 	for the following purposes:
67.29 	(1) as provided in Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, part 303.425 303.430, to 
67.30 	arrange for payment for early intervention services not elsewhere available, or to pay for 
67.31 	services during the pendency of a conflict procedure, including mediation, complaints, due 
67.32 	process hearings, and interagency disputes; and
67.33 	(2) to support interagency child find system activities.

68.1 	Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.36, is amended to read:
68.2 	125A.36 PAYMENT FOR SERVICES.
68.3 	Core early intervention services must be provided at public expense with no cost to 
68.4 	parents. Parents must be requested to assist in the cost of additional early intervention 
68.5 	services by using third-party payment sources and applying for available resources. 
68.6 	Payment structures permitted under state law must be used to pay for additional early 
68.7 	intervention services. Parental financial responsibility must be clearly defined in the 
68.8 	IFSP. A parent's inability to pay must not prohibit a child from receiving needed early 
68.9 	intervention services.

68.10 	Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.43, is amended to read:
68.11 	125A.43 MEDIATION PROCEDURE.
68.12 	(a) The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, of the state lead agency must 
68.13 	use federal funds to provide mediation for the activities in paragraphs (b) and (c).
68.14 	(b) A parent may resolve a dispute regarding issues in section 125A.42, paragraph 
68.15 	(b), clause (5), through mediation. If the parent chooses mediation, mediation must be 
68.16 	voluntary on the part of the parties. The parent and the public agencies must complete the 
68.17 	mediation process within 30 calendar days of the date the Office of Dispute Resolution
68.18 	 Department of Education receives a parent's written request for mediation unless a district 
68.19 	declines mediation. The mediation process may not be used to delay a parent's right 
68.20 	to a due process hearing. The resolution of thewritten, signed mediation agreement is 
68.21 	not binding on any party both parties and is enforceable in any state court of competent 
68.22 	jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States.
68.23 	(c) Resolution of a dispute through mediation, or other form of alternative dispute 
68.24 	resolution, is not limited to formal disputes arising from the objection of a parent or 
68.25 	guardian and is not limited to the period following a request for a due process hearing.
68.26 	(d) The commissioner shall provide training and resources to school districts to 
68.27 	facilitate early identification of disputes and access to mediation.
68.28 	(e) The local primary agency may request mediation on behalf of involved agencies 
68.29 	when there are disputes between agencies regarding responsibilities to coordinate, provide, 
68.30 	pay for, or facilitate payment for early intervention services.

68.31 	Sec. 15. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.
 68.32 	The commissioner of education shall amend Minnesota Rules related to the 
68.33 	provision of special education under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
68.34 	Act using the expedited rulemaking process in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389. The 
69.1 	commissioner shall amend rules in response to new federal regulations in Code of 
69.2 	Federal Regulations, title 34, part 303, including definitions of and procedures related to 
69.3 	evaluation and assessment, including assessment of the child and family, initial evaluation 
69.4 	and assessment, native language, the use of informed clinical opinion as an independent 
69.5 	basis to establish eligibility, and transition of a toddler from Part C consistent with Code 
69.6 	of Federal Regulations, title 34, sections 303.24, 303.25, and 303.321.

69.7 	Sec. 16. REPORT ON HOMELESS CHILDREN SERVED.
 69.8 	The commissioner of education must collect statistics on the number of homeless 
69.9 	children who have received Part C services and must annually report those results to 
69.10 	the legislature by July 1.

69.11 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.

69.12 	Sec. 17.  REPEALER.
 69.13 	Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.35, subdivisions 4 and 5, are repealed.

