STATE OF MINNESOTA
EIGHTY-FIFTH SESSION - 2008
_____________________
NINETY-SIXTH DAY
Saint Paul, Minnesota, Monday, March 31, 2008
The House of Representatives convened at 12:30 p.m. and was
called to order by Paul Thissen, Speaker pro tempore.
Prayer was offered by the Reverend Richard D. Buller, House
Chaplain.
The members of the House gave the pledge of allegiance to the
flag of the United States of America.
The roll was called and the following members were present:
Abeler
Anderson, B.
Anderson, S.
Anzelc
Atkins
Beard
Benson
Berns
Bigham
Bly
Brod
Brown
Brynaert
Buesgens
Bunn
Carlson
Clark
Cornish
Davnie
Dean
DeLaForest
Demmer
Dettmer
Dittrich
Dominguez
Doty
Drazkowski
Eastlund
Eken
Emmer
Erhardt
Erickson
Faust
Finstad
Fritz
Gardner
Garofalo
Gottwalt
Greiling
Gunther
Hackbarth
Hamilton
Hansen
Hausman
Haws
Heidgerken
Hilstrom
Hilty
Holberg
Hoppe
Hornstein
Hortman
Hosch
Howes
Huntley
Jaros
Johnson
Kahn
Kalin
Knuth
Kranz
Laine
Lanning
Lenczewski
Lesch
Liebling
Lieder
Lillie
Loeffler
Madore
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
McFarlane
McNamara
Moe
Morgan
Morrow
Mullery
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Nelson
Nornes
Norton
Olin
Olson
Otremba
Ozment
Paulsen
Paymar
Pelowski
Peppin
Peterson, A.
Peterson, N.
Peterson, S.
Poppe
Rukavina
Ruth
Ruud
Sailer
Scalze
Seifert
Sertich
Severson
Shimanski
Simon
Simpson
Slawik
Slocum
Smith
Solberg
Swails
Thao
Thissen
Tillberry
Tingelstad
Tschumper
Urdahl
Wagenius
Walker
Ward
Wardlow
Welti
Westrom
Winkler
Wollschlager
Zellers
Spk. Kelliher
A quorum was present.
Juhnke, Kohls and Magnus were excused.
Dill was excused until 1:25 p.m. Koenen was excused until 1:45 p.m.
The Chief Clerk proceeded to read the Journal of the preceding
day. Ruth moved that further reading of
the Journal be suspended and that the Journal be approved as corrected by the
Chief Clerk. The motion prevailed.
REPORTS
OF CHIEF CLERK
S. F. No. 1918 and
H. F. No. 2107, which had been referred to the Chief Clerk for
comparison, were examined and found to be identical with certain exceptions.
SUSPENSION
OF RULES
Masin moved that the rules be so far suspended that
S. F. No. 1918 be substituted for H. F. No. 2107
and that the House File be indefinitely postponed. The motion prevailed.
S. F. No. 3755 and
H. F. No. 3298, which had been referred to the Chief Clerk for
comparison, were examined and found to be identical.
Dettmer moved that S. F. No. 3755 be substituted
for H. F. No. 3298 and that the House File be indefinitely
postponed. The motion prevailed.
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS
The following communications were received:
STATE
OF MINNESOTA
OFFICE
OF THE GOVERNOR
SAINT
PAUL 55155
March
27, 2008
The Honorable Margaret
Anderson Kelliher
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
The State of Minnesota
Dear Speaker Kelliher:
Please be advised that I have received, approved, signed, and
deposited in the Office of the Secretary of State the following House Files:
H. F. No. 2816, relating to Nicollet County; providing a
process for making certain offices appointive in Nicollet County.
H. F. No. 2907, relating to Yellow Medicine County; providing
a process for making certain offices appointive in Yellow Medicine County.
H. F. No. 3368, relating to utilities; setting filing
deadline for certain reports; regulating customer payment arrangements during
cold weather period; regulating payment agreements for certain utility
services.
H. F. No. 2582, relating to veterans; designating March 29 as
Vietnam Veterans Day.
Sincerely,
Tim
Pawlenty
Governor
STATE
OF MINNESOTA
OFFICE
OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
ST.
PAUL 55155
The Honorable Margaret
Anderson Kelliher
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
The Honorable James P.
Metzen
President of the Senate
I have the honor to inform you that the following enrolled Acts
of the 2008 Session of the State Legislature have been received from the Office
of the Governor and are deposited in the Office of the Secretary of State for
preservation, pursuant to the State Constitution, Article IV, Section 23:
S. F. No. |
H. F. No. |
Session Laws Chapter No. |
Time and Date Approved 2008 |
Date Filed 2008 |
2816 160 4:45 p.m.
March 27 March
27
2907 161 4:46 p.m.
March 27 March
27
3368 162 9:50 a.m.
March 27 March
27
2582 164 3:26 p.m.
March 27 March
27
Sincerely,
Mark
Ritchie
Secretary
of State
REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES AND DIVISIONS
Carlson
from the Committee on Finance to which was referred:
H. F.
No. 219, A bill for an act relating to employment; modifying use of personal
sick leave benefits; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 181.9413.
Reported
the same back with the following amendments:
Delete
everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section
1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
181.9413, is amended to read:
181.9413 SICK OR INJURED CHILD CARE
LEAVE BENEFITS; USE TO CARE FOR CERTAIN RELATIVES.
(a) An
employee may use personal sick leave benefits provided by the employer for
absences due to an illness of or injury to the employee's child, including
an adult child; spouse; sibling; parent; grandparent; stepparent; or domestic
partner for such reasonable periods as the employee's attendance with
the child may be necessary, on the same terms upon which the
employee is able to use sick leave benefits for the employee's own illness or
injury. This section applies only to
personal sick leave benefits payable to the employee from the employer's
general assets.
(b)
For purposes of this section, "personal sick leave benefits" means
time accrued and available to an employee to be used as a result of absence
from work due to personal illness or injury, but does not include short-term or
long-term disability or other salary continuation benefits.
(c)
For purposes of this section, "domestic partner" means a person who
has entered into a committed interdependent relationship with another adult,
where the partners:
(1)
are responsible for each other's basic common welfare;
(2)
share a common residence and intend to do so indefinitely;
(3)
are not related by blood or adoption to an extent that would prohibit marriage
in this state; and
(4)
are legally competent and qualified to enter into a contract.
For
purposes of this section, domestic partners may share a common residence even
if they do not have a legal right to possess the residence or one or both
domestic partners possess additional real property.
If
one domestic partner temporarily leaves the common residence with the intention
to return, the domestic partners continue to share a common residence for the
purposes of this section.
(d)
This section only applies to employers that do not already have policies or a
provision in a labor agreement in place to allow for the use of sick leave for
a spouse; child, including an adult child; sibling; parent; grandparent; and
stepparent.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2008, and applies to sick
leave used on or after that date."
With
the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The report was adopted.
Carlson
from the Committee on Finance to which was referred:
H. F.
No. 1262, A bill for an act relating to family law; providing for a
comprehensive family court process study.
Reported
the same back with the following amendments:
Delete
everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section
1. JOINT
PHYSICAL CUSTODY; STUDY GROUP.
(a)
The state court administrator shall convene a study group of 12 members to
consider the impacts of a presumption of joint physical custody in
Minnesota. The evaluation shall
consider the positive and negative impact on parents and children of adopting a
presumption of joint physical custody, the fiscal impact of adopting this
presumption, and the experiences of other states that have adopted a
presumption of joint physical custody.
The study must consider data and information from academic and research
professionals.
(b)
In appointing members to the study group, the state court administrator must
ensure that the viewpoint of parent advocacy groups, citizen members who are
not associated with a parent advocacy group, academics and policy analysts,
judges, court administrators, attorneys, domestic violence advocates, and other
interested parties are represented. The
state court administrator must consult with the chairs of the house public
safety finance division and the senate public safety budget division on the
composition of the working group. The
state court administrator shall report to the legislature on the evaluation of
presumption of joint physical custody, the experiences of other states, and
recommendations made by the study group no later than January 15, 2009.
Sec.
2. COMPREHENSIVE
FAMILY COURT PROCESS; STUDY.
The
state court administrator shall report on a plan to conduct a
multidisciplinary, comprehensive study on family law to the chairs of the
budget and policy committees in the house and senate with jurisdiction over
family law no later than January 15, 2009."
Amend
the title as follows:
Page
1, line 2, after the semicolon, insert "providing for a joint physical
custody study group;"
With
the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The report was adopted.
Carlson
from the Committee on Finance to which was referred:
H. F.
No. 1812, A bill for an act relating to health; providing for an exception to
the bed moratorium; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144A.071, subdivision
4c.
Reported
the same back with the following amendments:
Delete
everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"ARTICLE
1
K-12
EDUCATION
Section
1. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 120B.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. Required
academic standards. (a) The
following subject areas are required for statewide accountability:
(1)
language arts;
(2)
mathematics;
(3)
science;
(4)
social studies, including history, geography, economics, and government and
citizenship;
(5) physical
education;
(6)
health and
physical education, for which locally developed academic standards apply;
and
(6) (7) the arts, for which
statewide or locally developed academic standards apply, as determined by the
school district. Public elementary and
middle schools must offer at least three and require at least two of the
following four arts areas: dance;
music; theater; and visual arts. Public
high schools must offer at least three and require at least one of the
following five arts areas: media arts;
dance; music; theater; and visual arts.
(b)
To satisfy the one-half credit physical education requirement under section
120B.024, paragraph (a), clause (5), the state physical education standard
under paragraph (a) must be consistent with either the six physical education
standards developed by the department's quality teaching network or the six
National Physical Education Standards developed by the National Association for
Sport and Physical Education. Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 14, and section 14.386, specifically, do not apply. To satisfy federal reporting requirements
for continued funding under Title VII of the Physical Education for Progress
Act, a school district must notify the department, if applicable, of its intent
to comply with the National Physical Education Standards. School districts and charter schools also
must use either the department's physical education standards or the national
physical education standards under this paragraph to comply with paragraph (a),
clause (5), in providing physical education instruction and programs to
students in kindergarten through grade 8.
(c)
The
commissioner must submit proposed standards in science and social studies to
the legislature by February 1, 2004.
(d)
For purposes
of applicable federal law, the academic standards for language arts,
mathematics, and science apply to all public school students, except the very
few students with extreme cognitive or physical impairments for whom an
individualized education plan team has determined that the required academic
standards are inappropriate. An
individualized education plan team that makes this determination must establish
alternative standards.
(e)
A school
district, no later than the 2007-2008 school year, must adopt graduation
requirements that meet or exceed state graduation requirements established in
law or rule. A school district that
incorporates these state graduation requirements before the 2007-2008 school
year must provide students who enter the 9th grade in or before the 2003-2004
school year the opportunity to earn a diploma based on existing locally
established graduation requirements in effect when the students entered the 9th
grade. District efforts to develop, implement,
or improve instruction or curriculum as a result of the provisions of this
section must be consistent with sections 120B.10, 120B.11, and 120B.20.
(f)
The
commissioner must include the contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes
and communities as they relate to the academic standards during the review and
revision of the required academic standards.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
except that paragraph (a), clause (5), applies to students entering the ninth
grade in the 2009-2010 school year and later.
Sec.
2. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 120B.024, is amended to read:
120B.024 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; COURSE
CREDITS.
(a)
Students beginning 9th grade in the 2004-2005 school year and later must
successfully complete the following high school level course credits for
graduation:
(1)
four credits of language arts;
(2)
three credits of mathematics, encompassing at least algebra, geometry,
statistics, and probability sufficient to satisfy the academic standard;
(3)
three credits of science, including at least one credit in biology;
(4)
three and one-half credits of social studies, encompassing at least United
States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and
economics or three credits of social studies encompassing at least United
States history, geography, government and citizenship, and world history, and
one-half credit of economics taught in a school's social studies, agriculture
education, or business department;
(5)
one credit in the arts; and
(6) one-half
credit of physical education; and
(7)
a minimum
of seven 6-1/2 elective course credits.
A
course credit is equivalent to a student successfully completing an academic
year of study or a student mastering the applicable subject matter, as
determined by the local school district.
(b) An
agriculture science course may fulfill a science credit requirement in addition
to the specified science credits in biology and chemistry or physics under
paragraph (a), clause (3).
(c) A
career and technical education course may fulfill a science, mathematics, or
arts credit requirement in addition to the specified science, mathematics, or
arts credits under paragraph (a), clause (2), (3), or (5).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to students entering ninth grade in the 2009-2010 school year and
later.
Sec.
3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.131, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd.
2. Reimbursement
for examination fees. The state may
reimburse college-level examination program (CLEP) fees for a Minnesota public
or nonpublic high school student who has successfully completed one or more
college-level courses in high school in the subject matter of each examination
in the following subjects: composition
and literature, mathematics and science, social sciences and history, foreign
languages, and business and humanities.
The state may reimburse each student for up to six examination
fees. The commissioner shall
establish application procedures and a process and schedule for fee
reimbursements. The commissioner must
give priority to reimburse the CLEP examination fees of students of low-income
families.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
4. [120B.299]
DEFINITIONS.
Subdivision
1. Definitions. The definitions in this section apply to
this chapter.
Subd.
2. Growth. "Growth" compares the
difference between a student's achievement score at two distinct points in
time.
Subd.
3. Value-added. "Value-added" is the amount of
achievement a student demonstrates above an established baseline.
Subd.
4. Growth-based
value-added. "Growth-based
value-added" is a value-added system of assessments that measures the
difference between an established baseline of growth and a student's growth
over time.
Subd.
5. Adequate
yearly progress. "Adequate
yearly progress" compares the average achievement of two different groups
of students at two different points in time.
Subd.
6. State
growth norm. "State
growth norm" is an established statewide percentile or standard applicable
to all students in a particular grade benchmarked to an established school
year. Beginning in the 2008-2009 school
year, the state growth norm is benchmarked to 2006-2007 school year data until
the commissioner next changes the vertically linked scale score. Each time the commissioner changes the
vertically linked scale score, a recognized Minnesota assessment group composed
of assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers, in
collaboration with the Independent Office of Educational Accountability under
section 120B.31, subdivision 3, must recommend a new state growth norm that the
commissioner must consider when revising standards under section 120B.023,
subdivision 2. For each newly
established state growth norm, the commissioner also must establish criteria
for identifying schools and school districts that demonstrate accelerated
growth in order to advance educators' professional development and to replicate
programs that succeed in meeting students' diverse learning needs.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
5. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 120B.30, is amended to read:
120B.30 STATEWIDE TESTING AND REPORTING
SYSTEM.
Subdivision
1. Statewide
testing. (a) The commissioner, with
advice from experts with appropriate technical qualifications and experience
and stakeholders, consistent with subdivision 1a, shall include in the
comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be tested,
state-constructed tests developed from and aligned with the state's required
academic standards under section 120B.021 and administered annually to all
students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high school level. A state-developed test in a subject other
than writing, developed after the 2002-2003 school year, must include
both machine-scoreable and constructed response questions. The commissioner shall establish one or more
months during which schools shall administer the tests to students each school
year. For students enrolled in grade 8
before the 2005-2006 school year, only Minnesota basic skills tests in reading,
mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing
requirements for a passing state notation.
The passing scores of basic skills tests in reading and mathematics are
the equivalent of 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 1997
and thereafter, as based on the first uniform test administration of
administered in February 1998.
(b)
For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, only
the following options shall fulfill students' state graduation test
requirements:
(1)
for reading and mathematics:
(i)
obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as
determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive
assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a
passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the
graduation-required assessment for diploma in grade 10 for reading and grade 11
for mathematics or subsequent retests;
(ii)
achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on
the state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics
test for English language learners or the graduation-required assessment for
diploma equivalent of those assessments for students designated as English
language learners;
(iii)
achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for
diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an
individual education plan or 504 plan;
(iv)
obtaining achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as
determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate
assessment or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics
for students with an individual education plan; or
(v)
achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate
assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for
students with an individual education plan; and
(2)
for writing:
(i)
achieving a passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma;
(ii)
achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on
the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students
designated as English language learners;
(iii)
achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for
diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an
individual education plan or 504 plan; or
(iv)
achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate
assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for
students with an individual education plan.
(c) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school
level test results shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes
affecting student learning and district instruction and curriculum, and for establishing
educational accountability. The
commissioner must disseminate to the public the test results upon receiving
those results.
(d) State tests must be constructed and
aligned with state academic standards.
The commissioner shall determine the testing process and the
order of administration shall be determined by the commissioner. The statewide results shall be aggregated at
the site and district level, consistent with subdivision 1a.