69.14 	ARTICLE 6
69.15 	FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY

69.16 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.095, subdivision 10, is amended to 
69.17 	read:
69.18 		Subd. 10.Online and Digital Learning Advisory Council. (a) An Online and 
69.19 	Digital Learning Advisory Council is established. The term for each council member shall 
69.20 	be three years. The advisory council is composed of 1214 members from throughout the 
69.21 	state who have demonstrated experience with or interest in online learning. Two members 
69.22 	of the council must represent technology business. The remaining membership must 
69.23 	represent the following interests:
69.24 	(1) superintendents;
69.25 	(2) special education specialists;
69.26 	(3) technology directors;
69.27 	(4) teachers;
69.28 	(5) rural, urban, and suburban school districts;
69.29 	(6) supplemental programs;
69.30 	(7) full-time programs;
69.31 	(8) consortia;
69.32 	(9) charter schools; 
70.1 	(10) Board of Teaching-approved teacher preparation programs; and
70.2 	(11) parents.
70.3 	The members of the council shall be appointed by the commissioner. 
70.4 	(b) The advisory council shall bring to the attention of the commissioner and the 
70.5 	legislature any matters related to online and digital learning and. The advisory council 
70.6 	shall provide input to the department and the legislature in online learning matters related, 
70.7 	but not restricted, to:
70.8 	(1) quality assurance;
70.9 	(2) teacher qualifications;
70.10 	(3) program approval;
70.11 	(4) special education;
70.12 	(5) attendance;
70.13 	(6) program design and requirements; and
70.14 	(7) fair and equal access to programs.
70.15 	(b) By June 30, 2013, (c) The Online Learning advisory council with the support of 
70.16 	the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Learning Commons shall:
70.17 	(1) oversee the development and maintenance of a catalog of publicly available 
70.18 	digital learning content currently aligned to Minnesota academic standards to include:
70.19 	(i) indexing of Minnesota academic standards with which curriculum is aligned;
70.20 	(ii) a method for student and teacher users to provide evaluative feedback; and
70.21 	(iii) a plan for ongoing maintenance; and
70.22 	(2) recommend methods for including student performance data on the digital 
70.23 	learning content within the catalog.
70.24 	(d) The advisory council shall also consider and provide input to the department and 
70.25 	legislature on digital learning matters including, but not limited to:
70.26 	(1) methods to maximize the effectiveness of technology and related instructional 
70.27 	strategies in teaching and learning to improve student outcomes and identify methods 
70.28 	for measuring the impact of using various forms of digital learning in and outside of 
70.29 	the classroom;
70.30 	(2) the effective use of technology to advance a student's ability to learn 21st 
70.31 	century skills and knowledge and to involve parents in an education system that is more 
70.32 	transparent in terms of outcomes and processes by providing toolkits to help parents, 
70.33 	students, and schools make good decisions in the environment of choice;
70.34 	(3) the use of technology for schools to personalize or differentiate learning to 
70.35 	the needs, abilities, and learning styles of each student and guide them towards greater 
71.1 	ownership of their learning, so that all students are digital learners and have access to 
71.2 	high-quality digital curriculum in every class and level;
71.3 	(4) methods to prepare current and future educators, education leaders, and staff, 
71.4 	to provide professional development and collaboration around best practices to use, and 
71.5 	to evaluate the effectiveness of digital tools and instructional strategies to personalize or 
71.6 	differentiate education and focus on competency-based learning and advancement, so that 
71.7 	all teachers have a digital presence and use high-quality digital curriculum;
71.8 	(5) methods to support collaborative efforts to leverage resources among districts or 
71.9 	at regional levels to provide digital resources, content, and curriculum;
71.10 	(6) the barriers to improving the use of technology in the classroom, and methods 
71.11 	to ensure that each student has access to a digital device and high-speed Internet at 
71.12 	school and at home; and
71.13 	(7) the current disparities in digital education across the state.
71.14 	(e) The advisory council shall make policy recommendations to the commissioner 
71.15 	and committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 
71.16 	education annually by December 15 of each year, including implementation plans based 
71.17 	on recommendations from previous councils and task forces related to online and digital 
71.18 	learning.
71.19 	(c)(f) The Online and Digital Learning Advisory Council under this subdivision 
71.20 	expires June 30, 2013 2016.

71.21 	Sec. 2. SCHOOL FACILITIES FINANCING WORK GROUP.
 71.22 	The commissioner of education must convene a working group to develop 
71.23 	recommendations for reforming the financing of prekindergarten through grade 12 
71.24 	education facilities to create adequate, equitable, and sustainable financing of public 
71.25 	school facilities throughout the state. Membership on the working group must include 
71.26 	representatives of school superintendents, business managers, school facilities directors, 
71.27 	and school boards. The scope of the working group recommendations must include 
71.28 	funding options for facilities projects currently financed with debt service, alternative 
71.29 	facilities, deferred maintenance, health and safety, building lease, and operating capital 
71.30 	revenues. The commissioner, on behalf of the working group, must submit a report to the 
71.31 	chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees and divisions with 
71.32 	primary jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education finance by February 1, 
71.33 	2014, recommending how best to allocate funds for school facilities.

72.1 	ARTICLE 7
72.2 	LIBRARIES

72.3 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.32, is amended to read:
72.4 	134.32 GRANT AUTHORIZATION; TYPES OF GRANTS AND AID.
72.5 		Subdivision 1.Provision of grants. The department shall provide the grants and aid 
72.6 	specified in this section from any available state, federal, or other funds.
72.7 		Subd. 3.Regional library basic system support grants aid. It shall provide 
72.8 	regional library basic system support grantsaid to regional public library systems which 
72.9 	meet the requirements of section 134.34, to assist those systems in providing basic system 
72.10 	services.
72.11 		Subd. 4.Special project grants. It may provide special project grants to assist 
72.12 	innovative and experimental library programs including, but not limited to, special 
72.13 	services for American Indians and the Spanish-speaking, delivery of library materials to 
72.14 	homebound persons, other extensions of library services to persons without access to 
72.15 	libraries and projects to strengthen and improve library services.
72.16 		Subd. 5.Interlibrary exchange grants. It may provide grants for interlibrary 
72.17 	exchange of books, periodicals, resource material, reference information and the expenses 
72.18 	incident to the sharing of library resources and materials, including planning, development 
72.19 	and operating grants to multicounty, multitype library systems.
72.20 		Subd. 6.Library service grants. It may provide grants for the improvement of 
72.21 	library services at welfare and corrections institutions and for library service for the blind 
72.22 	and physically disabled.
72.23 		Subd. 7.Construction or remodeling grants. It may provide grants for 
72.24 	construction or remodeling of library facilities from any state and federal funds specifically 
72.25 	appropriated for this purpose.
72.26 		Subd. 8.Rulemaking. (a) The commissioner shall promulgate rules consistent 
72.27 	with sections 134.32 to 134.355 governing:
72.28 	(1) applications for these grants and aid;
72.29 	(2) computation formulas for determining the amounts of establishment grants and 
72.30 	regional library basic system support grants aid; and
72.31 	(3) eligibility criteria for grants and aid.
72.32 	(b) To the extent allowed under federal law, a construction grant applicant, in 
72.33 	addition to the points received under Minnesota Rules, part 3530.2632, shall receive an 
72.34 	additional five points if the construction grant is for a project combining public library 
72.35 	services and school district library services at a single location.