(e) In addition to the testing and reporting
requirements under this section, the commissioner shall include the following
components in the statewide public reporting system:
(1)
uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high
school level that provides appropriate, technically sound accommodations,
alternate assessments, or exemptions consistent with applicable federal law,
only with parent or guardian approval, for those very few students for whom the
student's individual education plan team under sections 125A.05 and 125A.06 determines
that the general statewide test is inappropriate for a student, or for a
limited English proficiency student under section 124D.59, subdivision 2;
(2)
educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school
districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily
attendance, high school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age
and grade level;
(3)
state results on the American College Test; and
(4)
state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational
Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and
other states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to
the national effort to monitor achievement.
Subd.
1a. Statewide and local assessments; results. (a) The commissioner must develop reading, mathematics, and
science assessments aligned with state academic standards that districts and
sites must use to monitor student growth toward achieving those standards. The commissioner must not develop statewide
assessments for academic standards in social studies, health and physical
education, and the arts. The
commissioner must require:
(1)
annual reading and mathematics assessments in grades 3 through 8 and at the
high school level for the 2005‑2006 school year and later; and
(2)
annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 through 5 span, the
grades 6 through 9 8 span, and a life sciences assessment in the
grades 10 9 through 12 span for the 2007-2008 school year and
later.
(b)
The commissioner must ensure that all statewide tests administered to
elementary and secondary students measure students' academic knowledge and
skills and not students' values, attitudes, and beliefs.
(c)
Reporting of assessment results must:
(1) provide
timely, useful, and understandable information on the performance of individual
students, schools, school districts, and the state;
(2)
include, by no later than the 2008-2009 school year, a growth-based
value-added component that is in addition to a measure for student
achievement growth over time indicator of student achievement under
section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b); and
(3)(i)
for students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, determine
whether students have met the state's basic skills requirements; and
(ii)
for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later,
determine whether students have met the state's academic standards.
(d)
Consistent with applicable federal law and subdivision 1, paragraph (d), clause
(1), the commissioner must include appropriate, technically sound
accommodations or alternative assessments for the very few students with
disabilities for whom statewide assessments are inappropriate and for students
with limited English proficiency.
(e) A
school, school district, and charter school must administer statewide
assessments under this section, as the assessments become available, to
evaluate student progress in achieving the proficiency in the context
of the state's grade level academic standards. If a state assessment is not available, a school, school
district, and charter school must determine locally if a student has met the
required academic standards. A school,
school district, or charter school may use a student's performance on a
statewide assessment as one of multiple criteria to determine grade promotion
or retention. A school, school
district, or charter school may use a high school student's performance on a
statewide assessment as a percentage of the student's final grade in a course,
or place a student's assessment score on the student's transcript.
Subd.
2. Department
of Education assistance. The
Department of Education shall contract for professional and technical services
according to competitive bidding procedures under chapter 16C for purposes of
this section.
Subd.
3. Reporting. The commissioner shall report test data
publicly and to stakeholders, including the performance achievement levels
developed from students' unweighted test scores in each tested subject and a
listing of demographic factors that strongly correlate with student
performance. The commissioner shall
also report data that compares performance results among school sites, school
districts, Minnesota and other states, and Minnesota and other nations. The commissioner shall disseminate to
schools and school districts a more comprehensive report containing testing
information that meets local needs for evaluating instruction and curriculum.
Subd.
4. Access
to tests. The commissioner must
adopt and publish a policy to provide public and parental access for review of
basic skills tests, Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or any other such
statewide test and assessment. Upon
receiving a written request, the commissioner must make available to parents or
guardians a copy of their student's actual responses to the test questions to
be reviewed by the parent for their review.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
6. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.31, as amended by Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 10, is
amended to read:
120B.31 SYSTEM ACCOUNTABILITY AND STATISTICAL
ADJUSTMENTS.
Subdivision
1. Educational
accountability and public reporting.
Consistent with the process direction to adopt a
results-oriented graduation rule statewide academic standards under
section 120B.02, the department, in consultation with education and other
system stakeholders, must establish maintain a coordinated and
comprehensive system of educational accountability and public reporting that
promotes higher greater academic achievement, preparation for
higher academic education, preparation for the world of work, citizenship as
outlined under sections 120B.021, subdivision 1, clause (4), and 120B.024,
paragraph (a), clause (4), and the arts.
Subd.
2. Statewide
testing. Each school year, all
school districts shall give a uniform statewide test to students at specified
grades to provide information on the status, needs and performance of Minnesota
students.
Subd.
3. Educational
accountability. (a) The Independent
Office of Educational Accountability, as authorized by Laws 1997, First Special
Session chapter 4, article 5, section 28, subdivision 2, is established, and
shall be funded through the Board of Regents of the University of
Minnesota. The office shall advise the
education committees of the legislature and the commissioner of education, at
least on a biennial basis, on the degree to which the statewide educational
accountability and reporting system includes a comprehensive assessment
framework that measures school accountability for students achieving the goals
described in the state's results-oriented high school graduation
rule. The office shall determine and
annually report to the legislature whether and how effectively:
(1)
the statewide system of educational accountability utilizes uses
multiple indicators to provide valid and reliable comparative and contextual
data on students, schools, districts, and the state, and if not, recommend ways
to improve the accountability reporting system;
(2)
the commissioner makes statistical adjustments when reporting student data over
time, consistent with clause (4);
(3)
the commissioner uses indicators of student achievement growth a
growth-based value-added indicator of student achievement over time and
a value-added assessment model that estimates the effects of the school and
school district on student achievement to measure school performance,
consistent with section 120B.36, subdivision 1 120B.35, subdivision
3, paragraph (b);
(4)
the commissioner makes data available on students who do not pass one or more
of the state's required GRAD tests and do not receive a diploma as a
consequence, and categorizes these data according to gender, race, eligibility
for free or reduced lunch, and English language proficiency; and
(5)
the commissioner fulfills the requirements under section 127A.095, subdivision
2.
(b)
When the office reviews the statewide educational accountability and reporting
system, it shall also consider:
(1)
the objectivity and neutrality of the state's educational accountability
system; and
(2)
the impact of a testing program on school curriculum and student learning.
Subd.
4. Statistical
adjustments; student performance data. In developing managing policies and assessment
processes to hold schools and districts accountable for high levels of academic
standards under section 120B.021, the commissioner shall aggregate student data
over time to report student performance and growth levels measured at
the school, school district, regional, or and statewide
level. When collecting and reporting
the performance data,
the
commissioner shall: (1) acknowledge the
impact of significant demographic factors such as residential instability, the
number of single parent families, parents' level of education, and parents'
income level on school outcomes; and (2) organize and report the data so that
state and local policy makers can understand the educational implications of
changes in districts' demographic profiles over time. Any report the commissioner disseminates containing summary data
on student performance must integrate student performance and the demographic
factors that strongly correlate with that performance.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
7. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.35, as amended by Laws 2007, chapter 147, article 8, section 38, is
amended to read:
120B.35 STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND PROGRESS
GROWTH.
Subdivision
1. Adequate
yearly progress of schools and students School and student indicators of
growth and achievement. The
commissioner must develop and implement maintain a system for
measuring and reporting academic achievement and individual student progress
growth, consistent with the statewide educational accountability and
reporting system. The system
components of the system must measure the adequate yearly progress of
schools and the growth of individual students: students' current achievement in schools under subdivision 2; and
individual students' educational progress growth over time under
subdivision 3. The system also must
include statewide measures of student academic achievement growth
that identify schools with high levels of achievement growth, and
also schools with low levels of achievement growth that need
improvement. When determining a
school's effect, the data must include both statewide measures of student
achievement and, to the extent annual tests are administered, indicators
of achievement growth that take into account a student's prior
achievement. Indicators of achievement
and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or
districtwide assessments. Indicators
that take into account a student's prior achievement must not be used to
disregard a school's low achievement or to exclude a school from a program to
improve low achievement levels. The
commissioner by January 15, 2002, must submit a plan for integrating these
components to the chairs of the legislative committees having policy and
budgetary responsibilities for elementary and secondary education.
Subd.
2. Expectations
for federally mandated student academic achievement. (a) Each school year, a school district must
determine if the student achievement levels at each school site meet state
and local federally mandated expectations. If student achievement levels at a school site do not meet state
and local federally mandated expectations and the site has not made
adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years, beginning with the
2001-2002 school year, the district must work with the school site to adopt a
plan to raise student achievement levels to meet state and local
federally mandated expectations.
The commissioner of education shall establish student academic
achievement levels to comply with this paragraph.
(b)
School sites identified as not meeting federally mandated expectations
must develop continuous improvement plans in order to meet state and local
federally mandated expectations for student academic achievement. The department, at a district's request,
must assist the district and the school site in developing a plan to improve
student achievement. The plan must
include parental involvement components.
(c)
The commissioner must:
(1) provide
assistance to assist school sites and districts identified as not
meeting federally mandated expectations; and
(2)
provide technical assistance to schools that integrate student progress
measures under subdivision 3 in the school continuous improvement plan.
(d)
The commissioner shall establish and maintain a continuous improvement Web site
designed to make data on every school and district available to parents,
teachers, administrators, community members, and the general public.
Subd.
3. Student
progress assessment growth; other state measures. (a) The state's educational
assessment system component measuring individual students' educational progress
must be growth is based, to the extent annual tests are
administered, on indicators of achievement growth that show an individual
student's prior achievement. Indicators
of achievement and prior achievement must be are based on highly
reliable statewide or districtwide assessments.
(b)
The commissioner must identify effective models for measuring individual
student progress that enable a school district or school site to perform
gains-based analysis, including evaluating the effects of the teacher, school,
and school district on student achievement over time. At least one model must be a "value-added" assessment
model that reliably estimates those effects for classroom settings where a
single teacher teaches multiple subjects to the same group of students, for
team teaching arrangements, and for other teaching circumstances. use a
growth-based value-added system. The
commissioner must apply the state growth norm to students in grades 4 through 8
beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, consistent with section 120B.299,
subdivision 6, initially benchmarking the state growth norm to 2006-2007 school
year data. The model must allow the
user to:
(1)
report student growth at and above the state norm; and
(2)
for all student categories with a cell size of at least 20, report and compare
aggregated and disaggregated state growth data using the nine student
categories identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two
student gender categories of male and female, respectively. The model must measure the effects that
teacher teams within a grade, teacher teams across an entire grade, the school,
and the school district have on student growth. The model must not compile test results for teacher teams within
a grade or across a grade unless the test results encompass data on three or
more teachers.
(c)
If a district has an accountability plan that includes gains-based analysis or
"value-added" assessment, the commissioner shall, to the extent
practicable, incorporate those measures in determining whether the district or
school site meets expectations. The
department must coordinate with the district in evaluating school sites and
continuous improvement plans, consistent with best practices. If a district has an
accountability plan that includes other growth-based value-added analysis, the
commissioner may, to the extent practicable and consistent with this section,
incorporate those measures in determining whether the district or school site
shows growth, including accelerated growth.
(d)
When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the
commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2011, must report two core measures
indicating the extent to which current high school graduates are being prepared
for postsecondary academic and career opportunities:
(1)
a preparation measure indicating the number and percentage of high school
graduates in the most recent school year who completed course work important to
preparing them for postsecondary academic and career opportunities, consistent
with the core academic subjects required for admission to Minnesota's public
four-year colleges and universities as determined by the Office of Higher
Education under chapter 136A; and
(2)
a rigorous coursework measure indicating the number and percentage of high
school graduates in the most recent school year who successfully completed one
or more college-level advanced placement, international baccalaureate,
postsecondary enrollment options including concurrent enrollment, other
rigorous courses of study under section 120B.021, subdivision 1a, or industry
certification courses or programs.
When reporting the core
measures under clauses (1) and (2), the commissioner must also analyze and
report separate categories of information using the nine student categories
identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two student gender
categories of male and female, respectively.
(e)
When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the
commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2011, must include summary data
showing students' average self-reported sense of school safety, engagement in
school, and the quality of students' relationship with teachers,
administrators, and other students. The
commissioner must gather these data consistently from students in grade 4 or 5,
in one grade level in grades 6 through 8, and in one grade level in high
school, as determined by the commissioner in consultation with recognized and
qualified experts. All data received,
collected, or created that are used to generate the summary data under this
paragraph are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9.
Subd.
4. Improving
schools. Consistent with the
requirements of this section, the commissioner of education must establish a
second achievement benchmark to identify improving schools. The commissioner must recommend to
annually report to the public and the legislature by February 15, 2002,
indicators in addition to the achievement benchmark for identifying improving
schools, including an indicator requiring a school to demonstrate ongoing
successful use of best teaching practices best practices learned from
those schools that demonstrate accelerated growth compared to the state growth
norm.
Subd.
5. Improving
graduation rates for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. (a) A district must develop strategies in conjunction
with parents of students with emotional or behavioral disorders and the county
board responsible for implementing sections 245.487 to 245.4889 to keep
students with emotional or behavioral disorders in school, when the district
has a drop-out rate for students with an emotional or behavioral disorder in
grades 9 through 12 exceeding 25 percent.
(b) A
district must develop a plan in conjunction with parents of students with
emotional or behavioral disorders and the local mental health authority to
increase the graduation rates of students with emotional or behavioral
disorders. A district with a drop-out
rate for children with an emotional or behavioral disturbance in grades 9
through 12 that is in the top 25 percent of all districts shall submit a plan
for review and oversight to the commissioner.
EFFECTIVE DATE. Subdivision 3, paragraph (b), applies to students in the
2009-2010 school year and later.
Subdivision 3, paragraph (d), applies to students in the 2010-2011
school year and later. Subdivision 3,
paragraph (e), applies to high school students in the 2009-2010 school year and
later, and to students in any grades 4 through 8 in the 2010-2011 school year
and later, consistent with the commissioner's grade level determinations. Subdivision 4 applies in the 2011-2012
school year and later.
Sec.
8. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.36, as amended by Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 11, is
amended to read:
120B.36 SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY; APPEALS
PROCESS.
Subdivision
1. School
performance report cards. (a) The
commissioner shall use objective criteria based on levels of student
performance to report at least student academic performance under
section 120B.35, subdivision 2, the percentages of students at and above the
state growth norm under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b),
school safety and student engagement under section 120B.35, subdivision 3,
paragraph (e), rigorous coursework under section 120B.35, subdivision 3,
paragraph (d), two separate student-to-teacher ratios that clearly indicate
the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and 122A.15 for
purposes of determining these ratios, and staff characteristics
excluding salaries, with a value-added component added no later than the
2008-2009 school year student enrollment demographics, district
mobility, and extracurricular activities.
The report must indicate a school's adequate yearly progress status,
and must not set any designations applicable to high- and low-performing
schools due solely to adequate yearly progress status.
(b)
The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department Web
site school performance report cards.
(c)
The commissioner must make available the first performance report cards
by November 2003, and during the beginning of each school year thereafter.
(d) A
school or district may appeal its adequate yearly progress status in writing to
the commissioner within 30 days of receiving the notice of its status. The commissioner's decision to uphold or
deny an appeal is final.
(e)
School performance report cards card data are nonpublic data
under section 13.02, subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the
appeal procedure described in paragraph (d) concludes. The department shall annually post school
performance report cards to its public Web site no later than September 1.
Subd.
2. Adequate
yearly progress data. All data the
department receives, collects, or creates for purposes of determining
to determine adequate yearly progress designations status
under Public Law 107-110, section 1116, set state growth norms, and
determine student growth are nonpublic data under section 13.02,
subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure
described in subdivision 1, paragraph (d), concludes. Districts must provide parents sufficiently detailed summary data
to permit parents to appeal under Public Law 107-110, section 1116(b)(2). The department shall annually post
federally mandated adequate yearly progress data and state student
growth data to its public Web site no later than September 1.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
9. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
120B.362, is amended to read:
120B.362 GROWTH-BASED VALUE-ADDED ASSESSMENT
PROGRAM.
(a) The commissioner of
education must implement a growth-based value-added assessment program
to assist school districts, public schools, and charter schools in assessing
and reporting individual students' growth in academic achievement under section
120B.30, subdivision 1a. The program
must use assessments of individual students' academic achievement to make
longitudinal comparisons of each student's academic growth over time. School districts, public schools, and
charter schools may apply to the commissioner to participate in the initial
trial program using a form and in the manner the commissioner prescribes. The commissioner must select program
participants from urban, suburban, and rural areas throughout the state.
(b)
The commissioner may issue a request for proposals to contract with an
organization that provides a value-added assessment model that reliably
estimates school and school district effects on students' academic achievement
over time. The model the commissioner selects
must accommodate diverse data and must use each student's test data across
grades. Data on individual teachers
generated under the model are personnel data under section 13.43.
(c)
The contract under paragraph (b) must be consistent with the definition of
"best value" under section 16C.02, subdivision 4.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
10. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
122A.21, is amended to read:
122A.21 TEACHERS' AND ADMINISTRATORS' LICENSES;
FEES.
Subdivision
1. Licensure
applications. Each application
for the issuance, renewal, or extension of a license to teach, including
applications for licensure via portfolio under subdivision 2, must be
accompanied by a processing fee of $57.
Each application for issuing, renewing, or extending the license of a
school administrator or supervisor must be accompanied by a processing fee in
the amount set by the Board of Teaching.
The processing fee for a
teacher's
license and for the licenses of supervisory personnel must be paid to the
executive secretary of the appropriate board.
The executive secretary of the board shall deposit the fees with the
commissioner of finance. The fees as
set by the board are nonrefundable for applicants not qualifying for a
license. However, a fee must be
refunded by the commissioner of finance in any case in which the applicant
already holds a valid unexpired license.
The board may waive or reduce fees for applicants who apply at the same
time for more than one license.
Subd.
2. Licensure
via portfolio. (a) A
candidate seeking licensure via portfolio must submit a $75 fee to the Educator
Licensing Division at the department to determine the candidate's eligibility
for licensure via portfolio. An
eligible candidate may use licensure via portfolio to obtain an initial
licensure or to add a licensure field, consistent with the applicable Board of
Teaching licensure rules.
(b)
A candidate for initial licensure must submit to the Educator Licensing
Division at the department one portfolio demonstrating pedagogical competence
and one portfolio demonstrating content competence.
(c)
A candidate seeking to add a licensure field must submit to the Educator
Licensing Division at the department one portfolio demonstrating content
competence.
(d)
A candidate must pay to the executive secretary of the Board of Teaching a $300
fee for the first portfolio submitted for review and a $200 fee for any
portfolio submitted subsequently. The
fees must be paid to the executive secretary of the Board of Teaching. The revenue generated from the fee must be
deposited in an education licensure portfolio account in the special revenue
fund. The fees set by the Board of
Teaching are nonrefundable for applicants not qualifying for a license. The Board of Teaching may waive or reduce
fees for candidates based on financial need.
Sec.
11. [121A.215] LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT WELLNESS POLICIES; WEB SITE.
When
available, a school district must post its current local school wellness policy
on its Web site.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
12. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
123B.02, subdivision 21, is amended to read:
Subd.
21. Wind energy conversion system.
The board, or more than one board acting jointly under the authority
granted by section 471.59, may construct, acquire, own in whole or in part,
operate, and sell and retain and spend the payment received from selling energy
from a wind energy conversion system, as defined in section 216C.06,
subdivision 19. The board's share of
the installed capacity of the wind energy conversion systems authorized by this
subdivision must not exceed 3.3 megawatts of nameplate capacity. A board owning, operating, or selling energy
from a wind energy conversion system must integrate information about wind
energy conversion systems in its educational programming. The board, or more than one board acting
jointly under the authority granted by section 471.59, may be a limited partner
in a partnership, a member of a limited liability company, or a shareholder in
a corporation, established for the sole purpose of constructing, acquiring,
owning in whole or in part, financing, or operating a wind energy conversion
system for the benefit of the district or districts in accordance with this
section.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
13. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 123B.143, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. Contract;
duties. All districts maintaining a
classified secondary school must employ a superintendent who shall be an ex
officio nonvoting member of the school board.
The authority for selection and employment of a superintendent must be
vested in the board in all cases. An
individual employed by a board as a
superintendent
shall have an initial employment contract for a period of time no longer than
three years from the date of employment.
Any subsequent employment contract must not exceed a period of three
years. A board, at its discretion, may
or may not renew an employment contract.
A board must not, by action or inaction, extend the duration of an
existing employment contract. Beginning
365 days prior to the expiration date of an existing employment contract, a
board may negotiate and enter into a subsequent employment contract to take
effect upon the expiration of the existing contract. A subsequent contract must be contingent upon the employee
completing the terms of an existing contract.
If a contract between a board and a superintendent is terminated prior
to the date specified in the contract, the board may not enter into another
superintendent contract with that same individual that has a term that extends
beyond the date specified in the terminated contract. A board may terminate a superintendent during the term of an
employment contract for any of the grounds specified in section 122A.40,
subdivision 9 or 13. A superintendent
shall not rely upon an employment contract with a board to assert any other continuing
contract rights in the position of superintendent under section 122A.40. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections
122A.40, subdivision 10 or 11, 123A.32, 123A.75, or any other law to the
contrary, no individual shall have a right to employment as a superintendent
based on order of employment in any district.
If two or more districts enter into an agreement for the purchase or
sharing of the services of a superintendent, the contracting districts have the
absolute right to select one of the individuals employed to serve as
superintendent in one of the contracting districts and no individual has a
right to employment as the superintendent to provide all or part of the
services based on order of employment in a contracting district. The superintendent of a district shall
perform the following:
(1)
visit and supervise the schools in the district, report and make
recommendations about their condition when advisable or on request by the
board;
(2)
recommend to the board employment and dismissal of teachers;
(3)
superintend school grading practices and examinations for promotions;
(4)
make reports required by the commissioner; and
(5) by
January 10, submit an annual report to the commissioner in a manner prescribed
by the commissioner, in consultation with school districts, identifying the
expenditures that the district requires to ensure an 80 percent student passage
rate on the MCA-IIs taken in the eighth grade, identifying the highest student
passage rate the district expects it will be able to attain on the MCA-IIs by
grade 12, and the amount of expenditures that the district requires to attain
the targeted student passage rate; and
(6) perform other duties
prescribed by the board.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
14. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
123B.59, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. To
qualify. (a) An independent or
special school district qualifies to participate in the alternative facilities
bonding and levy program if the district has:
(1)
more than 66 students per grade;
(2)
over 1,850,000 square feet of space and the average age of building space is 15
years or older or over 1,500,000 square feet and the average age of building
space is 35 years or older;
(3)
insufficient funds from projected health and safety revenue and capital
facilities revenue to meet the requirements for deferred maintenance, to make
accessibility improvements, or to make fire, safety, or health repairs; and
(4) a
ten-year facility plan approved by the commissioner according to subdivision 2.
(b) An
independent or special school district not eligible to participate in the
alternative facilities bonding and levy program under paragraph (a) qualifies
for limited participation in the program if the district has:
(1)
one or more health and safety projects with an estimated cost of $500,000 or
more per site that would qualify for health and safety revenue except for the
project size limitation in section 123B.57, subdivision 1, paragraph (b); and
(2)
insufficient funds from capital facilities revenue to fund those projects.
(c)
Notwithstanding the square footage limitation in paragraph (a), clause (2), a
school district that qualified for eligibility under paragraph (a) as of July
1, 2007, remains eligible for funding under this section as long as the
district continues to meet the requirements of paragraph (a), clauses (1), (3),
and (4).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
15. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
123B.62, is amended to read:
123B.62 BONDS FOR CERTAIN CAPITAL FACILITIES.
(a) In
addition to other bonding authority, with approval of the commissioner, a
district may issue general obligation bonds for certain capital projects under
this section. The bonds must be used
only to make capital improvements including:
(1)
under section 126C.10, subdivision 14, total operating capital revenue uses
specified in clauses (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10);
(2)
the cost of energy modifications;
(3)
improving disability accessibility to school buildings; and
(4)
bringing school buildings into compliance with life and safety codes and fire
codes.
(b)
Before a district issues bonds under this subdivision, it must publish notice
of the intended projects, the amount of the bond issue, and the total amount of
district indebtedness.
(c) A
bond issue tentatively authorized by the board under this subdivision becomes
finally authorized unless a petition signed by more than 15 percent of the registered
voters of the district is filed with the school board within 30 days of the
board's adoption of a resolution stating the board's intention to issue
bonds. The percentage is to be
determined with reference to the number of registered voters in the district on
the last day before the petition is filed with the board. The petition must call for a referendum on
the question of whether to issue the bonds for the projects under this section. The approval of 50 percent plus one of those
voting on the question is required to pass a referendum authorized by this
section.
(d)
The bonds must be paid off within ten 15 years of issuance. The bonds must be issued in compliance with
chapter 475, except as otherwise provided in this section. A tax levy must be made for the payment of
principal and interest on the bonds in accordance with section 475.61. The sum of the tax levies under this section
and section 123B.61 for each year must not exceed the limit specified in
section 123B.61. The levy for each year
must be reduced as provided in section 123B.61. A district using an excess amount in the debt redemption fund to
retire the bonds shall report the amount used for this purpose to the
commissioner by July 15 of the following fiscal year. A district having an outstanding capital loan under section
126C.69 or an outstanding debt service loan under section 126C.68 must not use
an excess amount in the debt redemption fund to retire the bonds.
(e)
Notwithstanding paragraph (d), bonds issued by a district within the first five
years following voter approval of a combination according to section 123A.37,
subdivision 2, must be paid off within 20 years of issuance. All the other provisions and limitation of
paragraph (d) apply.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
16. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.04, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd.
3. Pupils
in adjoining states. Except as
provided under an agreement with an adjoining state under section 124D.041, a
non-Minnesota pupil who resides in an adjoining state in a district that
borders Minnesota may enroll in a Minnesota district if either the board of the
district in which the pupil resides or state in which the pupil resides pays
tuition to the district in which the pupil is enrolled.
Sec.
17. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.04, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd.
6. Tuition
payments. (a) In each
odd-numbered year, before March 1, the commissioner must agree to rates of
tuition for Minnesota elementary and secondary pupils attending in other states
for the next two fiscal years when the other state agrees to negotiate tuition
rates. The commissioner must negotiate
equal, reciprocal rates with the designated authority in each state for pupils
who reside in an adjoining state and enroll in a Minnesota district. The rates must be at least equal to the
tuition specified in section 124D.05, subdivision 1. If the other state does not agree to negotiate a general tuition
rate, a Minnesota school district may negotiate a tuition rate with the school
district in the other state that sends a pupil to or receives a pupil from the
Minnesota school district. The tuition
rate for a pupil with a disability must be equal to the actual cost of instruction
and services provided. The resident
district of a Minnesota pupil attending in another state under this section
must pay the amount of tuition agreed upon in this section to the district of
attendance, prorated on the basis of the proportion of the school year
attended.
(b)
Notwithstanding paragraph (a) and subdivision 9, if an agreement is reached
between the state of Minnesota and an adjoining state pursuant to section
124D.041, the provisions of section 124D.041 and the agreement shall apply to all
enrollment transfers between Minnesota and the adjoining state, and provisions
of paragraph (a) and subdivision 9 shall not apply.
Sec.
18. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.04, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd.
8. Effective
if reciprocal. This section is
effective with respect to South Dakota upon enactment of provisions by South
Dakota that the commissioner determines are essentially similar to the
provisions for Minnesota pupils in this section. This section is effective with respect to any other
bordering state upon enactment of provisions by the bordering state that the
commissioner determines are essentially similar to the provisions for Minnesota
pupils in this section.
Sec.
19. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.04, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd.
9. Appeal
to the commissioner. If a Minnesota
school district cannot agree with an adjoining state on a tuition rate for a
Minnesota student attending school in that state and that state has met the
requirements in subdivision 8, then the student's parent or guardian may
request that the commissioner agree on set a tuition rate for the
student. The Minnesota district must
pay the amount of tuition the commissioner agrees upon sets.
Sec.
20. [124D.041] RECIPROCITY WITH ADJOINING STATES.
Subdivision
1. Agreements. (a) The commissioner may enter into an
agreement with the designated authority from an adjoining state to establish an
enrollment options program between Minnesota and the adjoining state. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this
section must specify the following:
(1)
for students who are not residents of Minnesota, the enrollment options program
applies only to a student whose resident school district borders Minnesota;
(2)
the commissioner must negotiate equal, reciprocal rates with the designated
authority from the adjoining state;
(3)
if the adjoining state sends more students to Minnesota than Minnesota sends to
the adjoining state, the adjoining state must pay the state of Minnesota the
rate agreed upon under clause (2) for the excess number of students sent to
Minnesota;
(4)
if Minnesota sends more students to the adjoining state than the adjoining
state sends to Minnesota, the state of Minnesota will pay the adjoining state
the rate agreed upon under clause (2) for the excess number of students sent to
the adjoining state;
(5)
the application procedures for the enrollment options program between Minnesota
and the adjoining state;
(6)
the reasons for which an application for the enrollment options program between
Minnesota and the adjoining may be denied; and
(7)
that a Minnesota school district is not responsible for transportation for any
resident student attending school in an adjoining state under the provisions of
this section. A Minnesota school
district may, at its discretion, provide transportation services for such a
student.
(b)
Any agreement entered into pursuant to this section may specify additional
terms relating to any student in need of special education and related services
pursuant to chapter 125A. Any
additional terms must apply equally to both states.
Subd.
2. Pupil
accounting. (a) Any student
from an adjoining state enrolled in Minnesota pursuant to this section is
included in the receiving school district's average daily membership and pupil
units according to section 126C.05 as if the student were a resident of another
Minnesota school district attending the receiving school district under section
124D.03.
(b)
Any Minnesota resident student enrolled in an adjoining state pursuant to this
section is included in the resident school district's average daily membership
and pupil units according to section 126C.05 as if the student were a resident
of the district attending another Minnesota school district under section 124D.03.
Subd.
3. Procedures. (a) The Department of Education must
establish procedures relating to the application process, the collection or
payment of funds under the provisions of any agreement established pursuant to
this section, and the collection of data necessary to implement any agreement
established pursuant to this section.
(b)
Notwithstanding sections 124D.04 and 124D.05, if an agreement is established
between Minnesota and an adjoining state pursuant to this section, the
provisions of this section and the agreement shall apply to all enrollment
transfers between Minnesota and the adjoining state, and provisions of sections
124D.04 and 124D.05 to the contrary, including provisions relating to tuition
payments, shall not apply.
(c)
Notwithstanding paragraph (a), any payments to adjoining states under this
section shall be made according to section 127A.45, subdivision 16.
(d)
Notwithstanding paragraph (b), sections 124D.04, subdivision 6, paragraph (b),
and 124D.05, subdivision 2a, the provisions of this section and the agreement
shall not apply to enrollment transfers between Minnesota and a school district
in an adjoining state enrolling fewer than 150 pupils that is exempted from
participation in the program under the laws of the adjoining state.
Sec.
21. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.05, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd.
2a. Exception. Notwithstanding subdivisions 1 and 2, if
an agreement is reached between the state of Minnesota and an adjoining state
pursuant to section 124D.041, the provisions of section 124D.041 and the
agreement shall apply to all enrollment transfers between Minnesota and the
adjoining state, and provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 to the contrary,
including provisions relating to tuition payments, shall not apply.
Sec.
22. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.10, subdivision 20, is amended to read:
Subd.
20. Leave to teach in a charter school. If a teacher employed by a district makes a written request for
an extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school, the district must
grant the leave. The district must
grant a leave not to exceed a total of five years. Any request to extend the leave shall be granted only at the
discretion of the school board. The
district may require that the request for a leave or extension of leave be made
up to 90 days before the teacher would otherwise have to report for duty
before February 1 in the school year preceding the school year in which the
teacher wishes to return, or before February 1 of the calendar year in which
the teacher's leave is scheduled to terminate. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and except for
section 122A.46, subdivision 7, the leave is governed by section 122A.46,
including, but not limited to, reinstatement, notice of intention to return,
seniority, salary, and insurance.
During
a leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate benefits and credits in the
Teachers' Retirement Association account by paying both the employer and
employee contributions based upon the annual salary of the teacher for the last
full pay period before the leave began.
The retirement association may impose reasonable requirements to
efficiently administer this subdivision.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2008-2009 school year and
later.
Sec.
23. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 124D.531, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. State
total adult basic education aid.
(a) The state total adult basic education aid for fiscal year 2005 is
$36,509,000. The state total adult
basic education aid for fiscal year 2006 equals $36,587,000 plus any amount
that is not paid for during the previous fiscal year, as a result of
adjustments under subdivision 4, paragraph (a), or section 124D.52, subdivision
3. The state total adult basic
education aid for fiscal year 2007 equals $37,673,000 plus any amount that is
not paid for during the previous fiscal year, as a result of adjustments under
subdivision 4, paragraph (a), or section 124D.52, subdivision 3. The state total adult basic education aid
for fiscal
year
2008 equals $40,650,000, plus any amount that is not paid during the previous
fiscal year as a result of adjustments under subdivision 4, paragraph (a), or
section 124D.52, subdivision 3. The
state total adult basic education aid for later fiscal years equals:
(1)
the state total adult basic education aid for the preceding fiscal year plus
any amount that is not paid for during the previous fiscal year, as a result of
adjustments under subdivision 4, paragraph (a), or section 124D.52, subdivision
3; times
(2)
the lesser of:
(i)
1.03; or
(ii) the
greater of 1.00 or the ratio of the state total contact hours in the first
prior program year to the state total contact hours in the second prior program
year the average growth in state total contact hours over the prior ten
program years.