73.1 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.34, is amended to read:
73.2 	134.34 REGIONAL LIBRARY BASIC SYSTEM SUPPORT GRANTS AID; 
73.3 	REQUIREMENTS.
73.4 		Subdivision 1.Local support levels. (a) A Regional library basic system support 
73.5 	grantaid shall be madeprovided to any regional public library system where there are at 
73.6 	least three participating counties and where each participating city and county is providing 
73.7 	for public library service support the lesser of (a) an amount equivalent to .82 percent of 
73.8 	the average of the adjusted net tax capacity of the taxable property of that city or county, 
73.9 	as determined by the commissioner of revenue for the second, third, and fourth year 
73.10 	preceding that calendar year or (b) a per capita amount calculated under the provisions of 
73.11 	this subdivision. The per capita amount is established for calendar year 1993 as $7.62. 
73.12 	In succeeding calendar years, the per capita amount shall be increased by a percentage 
73.13 	equal to one-half of the percentage by which the total state adjusted net tax capacity of 
73.14 	property as determined by the commissioner of revenue for the second year preceding 
73.15 	that calendar year increases over that total adjusted net tax capacity for the third year 
73.16 	preceding that calendar year.
73.17 	(b) The minimum level of support specified under this subdivision or subdivision 4 
73.18 	shall be certified annually to the participating cities and counties by the Department of 
73.19 	Education. If a city or county chooses to reduce its local support in accordance with 
73.20 	subdivision 4, paragraph (b) or (c), it shall notify its regional public library system. The 
73.21 	regional public library system shall notify the Department of Education that a revised 
73.22 	certification is required. The revised minimum level of support shall be certified to the 
73.23 	city or county by the Department of Education.
73.24 	(c) A city which is a part of a regional public library system shall not be required to 
73.25 	provide this level of support if the property of that city is already taxable by the county for 
73.26 	the support of that regional public library system. In no event shall the Department of 
73.27 	Education require any city or county to provide a higher level of support than the level 
73.28 	of support specified in this section in order for a system to qualify for a regional library 
73.29 	basic system support grant aid. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a city or 
73.30 	county from providing a higher level of support for public libraries than the level of 
73.31 	support specified in this section.
73.32 		Subd. 3.Regional designation. Regional library basic system support grantsaid 
73.33 	shall be madeprovided only to those regional public library systems officially designated 
73.34 	by the commissioner of education as the appropriate agency to strengthen, improve and 
73.35 	promote public library services in the participating areas. The commissioner of education 
74.1 	shall designate no more than one such regional public library system located entirely within 
74.2 	any single development region existing under sections 462.381 to 462.398 or chapter 473.
74.3 		Subd. 4.Limitation. (a) For calendar year 2010 and later, a regional library basic 
74.4 	system support grantaid shall not be madeprovided to a regional public library system 
74.5 	for a participating city or county which decreases the dollar amount provided for support 
74.6 	for operating purposes of public library service below the amount provided by it for the 
74.7 	second, or third preceding year, whichever is less. For purposes of this subdivision and 
74.8 	subdivision 1, any funds provided under section 473.757, subdivision 2, for extending 
74.9 	library hours of operation shall not be considered amounts provided by a city or county for 
74.10 	support for operating purposes of public library service. This subdivision shall not apply 
74.11 	to participating cities or counties where the adjusted net tax capacity of that city or county 
74.12 	has decreased, if the dollar amount of the reduction in support is not greater than the dollar 
74.13 	amount by which support would be decreased if the reduction in support were made in 
74.14 	direct proportion to the decrease in adjusted net tax capacity.
74.15 	(b) For calendar year 2009 and later, in any calendar year in which a city's or 
74.16 	county's aid under sections 477A.011 to 477A.014 or credit reimbursement under section 
74.17 	273.1384 is reduced after the city or county has certified its levy payable in that year, it 
74.18 	may reduce its local support by the lesser of:
74.19 	(1) ten percent; or
74.20 	(2) a percent equal to the ratio of the aid and credit reimbursement reductions to the 
74.21 	city's or county's revenue base, based on aids certified for the current calendar year. For 
74.22 	calendar year 2009 only, the reduction under this paragraph shall be based on 2008 aid and 
74.23 	credit reimbursement reductions under the December 2008 unallotment, as well as any 
74.24 	aid and credit reimbursement reductions in calendar year 2009. For pay 2009 only, the 
74.25 	commissioner of revenue will calculate the reductions under this paragraph and certify 
74.26 	them to the commissioner of education within 15 days of May 17, 2009.
74.27 	(c) For taxes payable in 2010 and later, in any payable year in which the total 
74.28 	amounts certified for city or county aids under sections 477A.011 to 477A.014 are less 
74.29 	than the total amounts paid under those sections in the previous calendar year, a city or 
74.30 	county may reduce its local support by the lesser of:
74.31 	(1) ten percent; or
74.32 	(2) a percent equal to the ratio of:
74.33 	(i) the difference between (A) the sum of the aid it was paid under sections 
74.34 	477A.011 to 477A.014 and the credit reimbursement it received under section 273.1384 
74.35 	in the previous calendar year and (B) the sum of the aid it is certified to be paid in the 
75.1 	current calendar year under sections 477A.011 to 477A.014 and the credit reimbursement 
75.2 	estimated to be paid under section 273.1384; to
75.3 	(ii) its revenue base for the previous year, based on aids actually paid in the previous 
75.4 	calendar year. The commissioner of revenue shall calculate the percent aid cut for each 
75.5 	county and city under this paragraph and certify the percentage cuts to the commissioner 
75.6 	of education by August 1 of the year prior to the year in which the reduced aids and 
75.7 	credit reimbursements are to be paid. The percentage of reduction related to reductions 
75.8 	to credit reimbursements under section 273.1384 shall be based on the best estimation 
75.9 	available as of July 30.
75.10 	(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), (b), or (c), no city or county shall reduce its 
75.11 	support for public libraries below the minimum level specified in subdivision 1.
75.12 	(e) For purposes of this subdivision, "revenue base" means the sum of:
75.13 	(1) its levy for taxes payable in the current calendar year, including the levy on 
75.14 	the fiscal disparities distribution under section 276A.06, subdivision 3, paragraph (a), 
75.15 	or 473F.08, subdivision 3, paragraph (a);
75.16 	(2) its aid under sections 477A.011 to 477A.014 in the current calendar year; and
75.17 	(3) its taconite aid in the current calendar year under sections 298.28 and 298.282.
75.18 		Subd. 7.Proposed budget. In addition to the annual report required in section 
75.19 	134.13, a regional public system that receives a basic system support grantaid under this 
75.20 	section must provide each participating county and city with its proposed budget for 
75.21 	the next year.