Beginning
in fiscal year 2002, two percent of the state total adult basic education aid
must be set aside for adult basic education supplemental service grants under
section 124D.522.
(b)
The state total adult basic education aid, excluding basic population aid,
equals the difference between the amount computed in paragraph (a), and the
state total basic population aid under subdivision 2.
Sec.
24. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
124D.55, is amended to read:
124D.55 GENERAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT (GED)
TEST FEES.
The
commissioner shall pay 60 percent of the fee that is charged to an eligible
individual for the full battery of a general education development (GED) test,
but not more than $20 $40 for an eligible individual.
Sec.
25. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
125A.65, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd.
11. Third-party
reimbursement. The Minnesota
State Academies must seek reimbursement under section 125A.21 from third
parties for the cost of services provided by the Minnesota State Academies
whenever the services provided are otherwise covered by a child's public or
private health plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
for revenue in fiscal years 2008 and later.
Sec.
26. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
125A.76, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd.
4a. Adjustments
for tuition reciprocity with adjoining states. (a) If an agreement is reached between
the state of Minnesota and an adjoining state pursuant to section 124D.041 that
requires a special education tuition payment from the state of Minnesota to the
adjoining state, the tuition payment shall be made from the special education aid
appropriation for that year, and the state total special education aid under
subdivision 4 shall be reduced by the amount of the payment.
(b)
If an agreement is reached between the state of Minnesota and an adjoining
state pursuant to section 124D.041 that requires a special education tuition
payment from an adjoining state to the state of Minnesota, the special
education aid appropriation for that year and the state total special education
aid under subdivision 4 shall be increased by the amount of the payment.
(c)
If an agreement is reached between the state of Minnesota and an adjoining
state pursuant to section 124D.041 that requires special education tuition
payments to be made between the two states and not between districts in the two
states, the special education aid for a Minnesota school district serving a
student with a disability from the adjoining state shall be calculated
according to section 127A.47, subdivision 7, except that no reduction shall be
made in the special education aid paid to the resident district.
Sec.
27. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.10, subdivision 31, is amended to read:
Subd.
31. Transition revenue. (a) A
district's transition allowance equals the greater of zero or the product of
the ratio of the number of adjusted marginal cost pupil units the district
would have counted for fiscal year 2004 under Minnesota Statutes 2002 to the
district's adjusted marginal cost pupil units for fiscal year 2004, times the
difference between: (1) the lesser of
the district's general education revenue per adjusted marginal cost pupil unit
for fiscal year 2003 or the amount of general education revenue the district
would have received per adjusted marginal cost pupil unit for fiscal year 2004
according to Minnesota Statutes 2002, and (2) the district's general education
revenue for fiscal year 2004 excluding transition revenue divided by the number
of adjusted marginal cost pupil units the district would have counted for
fiscal year 2004 under Minnesota Statutes 2002.
(b) A
district's transition revenue for fiscal year years 2006 and
later through 2009 equals the sum of the product of the district's
transition allowance times the district's adjusted marginal cost pupil units
plus the district's transition for prekindergarten revenue under subdivision
31a.
(c)
A district's transition revenue for fiscal year 2010 and later equals the sum
of the product of the district's transition allowance times the district's
adjusted marginal cost pupil units plus the district's transition for prekindergarten
revenue under subdivision 31a plus the district's transition for tuition
reciprocity revenue under subdivision 31c.
Sec.
28. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.10, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd.
31c. Transition
for tuition reciprocity revenue.
For the first year that a tuition reciprocity agreement with an
adjoining state is in effect under section 124D.041 and later, a school
district's transition for tuition reciprocity revenue equals the greater of
zero or the difference between the sum of the general education revenue and net
tuition revenue the district would have received for pupils enrolled under
section 124D.041 for the first year the agreement is in effect if the agreement
had not been in effect, and the sum of the district's general education revenue
and net tuition revenue for the first year the agreement is in effect.
Sec.
29. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.17, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd.
9. Referendum
revenue. (a) The revenue authorized
by section 126C.10, subdivision 1, may be increased in the amount approved by
the voters of the district at a referendum called for the purpose. The referendum may be called by the board or
shall be called by the board upon written petition of qualified voters of the
district. The referendum must be
conducted one or two calendar years before the increased levy authority, if
approved, first becomes payable. Only
one election to approve an increase may be held in a calendar year. Unless the referendum is conducted by mail
under paragraph (g), the referendum must be held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November. The ballot
must state the maximum amount of the increased revenue per resident marginal
cost pupil unit. The ballot may state a
schedule, determined by the board, of increased revenue per resident marginal
cost pupil unit that differs from year to year over the number of years for
which the increased revenue is authorized or may state that the amount shall
increase annually by the rate of inflation.
For this purpose, the rate of inflation shall be the annual inflationary
increase calculated under subdivision 2, paragraph (b). The ballot may state that existing
referendum levy authority is expiring.
In this case, the ballot may also compare the proposed levy authority to
the existing expiring levy authority, and express the proposed increase as the
amount, if any, over the expiring referendum levy authority. The ballot must designate the specific
number of years, not to
exceed
ten, for which the referendum authorization applies. The ballot, including a ballot on the question to revoke or
reduce the increased revenue amount under paragraph (c), must abbreviate the
term "per resident marginal cost pupil unit" as "per
pupil." The notice required under section 275.60 may be modified to read,
in cases of renewing existing levies at the same amount per pupil as in the
previous year:
"BY
VOTING "YES" ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU MAY BE VOTING FOR A
PROPERTY TAX INCREASE ARE RENEWING AN EXISTING PROPERTY TAX
REFERENDUM. YOU ARE NOT CHANGING YOUR
OPERATING REFERENDUM AMOUNT PER PUPIL FROM ITS LEVEL IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR."
The
ballot may contain a textual portion with the information required in this
subdivision and a question stating substantially the following:
"Shall
the increase in the revenue proposed by (petition to) the board of .........,
School District No. .., be approved?"
If
approved, an amount equal to the approved revenue per resident marginal cost
pupil unit times the resident marginal cost pupil units for the school year
beginning in the year after the levy is certified shall be authorized for
certification for the number of years approved, if applicable, or until revoked
or reduced by the voters of the district at a subsequent referendum.
(b)
The board must prepare and deliver by first class mail at least 15 days but no
more than 30 days before the day of the referendum to each taxpayer a notice of
the referendum and the proposed revenue increase. The board need not mail more than one notice to any
taxpayer. For the purpose of giving
mailed notice under this subdivision, owners must be those shown to be owners
on the records of the county auditor or, in any county where tax statements are
mailed by the county treasurer, on the records of the county treasurer. Every property owner whose name does not
appear on the records of the county auditor or the county treasurer is deemed
to have waived this mailed notice unless the owner has requested in writing
that the county auditor or county treasurer, as the case may be, include the
name on the records for this purpose.
The notice must project the anticipated amount of tax increase in annual
dollars for typical residential homesteads, agricultural homesteads,
apartments, and commercial-industrial property within the school district.
The
notice for a referendum may state that an existing referendum levy is expiring
and project the anticipated amount of increase over the existing referendum
levy in the first year, if any, in annual dollars for typical residential
homesteads, agricultural homesteads, apartments, and commercial-industrial
property within the district.
The
notice must include the following statement:
"Passage of this referendum will result in an increase in your
property taxes." However, in cases of renewing existing levies, the notice
may include the following statement:
"Passage of this referendum may result in an increase in your
property taxes." renews an existing operating referendum at the
same amount per pupil as in the previous year."
(c) A
referendum on the question of revoking or reducing the increased revenue amount
authorized pursuant to paragraph (a) may be called by the board and shall be
called by the board upon the written petition of qualified voters of the
district. A referendum to revoke or
reduce the revenue amount must state the amount per resident marginal cost
pupil unit by which the authority is to be reduced. Revenue authority approved by the voters of the district pursuant
to paragraph (a) must be available to the school district at least once before
it is subject to a referendum on its revocation or reduction for subsequent
years. Only one revocation or reduction
referendum may be held to revoke or reduce referendum revenue for any specific
year and for years thereafter.
(d) A
petition authorized by paragraph (a) or (c) is effective if signed by a number
of qualified voters in excess of 15 percent of the registered voters of the
district on the day the petition is filed with the board. A referendum invoked by petition must be
held on the date specified in paragraph (a).
(e)
The approval of 50 percent plus one of those voting on the question is required
to pass a referendum authorized by this subdivision.
(f) At
least 15 days before the day of the referendum, the district must submit a copy
of the notice required under paragraph (b) to the commissioner and to the
county auditor of each county in which the district is located. Within 15 days after the results of the
referendum have been certified by the board, or in the case of a recount, the
certification of the results of the recount by the canvassing board, the
district must notify the commissioner of the results of the referendum.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for elections conducted on or after
July 1, 2008.
Sec.
30. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.21, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. Permanent
school fund. The An
amount of money equal to $36 times the district's pupils in average daily
membership received by a district as income from the permanent school fund
for any year must be deducted from the general education aid earned by the
district for the same year or from aid earned from other state sources.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2010.
Sec.
31. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 126C.21, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd.
3. County
apportionment deduction. Each year
the amount of money apportioned to a district for that year pursuant to sections
section 127A.34, subdivision 2, and 272.029, subdivision 6, must be
deducted from the general education aid earned by that district for the same
year or from aid earned from other state sources.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2009.
Sec.
32. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement,
section 126C.44, is amended to read:
126C.44 SAFE SCHOOLS LEVY.
(a)
Each district may make a levy on all taxable property located within the
district for the purposes specified in this section. The maximum amount which may be levied for all costs under this
section shall be equal to $30 multiplied by the district's adjusted marginal
cost pupil units for the school year.
The proceeds of the levy must be reserved and used for directly funding
the following purposes or for reimbursing the cities and counties who contract
with the district for the following purposes:
(1) to pay the costs incurred for the salaries, benefits, and transportation
costs of peace officers and sheriffs for liaison in services in the district's
schools; (2) to pay the costs for a drug abuse prevention program as defined in
section 609.101, subdivision 3, paragraph (e), in the elementary schools; (3)
to pay the costs for a gang resistance education training curriculum in the
district's schools; (4) to pay the costs for security in the district's schools
and on school property; (5) to pay the costs for other crime prevention, drug
abuse, student and staff safety, voluntary opt-in suicide prevention tools, and
violence prevention measures taken by the school district; or (6) to pay costs
for licensed school counselors, licensed school nurses, licensed school social
workers, licensed school psychologists, and licensed alcohol and chemical
dependency counselors to help provide early responses to problems. For expenditures under clause (1), the
district must initially attempt to contract for services to be provided by
peace officers or sheriffs with the police department of each city or the
sheriff's department of the county within the district containing the school
receiving the services. If a local
police department or a county sheriff's department does not wish to provide the
necessary services, the district may contract for these services with any other
police or sheriff's department located entirely or partially within the school
district's boundaries.
(b) A
school district that is a member of an intermediate school district may include
in its authority under this section the costs associated with safe schools
activities authorized under paragraph (a) for intermediate school district
programs. This authority must not
exceed $10 times the adjusted marginal cost pupil units of the member
districts. This authority is in
addition to any other authority authorized under this section. Revenue raised under this paragraph must be
transferred to the intermediate school district.
(c) If
A school district spends must set aside at least $3 per adjusted
marginal cost pupil unit of the safe schools levy proceeds for the
purposes authorized under paragraph (a), clause (6),. The district must annually certify that
its total spending on services provided by the employees listed in paragraph
(a), clause (6), is not less than the sum of its expenditures for these purposes,
excluding amounts spent under this section, in the previous year plus the
amount spent under this section.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2010.
Sec.
33. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.51, is amended to read:
126C.51 APPLICATION OF LIMITING TAX
LEGISLATION.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 471.69 or 471.75, or of any other provision of law
which by per capita limitation, local tax rate limitation, or otherwise, limits
the power of a district to incur any debt or to issue any warrant or order, a school
district or intermediate school district has the powers in sections
126C.50 to 126C.56 specifically conferred upon it and all powers incident and
necessary to carrying out the purposes of sections 126C.50 to 126C.56.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
34. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.52, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd.
2. Limitations. The board of any school district may
also borrow money in the manner and subject to the limitations set forth in
sections 126C.50 to 126C.56 in anticipation of receipt of state aids for
schools as defined in Minnesota Statutes and of federal school aids to be
distributed by or through the department.
The aggregate of such borrowings under this subdivision shall never
exceed 75 percent of such aids which are receivable by said school district in
the school fiscal year (from July 1 to June 30) in which
the money is borrowed, as estimated and certified by the commissioner.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
35. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.52, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd.
3. Intermediate
school districts. (a) The board
of an intermediate school district may borrow money in the manner and subject
to the limitations set forth in sections 126C.50 to 126C.56 in anticipation of
the receipt of:
(1)
state aids for schools as defined in Minnesota Statutes;
(2)
federal school aids to be distributed by or through the department; and
(3)
membership fees and tuition payments from its member school districts.
The
aggregate of such borrowings under this subdivision shall never exceed 75
percent of such aids, fees, and tuition payments which are receivable by the
intermediate school district in the fiscal year in which the money is borrowed,
as estimated and certified by the commissioner.
(b)
The board of an intermediate school district may, upon receipt of a written
resolution by each of its member school districts, pledge the member district's
full faith and credit and unlimited taxing powers to repay its pro rata share
of any certificates issued or the amount paid by the state under section
126C.55, subdivision 2, plus interest, if the revenues specified in paragraph
(a) and any other revenues of the intermediate school district are insufficient
to do so.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
36. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 126C.53,
is amended to read:
126C.53 ENABLING RESOLUTION; FORM OF
CERTIFICATES OF INDEBTEDNESS.
The
board of a school district or intermediate school district may authorize
and effect such borrowing, and may issue such certificates of indebtedness upon
passage of a resolution specifying the amount and purposes for which it deems
such borrowing is necessary. The
resolution must be adopted by a vote of at least two-thirds of its members. The board must fix the amount, date,
maturity, form, denomination, and other details of the certificates of
indebtedness, not inconsistent with this chapter. The board must fix the date and place for receipt of bids for the
purchase of the certificates when bids are required and direct the clerk to
give notice of the date and place for bidding.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
37. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
126C.55, is amended to read:
126C.55 STATE PAYMENT OF DEBT OBLIGATION UPON
POTENTIAL DEFAULT; REPAYMENT; STATE OBLIGATION NOT DEBT.
Subdivision
1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term
"debt obligation" means:
(1) a tax
or aid anticipation certificate of indebtedness issued under section
126C.52;
(2) a
certificate of participation issued under section 126C.40, subdivision 6; or
(3) a
general obligation bond.
Subd.
2. Notifications;
payment; appropriation. (a) If a school
district or intermediate school district believes that it may be
unable to make a principal or interest payment on any outstanding debt
obligation on the date that payment is due, it must notify the commissioner as
soon as possible, but not less than 15 working days before the date that
principal or interest payment is due. The
notice must include the name of the school district or intermediate
school district, an identification of the debt obligation issue in
question, the date the payment is due, the amount of principal and interest due
on the payment date, the amount of principal or interest that the school
district or intermediate school district will be unable to repay on that
date, the paying agent for the debt obligation, the wire transfer instructions
to transfer funds to that paying agent, and an indication as to whether a
payment is being requested by the school district or intermediate
school district under this section.
If a paying agent becomes aware of a potential default, it shall inform
the commissioner of that fact. After
receipt of a notice which requests a payment under this section, after consultation
with the school district or intermediate school district and the
paying agent, and after verification of the accuracy of the information
provided, the commissioner shall notify the commissioner of finance of the
potential default. The notice must include
a final figure as to the amount due that the school district or
intermediate school district will be unable to repay on the date due.
(b)
Except as provided in subdivision 9, upon receipt of this notice from the
commissioner, the commissioner of finance shall issue a warrant and authorize
the commissioner of education to pay to the paying agent for the debt
obligation the specified amount on or before the date due. The amounts needed for the purposes of this
subdivision are annually appropriated to the department from the state general
fund.
(c)
The Departments of Education and Finance must jointly develop detailed
procedures for school districts and intermediate school districts to
notify the state that they have obligated themselves to be bound by the
provisions of this section, procedures for school districts or
intermediate school districts and paying agents to notify the state of
potential defaults and to request state payment under this section, and
procedures for the state to expedite payments to prevent defaults. The procedures are not subject to chapter
14.
Subd.
3. School
district bound; interest rate on state paid amount. If, at the request of a school district
or intermediate school district, the state has paid part or all of the
principal or interest due on a district's debt obligation on a specific date,
the school district or the intermediate school district is bound
by all provisions of this section and the amount paid shall bear taxable
interest from the date paid until the date of repayment at the invested cash
rate as it is certified by the commissioner of finance. Interest shall only accrue on the amounts
paid and outstanding less the reduction in aid under subdivision 4 and other
payments received from the school district or intermediate school
district.
Subd.
4. Pledge
of district's full faith and credit.
If, at the request of a school district or intermediate school
district, the state has paid part or all of the principal or interest due
on a district's debt obligation on a specific date, the pledge of the full
faith and credit and unlimited taxing powers of the school district or
the intermediate school district to repay the principal and interest due on
those debt obligations shall also, without an election or the requirement of a
further authorization, become a pledge of the full faith and credit and
unlimited taxing powers of the school district or the intermediate
school district to repay to the state the amount paid, with interest. Amounts paid by the state must be repaid in
the order in which the state payments were made.
Subd.
4a. Aid
reduction for repayment. (a)
Except as provided in this subdivision, the state must reduce the state aid
payable to the school district or intermediate school district under this chapter
and chapters 122A, 123A, 123B, 124D, 125A, 126C, and 273 by the amount paid by
the state under this section on behalf of the district, plus the interest due
on it, and the amount reduced must revert from the appropriate account to the
state general fund. Payments from the
school district endowment fund or any federal aid payments shall not be
reduced.
(b)
For an intermediate school district, the state aid payable to the intermediate
school district must first be reduced, before any reduction is made to the
state aids payable to the member districts.
If the state aid payable to the intermediate school district is not
sufficient to repay the state, state aid payable to member districts may be
reduced proportionately based on the ratio of each member district's adjusted
net tax capacity to the total adjusted net tax capacity of all member
districts.
(c)
If, after review of the financial situation of the school district or
intermediate school district, the commissioner advises the commissioner of
finance that a total reduction of aids would cause an undue hardship on or an
undue disruption of the educational program of the district, the commissioner,
with the approval of the commissioner of finance, may establish a different
schedule for reduction of aids to repay the state. The amount of aids to be reduced is decreased by any amounts
repaid to the state by the district from other revenue sources.
Subd.
6. Tax
levy for repayment. (a) With the
approval of the commissioner, a district may levy in the year the state makes a
payment under this section an amount up to the amount necessary to provide
funds for the repayment of the amount paid by the state plus interest through
the date of estimated repayment by the district. The proceeds of this levy may be used only for this purpose
unless they are in excess of the amount actually due, in which case the excess
shall be used to repay other state payments made under this section or shall be
deposited in the debt redemption fund of the school district. This levy shall be an increase in the levy
limits of the district for purposes of section 275.065, subdivision 6. The amount of aids to be reduced to repay
the state shall be decreased by the amount levied. This levy by the district is not eligible for debt service
equalization under section 123B.53.
(b) If
the state is not repaid in full for a payment made under this section by
November 30 of the calendar year following the year in which the state makes
the payment, the commissioner shall require the district to certify a property
tax levy in an amount up to the amount necessary to provide funds for repayment
of the amount paid by the state plus interest through the date of estimated
repayment by the school district. To prevent
undue hardship, the commissioner may allow the district to certify the levy
over a five-year period. The proceeds
of the levy may be used only for this purpose unless they are in excess of the
amount actually due, in which case the excess shall be used to repay other
state payments made under this section or shall be deposited in the debt
redemption fund of the district. This
levy shall be an increase in the levy limits of the school district for
purposes of section 275.065, subdivision 6.
If the commissioner orders the district to levy, the amount of aids
reduced to repay the state shall be decreased by the amount levied. This levy by the district is not eligible
for debt service equalization under section 123B.53 or any successor provision. A levy under this subdivision must be explained
as a specific increase at the meeting required under section 275.065,
subdivision 6.
(c)
For an intermediate school district, a levy made by a member school district
under paragraph (a) or (b) to repay its pro rata share must be spread by the
commissioner as a tax rate based on the total adjusted net tax capacity of the
member school districts. The proceeds
of the levy must be remitted by the member school district to the intermediate
school district and must be used by the intermediate school district only to
repay the state amounts owed. Any
amount in excess of the amount owed to the state must be repaid to the member
school districts and the commissioner shall adjust each member school
district's property tax levy in the next year.
Subd.
7. Election
as to mandatory application. A school
district or intermediate school district may covenant and obligate
itself, prior to the issuance of an issue of debt obligations, to notify the
commissioner of a potential default and to use the provisions of this section
to guarantee payment of the principal and interest on those debt obligations
when due. If the school district
or intermediate school district obligates itself to be bound by this
section, it must covenant in the resolution that authorizes the issuance of the
debt obligations to deposit with the paying agent three business days prior to
the date on which a payment is due an amount sufficient to make that payment or
to notify the commissioner under subdivision 1 that it will be unable to make
all or a portion of that payment. A
school district or intermediate school district that has obligated
itself must include a provision in its agreement with the paying agent for that
issue that requires the paying agent to inform the commissioner if it becomes
aware of a potential default in the payment of principal or interest on that
issue or if, on the day two business days prior to the date a payment is due on
that issue, there are insufficient funds to make the payment on deposit with
the paying agent. Funds invested in a
refunding escrow account established under section 475.67 that are to become
available to the paying agent on a principal or interest payment date are
deemed to be on deposit with the paying agent three business days before the
payment date. If a school
district or intermediate school district either covenants to be bound by
this section or accepts state payments under this section to prevent a default
of a particular issue of debt obligations, the provisions of this section shall
be binding as to that issue as long as any debt obligation of that issue remain
outstanding. If the provisions of this
section are or become binding for more than one issue of debt obligations and a
school district or intermediate school district is unable to make
payments on one or more of those issues, the district must continue to make
payments on the remaining issues.
Subd.
8. Mandatory
plan; technical assistance. If the
state makes payments on behalf of a school district or intermediate
school district under this section or the district defaults in the payment
of principal or interest on an outstanding debt obligation, it must submit a
plan to the commissioner for approval specifying the measures it intends to
implement to resolve the issues which led to its inability to make the payment
and to prevent further defaults. The
department must provide technical assistance to the school district
or intermediate school district in preparing its plan. If the commissioner determines that a
district's plan is not adequate, the commissioner shall notify the school
district or intermediate school district that the plan has been
disapproved, the reasons for the disapproval, and that the state shall not make
future payments under this section for debt obligations issued after the date
specified in that notice until its plan is approved. The commissioner may also notify the school district or
intermediate school district that until its plan is approved, other aids
due the district will be withheld after a date specified in the notice.
Subd.
9. State
bond rating. If the commissioner of
finance determines that the credit rating of the state would be adversely
affected thereby, the commissioner of finance shall not issue warrants under
subdivision 2 for the payment of principal or interest on any debt obligations
for which a district did not, prior to their issuance, obligate itself to be
bound by the provisions of this section.
Subd.
10. Continuing disclosure agreements.
The commissioner of finance may enter into written agreements or
contracts relating to the continuing disclosure of information needed to
facilitate the ability of school districts or intermediate school districts
to issue debt obligations according to federal securities laws, rules, and
regulations, including securities and exchange commission rules and
regulations, section 240.15c2-12. Such
agreements or contracts may be in any form the commissioner of finance deems
reasonable and in the state's best interests.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec.
38. [127A.331] SCHOOL ENDOWMENT FUND; USE OF REVENUE.
A
school that receives school endowment fund revenue under section 127A.33 in
excess of $36 per pupil in average daily membership may use that revenue only
for the following purposes:
(1)
to purchase or lease computers and related materials, copying machines,
telecommunications equipment, and other noninstructional equipment;
(2)
to purchase or lease assistive technology or equipment for instructional programs;
(3)
to purchase new and replacement library media resources or technology;
(4)
to pay for ongoing or recurring telecommunications/Internet access costs
associated with Internet access, data lines, and video links; and
(5)
to pay for service provider installation fees for installation of new
telecommunications lines or increased bandwidth.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for revenue for fiscal year 2010.
Sec.
39. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section
127A.45, subdivision 16, is amended to read:
Subd.
16. Payments to third parties.
Notwithstanding subdivision 3, the current year aid payment percentage
of the amounts under section 123A.26, subdivision 3 and section 124D.041,
shall be paid in equal installments on August 30, December 30, and March 30,
with a final adjustment payment on October 30 of the next fiscal year of the
remaining amount.
Sec.
40. Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2,
section 46, subdivision 13, is amended to read:
Subd.
13. Preadvanced placement, advanced placement, international baccalaureate,
and concurrent enrollment programs.
For preadvanced placement, advanced placement, international
baccalaureate, and concurrent enrollment programs under Minnesota Statutes,
sections 120B.132 and 124D.091:
$6,500,000 . . . . . 2008
$6,500,000 . . . . . 2009
Of this amount, $2,500,000 each year is for
concurrent enrollment program aid under Minnesota Statutes, section
124D.091. If the appropriation is
insufficient, the commissioner must proportionately reduce the aid payment to
each district. Any balance in the
first year does not cancel but is available in the second year.
The base appropriation for fiscal year 2010
and later is $2,000,000.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 41.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 3, section 23, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2.
Report. (a) The task force must submit to the
education policy and finance committees of the legislature by February 15, 2008
2009, a report that identifies and clearly and concisely explains each
provision in state law or rule that exceeds or expands upon a minimum
federal requirement contained in law or regulation for providing special
education programs and services to eligible students. The report also must recommend which state provisions
statutes and rules that exceed or expand upon a minimum federal
requirement may be amended to conform with minimum federal requirements or
made more effective as determined by a majority of the task force members. The task force must recommend rules
governing the use of aversive and deprivation procedures by school district
employees or persons under contract with a school district. The task force expires when it submits
its report to the legislature.
(b) Consistent with subdivision 1, the
Department of Education member of the task force representing regulators shall
be replaced with a parent advocate selected by a statewide organization that
advocates on behalf of families with children with disabilities.
(c) The Department of Education must provide
technical assistance at the request of the task force.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 42.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 3, section 24, subdivision 9, is amended
to read:
Subd. 9.
Special Education Task Force. For the task force to compare federal and
state special education requirements:
$
20,000 40,000 .
. . . . 2008
Any balance in the first year does not cancel
but is available in the second year.
This is a onetime appropriation.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 43.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 5, section 13, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:
Subd. 5.
Plainview-Elgin-Millville fund
balance replacement aid. For fund
balance replacement aid for Independent School District No. 2899,
Plainview-Elgin-Millville:
$
17,000 24,000 .
. . . . 2008
This is a onetime appropriation.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment.
Sec. 44.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 7, section 4, is amended to read:
Sec. 4.
APPROPRIATIONS; DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION.
Subdivision 1. Department of Education. Unless otherwise indicated, the sums
indicated in this section are appropriated from the general fund to the
Department of Education for the fiscal years designated.
Subd. 2.
Department. (a) For the Department of Education:
$22,169,000 . . . . . 2008
$
22,653,000 21,791,000 .
. . . . 2009
Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is
available in the second year.
(b) $7,000 in fiscal year 2008 is for GRAD test
rulemaking.
(c) $7,000 in fiscal year 2008 is for rulemaking
under section 3.
(d) $40,000 each year is for an early hearing loss
intervention coordinator under Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.63, subdivision
5. If the department expends federal
funds to employ a hearing loss coordinator under Minnesota Statutes, section
125.63, subdivision 5, then the appropriation under this paragraph is
reallocated for purposes of employing a world languages coordinator.
(e) $260,000 each year is for the Minnesota
Children's Museum.
(f) $41,000 each year is for the Minnesota Academy
of Science.
(g) $619,000 in fiscal year 2008 and $632,000 in
fiscal year 2009 are for the Board of Teaching.
(h) $163,000 in fiscal year 2008 and $171,000 in
fiscal year 2009 are for the Board of School Administrators.
(i) $50,000 each year is for the Duluth Children's
Museum.
(j) The expenditures of federal grants and aids as
shown in the biennial budget document and its supplements are approved and
appropriated and shall be spent as indicated.
(k) None of the amounts appropriated under this
subdivision may be used for Minnesota's Washington, D.C., office.
(l) $30,000 in fiscal year 2009 is for
determining how the educational achievement of low-income students and students
of color is impacted by education issues related to rigorous preparation and
coursework, educators' professional development, English language learners, special
education, GRAD tests, and the use of valid and reliable data on student
preparation for postsecondary academic and career opportunities under sections
57 and 58. This amount is not added to
the base appropriation for fiscal year 2010 and later.
Sec. 45.
Laws 2007, First Special Session chapter 2, article 1, section 11,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision
1. Total
Appropriation $ 584,000 268,000
The appropriations in this
section are from the general fund. The
amounts that may be spent for each purpose are specified in the following
subdivisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 46. Laws 2007, First Special Session chapter 2,
article 1, section 11, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Independent School District No. 239,
Rushford-Peterson
(a) Flood Enrollment Impact Aid 89,000
The commissioner of
education shall pay to the school district flood enrollment impact aid equal to
$5,394 times the number of pupils lost as a result of the floods of August
2007. The district must provide to the
commissioner of education documentation of the number of pupils in average
daily membership lost as a result of the flood.
(b) Disaster Relief Facilities Grant 250,000
120,000
For facilities cleanup,
repair, and replacement costs related to the floods of August 2007 not covered
by the district's insurance settlement or through Federal Emergency Management
Agency payments. The commissioner of
education may request the school district to provide necessary information
before awarding a grant.
(c) Pupil Transportation Aid 40,000
For increased costs
associated with transporting students as a result of the floods of August 2007.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 47. Laws 2007,
First Special Session chapter 2, article 1, section 11, subdivision 6, is
amended to read:
Subd. 6. Disaster Relief Facilities Grants to Other
Districts 90,000
14,000
For facilities cleanup,
repair, and replacement costs related to the floods of August 2007 not covered
by the district's insurance settlement or through Federal Emergency Management
Agency payments. The commissioner of
education may request the school district to provide necessary information
before awarding a grant. School
districts not included in subdivisions 2 to 5 must be given priority in the
allocation of this appropriation.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 48. FUND TRANSFERS.
Subdivision 1. Capital account
transfers. Notwithstanding
any law to the contrary, on June 30, 2008, a school district may transfer money
from its reserved for operating capital account to its undesignated balance in
the general fund. The amount
transferred by any school district must not exceed $51 times the district's
adjusted marginal cost pupil units for fiscal year 2007. This transfer may occur only after the
school board has adopted a written resolution stating the amount of the transfer
and declaring that the school district's operating capital needs are being met.
Subd. 2. Reserved for operating
capital account transfer; Balaton school district. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes,
section 123B.79 or 123B.80, or subdivision 1, on June 30, 2008, Independent
School District No. 411, Balaton, may transfer up to $70,000 from its reserved
for operating capital account to its undesignated general fund balance.
Subd. 3. Reserved for operating
capital account transfer; East Central school district. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes,
section 123B.79 or 123B.80, or subdivision 1, on June 30, 2008, Independent
School District No. 2580, East Central, may transfer up to $300,000 from its
reserved for operating capital account to its undesignated general fund
balance.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 49. ONETIME
GENERAL EDUCATION REVENUE INCREASE; FISCAL YEAR 2009 ONLY.
A school district's general
education revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, is increased for
fiscal year 2009 only by an amount equal to $51 times the district's adjusted
marginal cost pupil units for that year.
Sec. 50. ALTERNATIVE
TEACHER COMPENSATION AID.
A school district that has
not applied for alternative teacher compensation aid under Minnesota Statutes,
section 126C.10, subdivision 34, by March 20, 2008, is not eligible for aid
under that subdivision for fiscal year 2009.
Nothing in this section limits a district's eligibility for alternative
teacher compensation aid in subsequent fiscal years.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 51. IMPLEMENTING
A STUDENT GROWTH-BASED VALUE-ADDED SYSTEM.
(a) To implement the
requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph
(b), and to help parents and members of the public compare the reported data,
the commissioner must convene a group of expert school district assessment and
evaluation staff, including a recognized Minnesota assessment group composed of
assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers under Minnesota
Statutes, section 120B.299, subdivision 6, and interested stakeholders,
including school superintendents, school principals, school teachers, and
parents to examine the actual statewide performance of students using
Minnesota's growth-based value-added system and establish criteria for
identifying schools and school districts that demonstrate accelerated growth in
order to advance educators' professional development and replicate programs
that succeed in meeting students' diverse learning needs.
(b) The commissioner must
submit a written report to the education committees of the house of
representatives and senate by February 15, 2009, describing the criteria for
identifying schools and school districts that demonstrate accelerated
growth. The group convened under this
section expires on June 30, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to school report cards in the 2008-2009 school year and later.
Sec. 52. IMPLEMENTING
RIGOROUS COURSEWORK MEASURES RELATED TO STUDENT PERFORMANCE.