75.22 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.351, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
75.23 		Subd. 3.Agreement. In order for a multicounty, multitype library system to qualify 
75.24 	for a planning, development or operating grant aid pursuant to sections 134.353 and 
75.25 	134.354, each participating library in the system shall adopt an organizational agreement 
75.26 	providing for the following:
75.27 	(a) Sharing of resources among all participating libraries;
75.28 	(b) Long-range planning for cooperative programs;
75.29 	(c) The development of a delivery system for services and programs;
75.30 	(d) The development of a bibliographic database; and
75.31 	(e) A communications system among all cooperating libraries.

75.32 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.351, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
76.1 		Subd. 7.Reports. Each multicounty, multitype system receiving a grant aid
76.2 	 pursuant to section 134.353 or 134.354 shall provide an annual progress report to the 
76.3 	Department of Education.

76.4 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.353, is amended to read:
76.5 	134.353 MULTICOUNTY, MULTITYPE LIBRARY SYSTEM 
76.6 	DEVELOPMENT GRANT AID.
76.7 	The commissioner of education may provide development grants aid to multicounty, 
76.8 	multitype library systems. In awarding a development grant aid, the commissioner shall 
76.9 	consider the extra costs incurred in systems located in sparsely populated and large 
76.10 	geographic regions.

76.11 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.354, is amended to read:
76.12 	134.354 MULTICOUNTY, MULTITYPE LIBRARY SYSTEM OPERATING 
76.13 	GRANT AID.
76.14 	The commissioner of education may provide operating grants aid to multicounty, 
76.15 	multitype library systems. In awarding an operating grant aid, the commissioner shall 
76.16 	consider the extra costs incurred in systems located in sparsely populated and large 
76.17 	geographic areas.

76.18 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
76.19 		Subdivision 1.Appropriations. Basic system support grantsaid and regional library 
76.20 	telecommunications aid provide the appropriations for the basic regional library system.

76.21 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
76.22 		Subd. 2.Grant application. Any regional public library system which qualifies 
76.23 	according to the provisions of section 134.34 may apply for an annual grantaid for 
76.24 	regional library basic system support. Regional public library districts under section 
76.25 	134.201 may not compensate board members using grantaid funds. The amount of each 
76.26 	grantaid for each fiscal year shall be calculated as provided in this section.

76.27 	Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
76.28 		Subd. 3.Per capita distribution. Fifty-seven and one-half percent of the available 
76.29 	grantaid funds shall be distributed to provide all qualifying systems an equal amount 
76.30 	per capita. Each system's allocation pursuant to this subdivision shall be based on the 
76.31 	population it serves.

77.1 	Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
77.2 		Subd. 4.Per square mile distribution. Twelve and one-half percent of the 
77.3 	available grantaid funds shall be distributed to provide all qualifying systems an equal 
77.4 	amount per square mile. Each system's allocation pursuant to this subdivision shall be 
77.5 	based on the area it serves.

77.6 	Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
77.7 		Subd. 5.Base grantaid distribution. Five percent of the available grantaid funds 
77.8 	shall be paid to each system as a base grantaid for basic system services.