(a) To implement the
requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph
(c), clauses (1) and (2), and to help parents and members of the public compare
the reported data, the commissioner of education must convene a group of
recognized and qualified experts and interested stakeholders, including parents
among other stakeholders, to develop a model projecting anticipated performance
of each high school on preparation and rigorous coursework measures that
compares the school with similar schools.
The model must use information about entering high school students based
on particular background characteristics that are predictive of differing rates
of college readiness. These
characteristics include grade 8 achievement levels, high school student
mobility, high school student attendance, and the size of each entering ninth
grade class. The group of experts and
stakeholders may examine other characteristics not part of the prediction model
including the nine student categories identified under the federal 2001 No
Child Left Behind Act, and two student gender categories of male and female,
respectively. The commissioner annually
must use the predicted level of entering students' performance to provide a
context for interpreting graduating students' actual performance. The group convened under this section
expires June 30, 2011.
(b) Consistent with paragraph
(a), the commissioner also must propose an expanded high school student data
system to report preparation and rigorous coursework measures and facilitate
additional research on college readiness.
This proposed data system must expect school districts and charter
schools to report data to the state education department on each course a high
school student takes and completes. The
commissioner must link the course data file to the department's existing
student reporting system. The proposed
data system must enable the commissioner to prepare detailed reports,
consistent with the requirements in Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35,
subdivision 3, paragraph (d), clauses (1) and (2), and support the development
of a state P-16 longitudinal data system.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to school report cards beginning July 1, 2011.
Sec. 53. IMPLEMENTING
MEASURES FOR ASSESSING STUDENTS' SELF-REPORTED SENSE OF SCHOOL SAFETY,
ENGAGEMENT IN SCHOOL, AND THE QUALITY OF RELATIONSHIPS WITH TEACHERS,
ADMINISTRATORS, AND OTHER STUDENTS.
(a) To implement the
requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph
(d), and to help parents and members of the public compare the reported data,
the commissioner of education, in consultation with interested stakeholders,
including parents among other stakeholders, must convene a group of recognized
and qualified experts to:
(1) analyze the University
of Minnesota student safety and engagement survey instrument and other commonly
recognized survey instruments to select the survey instrument that best meets
state accountability requirements;
(2) ensure that the selected
survey instrument has sound psychometric properties and is useful for intervention
planning;
(3) determine at what grade
levels to administer the survey instrument and ensure that the survey
instrument can be used at those grade levels; and
(4) determine through
disaggregated use of survey indicators or other means how to report
"safety" in order to comply with federal law.
(b) The commissioner must
submit a written report to the education committees of the house of
representatives and senate by February 15, 2009, presenting the experts'
responses to paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (4). The group convened under this section expires June 30, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to school report cards beginning July 1, 2011.
Sec. 54. GROWTH-BASED
VALUE-ADDED SYSTEM.
The growth-based value-added
system used by the commissioner of education to comply with Minnesota Statutes,
section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), must be consistent with the
growth-based value-added model contained in the document labeled "Educational
Report Card Growth Model" developed in partnership with the Minnesota
Department of Education. The document
must be deposited with the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, the Legislative
Reference Library, and the State Law Library, where the document shall be
maintained until the commissioner implements the growth-based value-added
system under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph
(b). The recognized Minnesota
assessment group composed of assessment and evaluation directors and staff and
researchers under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.299, subdivision 6, must
determine whether the growth-based value-added model the commissioner uses to
comply with Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b),
is consistent with the deposited document and report its determination to the
education committees of the house of representatives and senate by February 15,
2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 55. EXPEDITED
PROCESS; SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES RULE.
The commissioner of
education may use the expedited process under Minnesota Statutes, section
14.389, to conform Minnesota Rules, part 3525.1341, to new federal requirements
on specific learning disabilities under Public Law 108-446, sections 602(30)
and 614(b)(6), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
2004, and its implementing regulations.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 56. ENDING
PARTICIPATION IN NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.
The commissioner of
education must nullify and revoke by August 1, 2009, the consolidated state
plan that the state of Minnesota submitted to the federal Department of
Education on implementing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and any other
Minnesota state contract or agreement entered into under the provisions of the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Sec. 57. SCHOOL
DISTRICT PLANS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
Subdivision 1. District academic achievement
plan; priorities. (a) A
school district experiencing disparities in academic achievement is encouraged
to develop a short and long-term plan encompassing one through four years to
significantly improve students' academic achievement that uses concrete
measures to eliminate differences in academic performance among groups of
students defined by race, ethnicity, and income. The plan must:
(1) reflect a research-based
understanding of high-performing educational systems and best educational practices;
(2) include innovative and
practical strategies and programs, whether existing or new, that supplement
district initiatives to increase students' academic achievement under state and
federal educational accountability requirements; and
(3) contain valid and
reliable measures of student achievement that the district uses to demonstrate
the efficacy of the district plan to the commissioner of education.
(b) A district must address
the elements under section 58, paragraph (a), to the extent those elements are
implicated in the district's plan.
(c) A district must identify
in its plan the strategies and programs the district has implemented and found
effective in improving students' academic achievement.
(d) The district must
include with the plan the amount of expenditures necessary to implement the
plan. The district must indicate how
current resources are used to implement the plan, including, but not limited
to, state-limited English proficiency aid under Minnesota Statutes, section
124D.65; integration revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.86; early
childhood family education revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.135;
school readiness aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.16; basic skills
revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, subdivision 4; extended time
revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, subdivision 2a; and
alternative compensation revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.415.
Subd. 2. Plan. (a) A school district by October 1, 2008,
must submit its plan in electronic format to the commissioner of education,
consistent with subdivision 1.
(b) The commissioner of
education must analyze the commonalities and differences of the district plans
and the effective strategies and programs districts have implemented to improve
students' academic achievement, and submit the analysis and underlying data to
the advisory task force on improving students' academic achievement under
section 58 by November 1, 2008, and also report the substance of the analyses
to the education policy and finance committees of the legislature by January 1,
2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 58. ADVISORY
TASK FORCE ON IMPROVING STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
(a) An advisory task force
on improving students' academic achievement is established to review the plans
submitted to the commissioner of education under section 57 and recommend to
the education committees of the legislature a proposal for improving students' academic
achievement and eliminating differences in academic performance among groups of
students defined by race, ethnicity, and income. The task force members must at least consider how the following
education-related issues impact the educational achievement of low-income
students and students of color:
(1) rigorous preparation and
coursework and how to (i) effectively invest in early childhood and parent
education, (ii) increase academic rigor and high expectations on elementary and
secondary students in schools serving a majority of low-income students and
students of color, and (iii) provide parents, educators, and community members
with meaningful opportunities to collaborate in educating students in schools
serving a majority of low-income students and students of color;
(2) professional development
for educators and how to (i) provide stronger financial and professional
incentives to attract and retain experienced, bilingual, and culturally
competent teachers and administrators in schools serving a majority of
low-income students and students of color, (ii) recruit and retain teachers of
color, and (iii) develop and include cultural sensitivity and interpersonal and
pedagogical skills training that teachers need for effective intercultural
teaching;
(3) English language
learners and how to (i) use well-designed tests, curricula, and English as a
second language programs and services as diagnostic tools to develop effective
student interventions, (ii) monitor students' language capabilities, (iii) provide
academic instruction in English that supports students' learning and is
appropriate for students' level of language proficiency, and (iv) incorporate
the perspectives and contributions of ethnic and racial groups, consistent with
Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.022, subdivision 1, paragraph (b);
(4) special education and
how to (i) incorporate linguistic and cultural sensitivity into special
education diagnosis and referral, (ii) increase the frequency and quality of
prereferral interventions, and (iii) decrease the number of minority and
nonnative English speaking students inappropriately placed in special
education;
(5) GRAD tests and how to
(i) incorporate linguistic and cultural sensitivity into the reading and math
GRAD tests, and (ii) develop interventions to meet students' learning needs;
and
(6) valid and reliable data
and how to use data on student on-time graduation rates, student dropout rates,
documented disciplinary actions, and completed and rigorous course work
indicators to determine how well-prepared, low-income students and students of
color are for postsecondary academic and career opportunities.
The task force also must
examine the findings of a 2008 report by Minnesota superintendents on
strategies for creating a world-class educational system to establish
priorities for improving students' academic achievement. The task force may consider other related
matters at its discretion.
(b) The commissioner of
education must convene the first meeting of the advisory task force on improving
students' academic achievement by July 1, 2008. The task force members must adopt internal procedures and
standards for subsequent meetings. The
task force is composed of the following members:
(1) a representative from a
Twin Cities metropolitan area school district, a suburban school district, a
school district located in a regional center, and a rural school district, all
four representatives appointed by the state demographer based on identified
concentrations of low-performing, low-income students and students of color;
(2) a faculty member of a
teacher preparation program at the University of Minnesota's College of
Education and Human Development, appointed by the college dean or the dean's
designee;
(3) a faculty member from
the urban teachers program at Metropolitan State University appointed by the
university president or the president's designee;
(4) a faculty member from a
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities teacher preparation program located
outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area, appointed by the chancellor or the
chancellor's designee;
(5) a classroom teacher
appointed by Education Minnesota;
(6) an expert in early
childhood care and education appointed by a state early childhood organization;
(7) a member from each state
council representing a community of color, appointed by the respective council;
(8) a curriculum specialist
with expertise in providing language instruction for nonnative English
speakers, appointed by a state curriculum organization;
(9) a special education
teacher, appointed by a state organization of special education educators;
(10) a parent of color,
appointed by a state parent-teacher organization;
(11) a district testing
director appointed by a recognized Minnesota assessment group composed of assessment
and evaluation directors and staff and researchers; and
(12) a Department of
Education staff person with expertise in school desegregation matters appointed
by the commissioner of education or the commissioner's designee.
A majority of task force
members, at their discretion, may invite other representatives of interested
public or nonpublic organizations, Minnesota's communities of color, and
stakeholders in local and state educational equity to become task force
members. A majority of task force
members must be persons of color.
(c) Members of the task
force serve without compensation. By
February 15, 2009, the task force must submit a written proposal to the
education policy and finance committees of the legislature on how to
significantly improve students' academic achievement.
(d) The advisory task force
expires on February 16, 2009.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 59. APPROPRIATIONS.
Subdivision 1. Department of
Education. The sums
indicated in this section are appropriated from the general fund, unless
otherwise indicated, to the Department of Education for the fiscal years
designated.
Subd. 2. Additional general
education revenue. For
additional general education aid according to section 49:
$23,262,000 . . . . . 2009
This appropriation is in addition to any
other appropriation for this purpose.
This 2009 appropriation includes $0 for 2008
and $18,926,000 for 2009.
Subd. 3. Rushford-Peterson. For a grant to Independent School
District No. 239, Rushford-Peterson, for school district flood enrollment
impact aid and aid for the increased costs of transporting students as a result
of the floods of August 2007.
$158,000 . . . . . 2009
The base appropriation for fiscal year 2010
is $158,000. The base appropriation for
later years is zero.
Subd. 4. Virginia. For a grant to Independent School
District No. 701, Virginia, for emergency school facility repairs:
$100,000 . . . . . 2009
This is a onetime appropriation.
Subd. 5. Lancaster. For a grant to Independent School
District No. 356, Lancaster, to replace the loss of sparsity revenue:
$100,000 . . . . . 2009
The base appropriation for fiscal years 2010
and 2011 is $100,000 per year. The base
appropriation for later fiscal years is zero.
Subd. 6. Principal's Leadership Institute. For a grant to the Principal's Leadership
Institute under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.74:
$400,000 . . . . . 2009
The base appropriation for this program for
fiscal year 2010 and later is $400,000.
Subd. 7. Board of Teaching; licensure by
portfolio. For the Board of
Teaching for licensure by portfolio:
$17,000 . . . . . 2009
This appropriation is from the educator
licensure portfolio account of the special revenue fund.
Sec. 60. REPEALER.
(a) Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections
121A.67; 125A.16; 125A.19; 125A.20; and 125A.57, are repealed.
(b) Laws 2006, chapter 263, article 3,
section 16; and Laws 2007, First Special Session chapter 2, article 1, section
11, subdivisions 3, and 4, are repealed.
ARTICLE 2
FORECAST ADJUSTMENTS
Section 1.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2. General education aid. For general education aid under Minnesota
Statutes, section 126C.13, subdivision 4:
$
5,618,342,000 5,600,647,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
5,618,342,000 5,649,098,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $531,733,000
$536,251,000 for 2007 and $5,073,250,000 $5,064,396,000 for
2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $546,314,000
$543,752,000 for 2008 and $5,072,028,000 $5,105,346,000 for
2009.
Sec. 2.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
Referendum tax base replacement
aid. For referendum tax base
replacement aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.17, subdivision 7a:
$
870,000 861,000 .
. . . . 2008
The 2008 appropriation includes $870,000
$861,000 for 2007 and $0 for 2008.
Sec. 3.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:
Subd. 4.
Enrollment options
transportation. For transportation
of pupils attending postsecondary institutions under Minnesota Statutes,
section 124D.09, or for transportation of pupils attending nonresident
districts under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.03:
$
95,000 48,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
97,000 50,000 .
. . . . 2009
Sec. 4.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:
Subd. 5.
Abatement revenue. For abatement aid under Minnesota Statutes,
section 127A.49:
$
1,343,000 1,333,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
1,347,000 1,629,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $76,000 for
2007 and $1,267,000 $1,257,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $140,000
$139,000 for 2008 and $1,207,000 $1,490,000 for 2009.
Sec. 5.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 6, is amended
to read:
Subd. 6.
Consolidation transition. For districts consolidating under Minnesota
Statutes, section 123A.485:
$
565,000 240,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
212,000 339,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $43,000 for
2007 and $522,000 $197,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $57,000
$21,000 for 2008 and $155,000 $318,000 for 2009.
Sec. 6.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 7, is amended
to read:
Subd. 7.
Nonpublic pupil education aid. For nonpublic pupil education aid under
Minnesota Statutes, sections 123B.40 to 123B.43, and 123B.87:
$
16,290,000 15,601,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
16,620,000 16,608,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $1,606,000
$1,214,000 for 2007 and $14,684,000 $14,387,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $1,631,000
$1,598,000 for 2008 and $14,989,000 $15,010,000 for 2009.
Sec. 7.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 1, section 24, subdivision 8, is amended
to read:
Subd. 8.
Nonpublic pupil transportation. For nonpublic pupil transportation aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.92, subdivision 9:
$
21,551,000 20,755,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
21,392,000 21,007,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $2,124,000
for 2007 and $19,427,000 $18,631,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $2,158,000
$2,070,000 for 2008 and $19,234,000 $18,937,000 for 2009.
B. EDUCATION EXCELLENCE
Sec. 8.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 46, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2.
Charter school building lease
aid. For building lease aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.11, subdivision 4:
$
31,875,000 32,817,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
36,193,000 37,527,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $2,814,000
for 2007 and $29,061,000 $30,003,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $3,229,000
$3,333,000 for 2008 and $32,964,000 $34,194,000 for 2009.
Sec. 9.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 46, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
Charter school startup cost aid. For charter school startup cost aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.11:
$
1,896,000 1,801,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
2,161,000 1,987,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $241,000
$239,000 for 2007 and $1,655,000 $1,562,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $183,000
$173,000 for 2008 and $1,978,000 $1,814,000 for 2009.
Sec. 10.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 46, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:
Subd. 4.
Integration aid. For integration aid under Minnesota
Statutes, section 124D.86, subdivision 5:
$
61,769,000 59,036,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
61,000,000 62,448,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $5,824,000
for 2007 and $55,945,000 $53,212,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $6,216,000
$5,912,000 for 2008 and $54,784,000 $56,536,000 for 2009.
Sec. 11.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 46, subdivision 6, is amended
to read:
Subd. 6.
Interdistrict desegregation or
integration transportation grants.
For interdistrict desegregation or integration transportation grants
under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.87:
$
9,639,000 9,901,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
11,567,000 11,881,000 .
. . . . 2009
Sec. 12.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 2, section 46, subdivision 9, is amended
to read:
Subd. 9.
Tribal contract schools. For tribal contract school aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.83:
$
2,238,000 2,207,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
2,422,000 2,392,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $204,000 for
2007 and $2,034,000 $2,003,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $226,000
$222,000 for 2008 and $2,196,000 $2,170,000 for 2009.
C. SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Sec. 13.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 3, section 24, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
Aid for children with
disabilities. For aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.75, subdivision 3, for children with
disabilities placed in residential facilities within the district boundaries
for whom no district of residence can be determined:
$
1,538,000 2,086,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
1,729,000 2,282,000 .
. . . . 2009
If the appropriation for either year is
insufficient, the appropriation for the other year is available.
Sec. 14.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 3, section 24, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:
Subd. 4.
Travel for home-based services. For aid for teacher travel for home-based
services under Minnesota Statutes, section 125A.75, subdivision 1:
$
254,000 207,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
284,000 227,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $22,000 for
2007 and $232,000 $185,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $25,000
$20,000 for 2008 and $259,000 $207,000 for 2009.
D. FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY
Sec. 15.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 4, section 16, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2.
Health and safety revenue. For health and safety aid according to
Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.57, subdivision 5:
$
190,000 254,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
179,000 103,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $20,000 for
2007 and $170,000 $234,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $18,000
$26,000 for 2008 and $161,000 $77,000 for 2009.
Sec. 16.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 4, section 16, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
Debt service equalization. For debt service aid according to Minnesota
Statutes, section 123B.53, subdivision 6:
$
14,813,000 14,814,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
11,124,000 9,109,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $1,767,000
$1,766,000 for 2007 and $13,046,000 $13,048,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $1,450,000
$1,449,000 for 2008 and $9,674,000 $7,660,000 for 2009.
Sec. 17.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 4, section 16, subdivision 6, is amended
to read:
Subd. 6.
Deferred maintenance aid. For deferred maintenance aid, according to
Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.591, subdivision 4:
$
3,290,000 3,232,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
2,667,000 2,627,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $0 for 2007
and $3,290,000 $3,232,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $365,000
$359,000 for 2008 and $2,302,000 $2,268,000 for 2009.
Sec. 18.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 4, section 16, subdivision 8, is amended
to read:
Subd. 8.
School technology and operating
capital aid grants. For school
technology and operating capital grants under section 11:
$
38,145,000 38,236,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
52,676,000 52,454,000 .
. . . . 2009
This is a onetime appropriation.
E. NUTRITION AND ACCOUNTING
Sec. 19.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 5, section 13, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2.
School lunch. For school lunch aid according to Minnesota
Statutes, section 124D.111, and Code of Federal Regulations, title 7, section
210.17:
$
12,022,000 12,094,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
12,166,000 12,394,000 .
. . . . 2009
Sec. 20.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 5, section 13, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
Traditional school breakfast;
kindergarten milk. For traditional
school breakfast aid and kindergarten milk under Minnesota Statutes, sections
124D.1158 and 124D.118:
$
5,460,000 5,583,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
5,695,000 5,994,000 .
. . . . 2009
Sec. 21. Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 5, section 13, subdivision 4, is
amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Summer food service replacement
aid. For summer food service
replacement aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.119:
$
150,000 127,000 .
. . . . 2008
$150,000 . . . . . 2009
F. EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ADULT PROGRAMS
Sec. 22.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 2, is amended
to read:
Subd. 2.
Early childhood family education
aid. For early childhood family
education aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.135:
$
21,106,000 21,092,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
29,601,000 29,324,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $1,796,000
for 2007 and $19,310,000 $19,296,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $2,145,000
$2,144,000 for 2008 and $27,456,000 $27,180,000 for 2009.
Sec. 23.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:
Subd. 3.
School readiness. For revenue for school readiness programs
under Minnesota Statutes, sections 124D.15 and 124D.16:
$
9,995,000 9,987,000 .
. . . . 2008
$10,095,000 . . . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $909,000
$901,000 for 2007 and $9,086,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $1,009,000
for 2008 and $9,086,000 for 2009.
Sec. 24.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:
Subd. 4.
Health and developmental
screening aid. For health and
developmental screening aid under Minnesota Statutes, sections 121A.17 and
121A.19:
$
3,159,000 2,624,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
3,330,000 2,656,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $288,000 for
2007 and $2,871,000 $2,336,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $319,000
$259,000 for 2008 and $3,011,000 $2,397,000 for 2009.
Sec. 25.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 8, is amended
to read:
Subd. 8.
Community education aid. For community education aid under Minnesota
Statutes, section 124D.20:
$
1,307,000 1,299,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
816,000 796,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $195,000 for
2007 and $1,112,000 $1,104,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $123,000
$122,000 for 2008 and $693,000 $674,000 for 2009.
Sec. 26.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 9, is amended
to read:
Subd. 9.
Adults with disabilities program
aid. For adults with disabilities
programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.56:
$
710,000 709,000 .
. . . . 2008
$710,000 . . . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $71,000
$70,000 for 2007 and $639,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $71,000 for
2008 and $639,000 for 2009.
School districts operating existing adults
with disabilities programs that are not fully funded shall receive full funding
for the program beginning in fiscal year 2008 before the commissioner awards
grants to other districts.
Sec. 27.
Laws 2007, chapter 146, article 9, section 17, subdivision 13, is
amended to read:
Subd. 13.
Adult basic education aid. For adult basic education aid under
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.531:
$
40,347,000 40,344,000 .
. . . . 2008
$
41,745,000 41,712,000 .
. . . . 2009
The 2008 appropriation includes $3,759,000
for 2007 and $36,588,000 $36,585,000 for 2008.
The 2009 appropriation includes $4,065,000
for 2008 and $37,680,000 $37,647,000 for 2009.
ARTICLE 3
HIGHER EDUCATION
Section 1. SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS
The
sums shown in the columns marked "Appropriations" are added to or, if
shown in parentheses, subtracted from the appropriations in Laws 2007, chapter
144, article 1, to the agencies and for the purposes specified in this
article. The appropriations are from
the general fund, or another named fund, and are available for the fiscal years
indicated for each purpose. The figures
"2008" and "2009" used in this article mean that the
addition to or subtraction from the appropriation listed under them is
available for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, or June 30, 2009,
respectively. Supplemental
appropriations and reductions to appropriations for the fiscal year ending June
30, 2008, are effective the day following final enactment.
The
amounts shown in this section summarize direct appropriations, by fund, made in
this article.
2008 2009 Total
General $0 $(19,456,000) $(19,456,000)
Total $0 $(19,456,000) $(19,456,000)
APPROPRIATIONS
Available for the Year
Ending June 30
2008 2009
Sec. 2. MINNESOTA OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
$-0- $(7,111,000)
$111,000 in the second year
is an operating base reduction.
$7,000,000 in the second
year is a reduction to the Achieve scholarship program under Minnesota
Statutes, section 136A.127.
Sec. 3. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE MINNESOTA STATE
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES $-0- $(6,173,000)
Of this reduction,
$5,000,000 is from the appropriations for technology. The remainder is from the Office of the Chancellor budget.
The reductions in this
subdivision must not result in reductions to any of the campuses of the
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, must not reduce the technology
expenditures or grants to the campuses, and must not increase any assessments
to the campuses from the Office of the Chancellor.
The Board of Trustees of the
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities must reallocate $9,000,000 of state
appropriations for fiscal year 2009 to reduce student tuition increases to two
percent at state colleges and three percent at state universities and must not
increase student fees beyond the amount that is currently planned for the next
academic year.
APPROPRIATIONS
Available for the Year
Ending June 30
2008 2009
The legislature intends that
by reducing tuition increases, the student's share of educational costs are
decreased and the state's share of educational costs are increased, consistent
with the funding policy in Minnesota Statutes, section 135A.01. The legislature's goal is to begin progress
over the next eight years to achieve a two-thirds state share of educational
costs and a one-third student share as specified in Minnesota Statutes, section
135A.01.
The system base is reduced
by $8,664,000 in fiscal year 2010 and $8,665,000 in fiscal year 2011.
Sec. 4. BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
MINNESOTA $-0- $(6,172,000)
The Board of Regents must
not increase student tuition or fees beyond the amount currently planned for
the next academic year.
The system base is reduced
by $8,666,000 in fiscal year 2010 and $8,665,000 in fiscal year 2011.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 13.32,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Private
data; when disclosure is permitted.
Except as provided in subdivision 5, educational data is private data on
individuals and shall not be disclosed except as follows:
(a) pursuant to section
13.05;
(b) pursuant to a valid
court order;
(c) pursuant to a statute
specifically authorizing access to the private data;
(d) to disclose information
in health and safety emergencies pursuant to the provisions of United States
Code, title 20, section 1232g(b)(1)(I) and Code of Federal Regulations, title
34, section 99.36;
(e) pursuant to the
provisions of United States Code, title 20, sections 1232g(b)(1), (b)(4)(A),
(b)(4)(B), (b)(1)(B), (b)(3), (b)(6), (b)(7), and (i), and Code of
Federal Regulations, title 34, sections 99.31, 99.32, 99.33, 99.34, and
99.35, and 99.39;
(f) to appropriate health
authorities to the extent necessary to administer immunization programs and for
bona fide epidemiologic investigations which the commissioner of health
determines are necessary to prevent disease or disability to individuals in the
public educational agency or institution in which the investigation is being
conducted;
(g) when disclosure is
required for institutions that participate in a program under title IV of the
Higher Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1092;
(h) to the appropriate
school district officials to the extent necessary under subdivision 6, annually
to indicate the extent and content of remedial instruction, including the
results of assessment testing and academic performance at a postsecondary
institution during the previous academic year by a student who graduated from a
Minnesota school district within two years before receiving the remedial
instruction;
(i) to appropriate
authorities as provided in United States Code, title 20, section
1232g(b)(1)(E)(ii), if the data concern the juvenile justice system and the
ability of the system to effectively serve, prior to adjudication, the student
whose records are released; provided that the authorities to whom the data are
released submit a written request for the data that certifies that the data
will not be disclosed to any other person except as authorized by law without
the written consent of the parent of the student and the request and a record
of the release are maintained in the student's file;
(j) to volunteers who are
determined to have a legitimate educational interest in the data and who are
conducting activities and events sponsored by or endorsed by the educational
agency or institution for students or former students;
(k) to provide student
recruiting information, from educational data held by colleges and
universities, as required by and subject to Code of Federal Regulations, title
32, section 216;
(l) to the juvenile justice
system if information about the behavior of a student who poses a risk of harm
is reasonably necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other
individuals;
(m) with respect to Social
Security numbers of students in the adult basic education system, to Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities and the Department of Employment and Economic
Development for the purpose and in the manner described in section 124D.52,
subdivision 7; or
(n) to the commissioner of
education for purposes of an assessment or investigation of a report of alleged
maltreatment of a student as mandated by section 626.556. Upon request by the commissioner of
education, data that are relevant to a report of maltreatment and are from
charter school and school district investigations of alleged maltreatment of a
student must be disclosed to the commissioner, including, but not limited to,
the following:
(1) information regarding
the student alleged to have been maltreated;
(2) information regarding
student and employee witnesses;
(3) information regarding
the alleged perpetrator; and
(4) what corrective or
protective action was taken, if any, by the school facility in response to a
report of maltreatment by an employee or agent of the school or school district;
(o) when the disclosure is
of the final results of a disciplinary proceeding on a charge of a crime of
violence or nonforcible sex offense to the extent authorized under United
States Code, title 20, section 1232g(b)(6)(A) and (B) and Code of Federal
Regulations, title 34, sections 99.31(a)(13) and (14);
(p) when the disclosure is
information provided to the institution under United States Code, title 42,
section 14071, concerning registered sex offenders to the extent authorized
under United States Code, title 20, section 1232g(b)(7); or
(q) when the disclosure is
to a parent of a student at an institution of postsecondary education regarding
the student's violation of any federal, state, or local law or of any rule or
policy of the institution, governing the use or possession of alcohol or of a
controlled substance, to the extent authorized under United States Code, title
20,
section 1232g(i), and Code
of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 99.31(a)(15), and provided the
institution has an information release form signed by the student authorizing
disclosure to a parent. The institution
must notify parents about the purpose and availability of the information
release forms. At a minimum, the
institution must distribute the information release forms at parent orientation
meetings.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 13.32, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 11. Data to improve
instruction. The Department
of Education and the Office of Higher Education may each share educational data
with the other agency for the purpose of analyzing and improving school
district instruction, consistent with Code of Federal Regulations, title 34,
section 99.31, paragraph (a)(6). The
educational data that may be shared between the two agencies under this
subdivision must be limited to:
(1) student attendance data
that include the name of the school or institution, school district, the year
or term of attendance, and term type;
(2) student demographic and
enrollment data;
(3) student academic
performance and testing data; and
(4) any special academic services
provided to a student.
Any analysis of or report on
these data must contain only summary data.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 7. [127A.70]
MINNESOTA P-20 EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP.
Subdivision 1. Establishment;
membership. (a) A P-20
education partnership is established to create a seamless education system that
maximizes achievements of all students, from early childhood through
elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, while promoting the
effective and efficient use of financial and human resources. The partnership shall consist of major
statewide educational groups or constituencies or noneducational statewide
organizations with a stated interest in P-20 education. Upon enactment of this legislation, the
partnership members shall be those currently serving on the Minnesota P-16
Education Partnership plus four legislators as follows:
(1) one senator from the
majority party and one senator from the minority party, appointed by the Subcommittee
on Committees of the Committee on Rules and Administration; and
(2) one member of the house
of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house and one member of the
house of representatives appointed by the minority leader of the house.
Prospective members may be
nominated by any partnership member and new members must be added with the
approval of a two-thirds majority of the partnership members.
The partnership must seek
input from nonmember organizations having expertise to help inform the
partnership's work.
(b) Each partnership member
must be represented by its formally designated leader or the leader's
designee. The partnership must meet at
least three times each calendar year.
Subd. 2. Powers and duties;
report. (a) The partnership
must develop and submit to the governor and the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over education policy and finance recommendations for maximizing
the achievement of all P-20 students while promoting the effective and
efficient use of state resources, and maximizing the value of the state's
educational investment. Partnership
recommendations must at least include a focus on strategies, policies, and
actions that:
(1) improve the quality of
and access to education for all students from preschool through graduate
education;
(2) improve preparation for
and transitions to postsecondary education and work; and
(3) ensure educator quality
by creating rigorous standards for teacher recruitment, teacher preparation,
induction and mentoring of beginning teachers, and continuous professional
development for career teachers.
(b) Annually, by January 15,
the partnership must submit a report to the governor and the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over education policy and finance summarizing the
partnership's progress in meeting its goals and recommending any legislation
needed to further partnership goals related to maximizing student achievement
and promoting effective and efficient use of resources.
Subd. 3. Expiration. The partnership expires on June 30, 2019.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 136A.101,
subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. Resident
student. "Resident
student" means a student who meets one of the following conditions:
(1) a student who has
resided in Minnesota for purposes other than postsecondary education for at
least 12 months without being enrolled at a postsecondary educational
institution for more than five credits in any term;
(2) a dependent student
whose parent or legal guardian resides in Minnesota at the time the student
applies;
(3) a student who graduated
from a Minnesota high school, if the student was a resident of Minnesota during
the student's period of attendance at the Minnesota high school and the student
is physically attending a Minnesota postsecondary educational institution;
(4) a student who, after
residing in the state for a minimum of one year, earned a high school
equivalency certificate in Minnesota;
(5) a member, spouse, or
dependent of a member of the armed forces of the United States stationed in
Minnesota on active federal military service as defined in section 190.05,
subdivision 5c;
(6) a spouse or dependent
of a veteran, as defined in section 197.447, if the veteran is a Minnesota
resident;
(7) a person or spouse of a
person who relocated to Minnesota from an area that is declared a presidential
disaster area within the preceding 12 months if the disaster interrupted the
person's postsecondary education; or
(7) (8) a person defined as a
refugee under United States Code, title 8, section 1101(a)(42), who, upon
arrival in the United States, moved to Minnesota and has continued to reside in
Minnesota.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 136A.121,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Grant
stipends. The grant stipend shall
be based on a sharing of responsibility for covering the recognized cost of
attendance by the applicant, the applicant's family, and the government. The amount of a financial stipend must not
exceed a grant applicant's recognized cost of attendance, as defined in
subdivision 6, after deducting the following:
(1) the assigned student
responsibility of at least 46 44.5 percent of the cost of
attending the institution of the applicant's choosing;
(2) the assigned family
responsibility as defined in section 136A.101; and
(3) the amount of a federal
Pell grant award for which the grant applicant is eligible.
The minimum financial
stipend is $100 per academic year.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.121, subdivision 7a, is amended to read:
Subd. 7a. Surplus
appropriation. If the amount
appropriated is determined by the office to be more than sufficient to fund
projected grant demand in the second year of the biennium, the office may
increase the living and miscellaneous expense allowance in the second year of
the biennium by up to an amount that retains sufficient appropriations to fund
the projected grant demand. The
adjustment may be made one or more times.
In making the determination that there are more than sufficient funds,
the office shall balance the need for sufficient resources to meet the
projected demand for grants with the goal of fully allocating the appropriation
for state grants. An increase in the
living and miscellaneous expense allowance under this subdivision does not
carry forward into a subsequent biennium.
This subdivision expires June 30, 2009.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.126, is amended to read:
136A.126 INDIAN SCHOLARSHIPS.