77.9 	Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.355, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
77.10 		Subd. 6.Adjusted net tax capacity per capita distribution. Twenty-five percent 
77.11 	of the available grantaid funds shall be distributed to regional public library systems based 
77.12 	upon the adjusted net tax capacity per capita for each member county or participating 
77.13 	portion of a county as calculated for the second year preceding the fiscal year for which 
77.14 	the grantaid is made provided. Each system's entitlement shall be calculated as follows:
77.15 	(a) Multiply the adjusted net tax capacity per capita for each county or participating 
77.16 	portion of a county by .0082.
77.17 	(b) Add sufficient grantaid funds that are available under this subdivision to raise 
77.18 	the amount of the county or participating portion of a county with the lowest value 
77.19 	calculated according to paragraph (a) to the amount of the county or participating portion 
77.20 	of a county with the next highest value calculated according to paragraph (a). Multiply the 
77.21 	amount of the additional grantaid funds by the population of the county or participating 
77.22 	portion of a county.
77.23 	(c) Continue the process described in paragraph (b) by adding sufficient grantaid 
77.24 	funds that are available under this subdivision to the amount of a county or participating 
77.25 	portion of a county with the next highest value calculated in paragraph (a) to raise it and 
77.26 	the amount of counties and participating portions of counties with lower values calculated 
77.27 	in paragraph (a) up to the amount of the county or participating portion of a county 
77.28 	with the next highest value, until reaching an amount where funds available under this 
77.29 	subdivision are no longer sufficient to raise the amount of a county or participating portion 
77.30 	of a county and the amount of counties and participating portions of counties with lower 
77.31 	values up to the amount of the next highest county or participating portion of a county.
77.32 	(d) If the point is reached using the process in paragraphs (b) and (c) at which the 
77.33 	remaining grantaid funds under this subdivision are not adequate for raising the amount of 
77.34 	a county or participating portion of a county and all counties and participating portions of 
78.1 	counties with amounts of lower value to the amount of the county or participating portion 
78.2 	of a county with the next highest value, those funds are to be divided on a per capita basis 
78.3 	for all counties or participating portions of counties that received grantaid funds under 
78.4 	the calculation in paragraphs (b) and (c).

78.5 	Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 134.36, is amended to read:
78.6 	134.36 RULES.
78.7 	The commissioner of education shall promulgate rules as necessary for 
78.8 	implementation of library grant and aid programs.

78.9 	Sec. 14. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
 78.10 	In Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules, the revisor of statutes shall substitute 
78.11 	the term "Division of State Library Services" for "Library Development and Services," 
78.12 	"Office of Library Development and Services," or "LDS" where "LDS" stands for "Library 
78.13 	Development and Services." The revisor shall also make grammatical changes related 
78.14 	to the changes in terms.

78.15 	ARTICLE 8
78.16 	EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, AND 
78.17 	LIFELONG LEARNING

78.18 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.52, is amended by adding a 
78.19 	subdivision to read:
78.20 		Subd. 8.Standard high school diploma for adults. (a) The commissioner shall 
78.21 	adopt rules for providing a standard adult high school diploma to persons who:
78.22 	(1) are not eligible for kindergarten through grade 12 services;
78.23 	(2) do not have a high school diploma; and
78.24 	(3) successfully complete an adult basic education program of instruction approved 
78.25 	by the commissioner of education necessary to earn an adult high school diploma.
78.26 	(b) Persons participating in an approved adult basic education program of instruction 
78.27 	must demonstrate proficiency in a standard set of competencies that reflect the knowledge 
78.28 	and skills sufficient to ensure that postsecondary programs and institutions and potential 
78.29 	employers regard persons with a standard high school diploma and persons with a standard 
78.30 	adult high school diploma as equally well prepared and qualified graduates. Approved 
78.31 	adult basic education programs of instruction under this subdivision must issue a standard 
78.32 	adult high school diploma to persons who successfully demonstrate proficiency in the 
78.33 	competencies, knowledge, and skills required by the program.

79.1 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2014.

79.2 	Sec. 2. Laws 2011, First Special Session chapter 11, article 7, section 2, subdivision 8, 
79.3 	as amended by Laws 2012, chapter 239, article 3, section 4, is amended to read:
79.4 		Subd. 8.Early childhood education scholarships. For grants to early childhood 
79.5 	education scholarships for public or private early childhood preschool programs for 
79.6 	children ages 3 to 5:

79.7		$
	2,000,000
	.....
	2013
	
79.8 	(a) All children whose parents or legal guardians meet the eligibility requirements 
79.9 	of paragraph (b) established by the commissioner are eligible to receive early childhood 
79.10 	education scholarships under this section.
79.11 	(b) A parent or legal guardian is eligible for an early childhood education scholarship 
79.12 	if the parent or legal guardian:
79.13 	(1) has a child three or four years of age on September 1, beginning in calendar 
79.14 	year 2012; and
79.15 	(2)(i) has income equal to or less than 47 percent of the state median income in the 
79.16 	current calendar year; or
79.17 	(ii) can document their child's identification through another public funding 
79.18 	eligibility process, including the Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program, National School 
79.19 	Lunch Act, United States Code, title 42, section 1751, part 210; Head Start under federal 
79.20 	Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007; Minnesota family investment 
79.21 	program under chapter 256J; and child care assistance programs under chapter 119B.
79.22 	 Early childhood scholarships may not be counted as earned income for the purposes of 
79.23 	medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, MFIP, child care assistance, or Head Start programs.
79.24 	Each year, if this appropriation is insufficient to provide early childhood education 
79.25 	scholarships to all eligible children, the Department of Education shall make scholarships 
79.26 	available on a first-come, first-served basis.
79.27 	The commissioner of education shall submit a written report to the education 
79.28 	committees of the legislature by January 15, 2012, describing its plan for implementation 
79.29 	of scholarships under this subdivision for the 2012-2013 school year.
79.30 	Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is available in the second year.
79.31 	The base for this program is $3,000,000 each year.

79.32 	Sec. 3. STANDARD ADULT HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA ADVISORY TASK 
79.33 	FORCE.
 80.1 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of education shall appoint a 
80.2 	nine-member advisory task force to recommend programmatic requirements for adult 
80.3 	basic education programs of instruction leading to a standard adult high school diploma 
80.4 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.52, subdivision 8. 
80.5 		Subd. 2.Membership. The commissioner of education must appoint representatives 
80.6 	from the following organizations to the task force by July 1, 2013:
80.7 	(1) one employee of the Department of Education with expertise in adult basic 
80.8 	education;
80.9 	(2) five administrators and secondary teachers with expertise in development of 
80.10 	education curriculum from local adult basic education programs located in rural, suburban, 
80.11 	and urban areas of the state, at least one of whom represents the Literacy Action network;
80.12 	(3) one employee of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities with expertise 
80.13 	in adult basic education;
80.14 	(4) one employee of the Department of Employment and Economic Development 
80.15 	with expertise in adult basic education and employment; and
80.16 	(5) one member of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce familiar with adult basic 
80.17 	education programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.52.
80.18 		Subd. 3.Duties. The duties of the task force shall include:
80.19 	(1) reviewing "Minnesota Adult Secondary Credential: a Student Strategy for 
80.20 	Workforce Readiness and Individual Prosperity," a report submitted in 2012 by the 
80.21 	Minnesota Adult Secondary Task Force, and other relevant materials; and
80.22 	(2) developing specific criteria to be used in awarding the new adult diploma.
80.23 		Subd. 4.First meeting. The commissioner of education must convene the first 
80.24 	meeting of the task force by August 1, 2013.
80.25 		Subd. 5.Chair. The commissioner shall appoint a chair.
80.26 		Subd. 6.Compensation. Task force members are not eligible for compensation or 
80.27 	reimbursement for expenses related to task force activities.
80.28 		Subd. 7.Assistance. The commissioner, upon request, must provide technical 
80.29 	assistance to task force members.
80.30 		Subd. 8.Report. By February 1, 2014, the task force must submit its 
80.31 	recommendations to the commissioner of education for providing a standard adult high 
80.32 	school diploma to persons who are not eligible for kindergarten through grade 12 services, 
80.33 	who do not have a high school diploma, and who successfully complete an approved adult 
80.34 	basic education program of instruction necessary to earn an adult high school diploma. 
80.35 	The commissioner must consider these recommendations when adopting rules under 
80.36 	Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.52, subdivision 8.
81.1 		Subd. 9.Sunset. The task force sunsets the day after submitting its report under 
81.2 	subdivision 8, or February 2, 2014, whichever is earlier.

81.3 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.