Subdivision 1. Student eligibility. The director of the Office of Higher
Education shall establish procedures for the distribution of scholarships to any
a Minnesota resident student who:
(1) is of one-fourth or more Indian ancestry, who;
(2) has applied for other existing state and federal scholarship and grant
programs, and who,;
(3) if enrolled in an
undergraduate program, is eligible or would be eligible to receive a federal
Pell Grant or a state grant based on the federal needs analysis;
(4) is an undergraduate
enrolled for nine semester credits per term or more, or the equivalent, or a
graduate student enrolled on a half-time basis or more according to the
postsecondary institution; and
(5) in the opinion of the director of the Office of Higher Education,
based upon postsecondary institution recommendations, has the capabilities to
benefit from further education.
Subd. 2. Eligible programs. Scholarships must be for accredited degree
programs in accredited Minnesota colleges or universities or for courses in
accredited Minnesota business, technical, or vocational schools. Scholarships may also be given to students
attending Minnesota colleges that are in candidacy status for obtaining full accreditation,
and are eligible for and receiving federal financial aid programs. Students are also eligible for
scholarships when enrolled
as students in Minnesota higher education institutions that have joint programs
with other accredited higher education institutions. Scholarships shall be used to defray the total cost of
education including tuition, incidental fees, books, supplies, transportation,
other related school costs and the cost of board and room and shall be paid
directly to the college or school concerned where the student receives federal
financial aid.
Subd. 3. Cost of attendance. The total cost of education includes all
attendance shall include tuition and required fees for each
student enrolling in a public institution and the portion of tuition and fees
for each student enrolling in a private institution that does not exceed the
tuition and fees at a comparable public institution. Each student shall be awarded a scholarship based on a federal standardized
need analysis. Applicants are
encouraged to apply for all other sources of financial aid charged by
the institution and the campus-based budget used for federal financial aid for
food and shelter, books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses.
When an Indian student satisfactorily
completes the work required by a certain college or school in a school year the
student is eligible for additional scholarships, if additional training is
necessary to reach the student's educational and vocational objective.
Subd. 4. Award amount. (a) Each student shall be awarded a
scholarship based on the federal need analysis. Applicants are encouraged to apply for all other sources of
financial aid. The amount of the award
must not exceed the applicant's cost of attendance, as defined in subdivision
3, after deducting:
(1) the expected family
contribution as calculated by the federal need analysis;
(2) the amount of a federal
Pell Grant award for which the applicant is eligible;
(3) the amount of the state
grant;
(4) the sum of all federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, federal Academic Competitiveness
Grant, and federal Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART
Grant) awards;
(5) the sum of all
institutional grants, scholarships, tuition waivers, and tuition remission
amounts;
(6) the sum of all tribal
scholarships;
(7) the amount of any other
state and federal gift aid; and
(8) the amount of any
private grants or scholarships.
(b) The award shall be paid
directly to the postsecondary institution where the student receives federal
financial aid.
(c) Awards are limited as
follows:
(1) the maximum award for an
undergraduate is $4,000 per academic year;
(2) the maximum award for a
graduate student is $6,000 per academic year; and
(3) the minimum award for
all students is $100 per academic year.
(d) Scholarships may not be
given to any Indian student for more than five three years of
study for a two-year degree, certificate, or diploma program or five years
of study for a four-year degree program at the undergraduate level and for
more than five years at the graduate level. Students may acquire only one degree per level and one terminal graduate
degree. Scholarships may not be
given to any student for more than ten years including five years of undergraduate
study and five years of graduate study.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.127, is amended to read:
136A.127 ACHIEVE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
Subdivision 1. Establishment. The Achieve Scholarship Program is
established to provide scholarships to eligible students within the limits
of appropriations for the program.
Subd. 2. Definition;
qualifying program. For the
purposes of this section, a "qualifying program" means a rigorous
secondary school program of study defined by the Department of Education under
agreement with the Secretary of Education for the purposes of determining
eligibility for the federal Academic Competitiveness Grant Program under Title
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Subd. 3. Documentation
of qualifying programs. The student
shall request a transcript from the high school. The high school shall provide a transcript to the Office of
Higher Education or to the eligible institution in which the student is
enrolling, documenting the qualifying program.
The student may be required to provide additional documentation such
as:
(1) official postsecondary
transcript; and
(2) official IB/AP test
scores.
Subd. 4. Student
eligibility. To be eligible to
receive a scholarship under this section, in addition to the requirements
listed under section 136A.121, a student must:
(1) submit a Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
(2) take and receive at
least a grade of C for courses that comprise a rigorous secondary school
program of study in a high school or in a home-school setting under section
120A.22, and graduate from a Minnesota high school;
(3) have a family adjusted
gross income of less than $75,000 in the last complete calendar year
prior to the academic year of postsecondary attendance of less than $75,000
in which the scholarship is used;
(4) be a United States
citizen or eligible noncitizen, as defined in section 484 of the Higher Education
Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1091 et seq., as amended, and Code
of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 668.33; and
(5) be a Minnesota resident,
as defined in section 136A.101, subdivision 8; and
(6) be enrolled for at least
three credits per quarter or semester or the equivalent at an eligible
institution as defined under section 136A.101, subdivision 4.
Subd. 5. Administration. The Achieve Scholarship Program shall be
administered by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. The director shall develop forms and
procedures necessary to administer the program.
Subd. 6. Application. A student must complete and submit an
application for the Achieve scholarship.
Subd. 7. Deadline. The deadline for the office to accept
applications for Achieve scholarships is 30 days after the beginning of the
academic term for which the application is submitted the same as that
used for the state grant in section 136A.121, subdivision 13.
Subd. 8. Documentation
of qualifying household income.
Achieve Scholarship Program applicants must certify on the application
that they meet the income eligibility requirement in subdivision 5 4,
clause (2) (3). The
Office of Higher Education or the postsecondary institution may request
documentation needed to confirm income eligibility.
Subd. 9. Scholarship
awards. Minnesota Achieve
scholarships shall consist of $1,200 for a student who takes and receives at
least a grade of C for courses required under a qualifying program. The scholarships may be used to pay for
qualifying expenses at eligible institutions.
Subd. 10. Qualifying
expenses. Qualifying expenses are
components included under the cost of attendance used for federal student
financial aid programs, as defined in section 472 of the Higher Education Act,
United States Code, title 20, sections 1091 et seq., as amended.
Subd. 11. Eligible
institutions. The Achieve
scholarship may only be used to pay qualifying expenses at an eligible
institution as defined under section 136A.101, subdivision 4.
Subd. 12. Availability
of scholarship funds. A scholarship
earned by a student is available for four years immediately following high
school graduation. The office must
certify to the commissioner of finance by October 1 of each year the amounts to
be canceled from scholarship eligibility that have expired.
Subd. 13. Disbursement
of scholarships. The office shall
make two equal payments to a postsecondary institution on behalf of the
student. The second payment must be
made After the student successfully completes the first term of enrollment,
the second payment must be made during the student's next term of enrollment at
an eligible institution. If the second
disbursement is not within the same academic year as the first disbursement,
the student must request the second disbursement.
Subd. 14. Evaluation
report. By January 15 of each
odd-numbered year, the Office of Higher Education shall submit a report, to the
committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over higher education finance
and policy, regarding the success of the program in increasing the enrollment
of students in rigorous high school courses, including, at a minimum, the
following information:
(1) the demographics of
individuals participating in the program;
(2) the grades scholarship
recipients received for courses in the qualifying program under subdivision 2;
(3) the number of
scholarship recipients who persisted at a postsecondary institution for a
second year;
(4) the high schools
attended by the program participants;
(5) the postsecondary
institutions attended by the program participants;
(6) the academic performance
of the students after enrolling in a postsecondary institution; and
(7) other information as
identified by the director.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and within the limits of appropriations applies to students who graduate from
high school after January 1, 2008.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.128, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. Administration. A nonprofit organization that receives a
grant under this section may use five percent of the grant amount to administer
the program.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
for grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.128, beginning in fiscal year
2008.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.65, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Prohibition. No school subject to registration shall grant
a degree unless such degree and its underlying curriculum are approved by the
office, nor shall any school subject to registration use the name "college,"
"academy," "institute" or "university" in
its name without approval by the office.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.65, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Application. A school subject to registration shall be
granted approval to use the term "college," "academy,"
"institute," or "university" in its name if it was organized,
operating, and using such term in its name on or before August 1, 2007, and if
it meets the other policies and standards for approval established by the
office.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.65, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Requirements
for degree and nondegree program approval. For each degree and nondegree program a school offers to a
student, where the student does not leave Minnesota for the major portion of
the program or course leading to the degree or nondegree award, the
school must have:
(1) for degree programs:
(i) qualified teaching personnel
to provide the educational programs for each degree for which approval is
sought;
(2) (ii) appropriate
educational programs leading to each degree for which approval is sought;
(3) (iii) appropriate
and accessible library, laboratory, and other physical facilities to support
the educational program for each degree for which approval is sought; and
(4) (iv) a rationale
showing that degree programs are consistent with the school's mission and goals.;
and
(2) for nondegree programs:
(i) qualified teaching
personnel to provide the educational programs for which approval is sought;
(ii) appropriate educational
programs leading to each award for which approval is sought;
(iii) appropriate and
accessible library, laboratory, and other physical facilities to support the
educational program for which approval is sought; and
(iv) a rationale showing
that programs are consistent with the school's mission and goals.
Nondegree programs that are
a part of an approved degree shall not require additional review or approval;
they shall be considered approved as a part of the degree approval. Any nondegree program offered by a degree-granting
school that is not a part of an approved degree shall be subject to clause (2),
items (i) to (iv).
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.65, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Name. A degree-granting school may use the
term "academy" or "institute" in its name without meeting
any additional requirements. A school
may use the term "college" in its name if it offers at least one
program leading to an associate degree.
A school may use the term "university" in its name if it
offers at least one program leading to a master's or doctorate degree.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.65, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Conditional
approval. The office may grant
conditional approval for a degree or use of a term in its name for a period of
less than one year if doing so would be in the best interests of currently
enrolled students or prospective students.
New schools may be granted conditional approval for degrees or names
annually for a period not to exceed five years to allow them the opportunity to
apply for and receive accreditation as required in subdivision 1a.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.66, is amended to read:
136A.66 LIST.
The office shall maintain a
list of registered institutions authorized to grant degrees and schools
authorized to use the name "college," "academy,"
"institute" or "university," and shall make such list
available to the public.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.67, is amended to read:
136A.67 UNAUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIONS.
No school and none of its
officials or employees shall advertise or represent in any manner that such
school is approved or accredited by the office or the state of Minnesota,
except a
school which is duly registered with the office, or any of its officials or
employees, may represent in advertising and shall disclose in catalogues,
applications, and enrollment materials that the school is registered with the
office by prominently displaying the following statement: "(Name of school) is registered as a
private institution with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education pursuant to
sections 136A.61 to 136A.71.
Registration is not an endorsement of the institution. Credits earned at the institution may not
transfer to all other institutions."
Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136A.69, is amended to read:
136A.69 FEES.
Subdivision 1. Registration
fees. The office shall collect
reasonable registration fees that are sufficient to recover, but do not exceed,
its costs of administering the registration program. The office shall charge $1,100 for initial registration fees and
$950 for annual renewal fees.
Subd. 2. Degree
level addition fee. The office
processing fee for adding a degree level to an existing program is $2,000 per program
degree.
Subd. 3. Degree
or nondegree program addition fee.
The office processing fee for adding a degree or nondegree program
that represents a significant departure in the objectives, content, or method
of delivery of degree or nondegree programs that are currently offered
by the school is $500 per degree or nondegree program.
Subd. 4. Visit
or consulting fee. If the office
determines that a fact-finding visit or outside consultant is necessary to
review or evaluate any new or revised degree or nondegree program, the
office shall be reimbursed for the expenses incurred related to the review as
follows:
(1) $300 for the team base
fee or for a paper review conducted by a consultant if the office determines
that a fact-finding visit is not required;
(2) $300 for each day or
part thereof on site per team member; and
(3) the actual cost of
customary meals, lodging, and related travel expenses incurred by team members.
Subd. 5. Modification
fee. The fee for modification of
any existing degree or nondegree program is $100 and is due if there is:
(1) an increase or decrease
of 25 percent or more from the original date of program approval, in clock
hours, credit hours, or calendar length of an existing degree or nondegree program;
(2) a change in academic
measurement from clock hours to credit hours or vice versa; or
(3) an addition or
alteration of courses that represent a 25 percent change or more in the
objectives, content, or methods of delivery.
Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136F.02, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Membership. The board consists of 15 members appointed according
to this subdivision. Eleven members are
appointed by the governor including three members who are students who
have attended an institution for at least one year and are currently enrolled
at least half time in a degree, diploma, or certificate program or have
graduated from an institution governed by the board within one year of the date
of appointment. The student members
shall include: one member from a
community college, one member from a state university, and one member from a
technical college. The remaining four
members are appointed by labor organizations.
The Inter Faculty Organization (IFO), the Minnesota State College
Faculty (MSCF), the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), and
the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) shall
each appoint one member. Appointments by
the governor and the labor organizations are made with the advice and
consent of the senate. At least one
member of the board must be a resident of each congressional district. The remaining members must be appointed
to represent the state at large. In
selecting appointees, the governor and each appointing authority must
consider the needs of the board of trustees and the balance of the board
membership with respect to labor and business representation and racial,
gender, geographic, and ethnic composition.
Three members must be students who are enrolled at least half time in
a degree, diploma, or certificate program or have graduated from an institution
governed by the board within one year of the date of appointment. The student members shall include: one member from a community college, one
member from a state university, and one member from a technical college. The remaining members must be appointed to
represent the state at large.
Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
136F.03, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Recommendations. Except for seats filled under section
sections 136F.04 and 136F.045, the advisory council shall
recommend at least two and not more than four candidates for each seat. By April 15 of each even-numbered year in
which the governor makes appointments to the board, the advisory council
shall submit its recommendations to the governor. The governor is not bound by these recommendations.
Sec. 24. [136F.045]
LABOR ORGANIZATION BOARD MEMBER SELECTION PROCESS.
The labor organizations
under section 136F.02, subdivision 1, are responsible for recruiting,
screening, and selecting qualified candidates for their appointments to the
board. The organizations must develop a
statement of selection criteria for board membership and a process for
selecting candidates to meet the board needs and balance required under section
136F.02, subdivision 1.
Sec. 25. [136F.19]
POWER OF YOU PROGRAM.
Subdivision 1. Establishment. The power of you program is established
at Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College,
and St. Paul College to promote the preparation and enrollment of students in
postsecondary education through partnerships with high schools and school
districts.
Subd. 2. Allocations. (a) Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities shall allocate the power of you funds at Metropolitan State
University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and St. Paul College.
(b) The funds must be used
to increase student financial aid to fill the gap between costs and federal and
state grants to students who:
(1) graduate from a public
Minneapolis or St. Paul high school;
(2) enroll full time
immediately after graduation; and
(3) are participants in the
power of you.
Sec. 26. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 136F.90,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Duties. For the state colleges and universities,
the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities may:
(1) acquire by purchase or
otherwise, construct, complete, remodel, equip, operate, control, and manage
residence halls, dormitories, dining halls, student union buildings, parking
facilities, and any other similar revenue-producing buildings of such type and
character as the board finds necessary for the good and benefit of the
state colleges and universities, and may acquire property whether real,
personal, or mixed, by gift, purchase, or otherwise; provided that no contract
for the construction of any building shall be entered into until financing has
been approved by the legislature;
(2) maintain and operate any
buildings or structures and charge for their use, and conduct any activities
that are commonly conducted in connection with the buildings or structures;
(3) enter into contracts for
the purposes of sections 136F.90 to 136F.98;
(4) acquire building sites
and buildings or structures by gift, purchase, or otherwise and pledge the
revenues from them for the payment of any bonds issued for that purpose as
provided in sections 136F.90 to 136F.98;
(5) borrow money and issue
and sell bonds in an amount or amounts the legislature authorizes for the
purpose of acquiring, constructing, completing, remodeling, or equipping any
buildings or structures, and acquiring sites, and refund and refinance the
bonds by the issuance and sale of refunding bonds when the board finds that it
is in the public interest. The bonds
shall be sold and issued by the board in the manner and upon the terms and
conditions provided by chapter 475, except as otherwise provided in this
section. The bonds are payable only
from and secured by an irrevocable pledge of the revenues to be derived from
the operation of any buildings or structures acquired,
constructed, completed,
remodeled, or equipped in whole or in part with the proceeds of the bonds and
from other income and revenues described in section 136F.92, clause (1), the
board by resolution specifies, and notwithstanding this limitation all bonds
issued under sections 136F.90 to 136F.98 shall have the qualities of negotiable
instruments under the laws of this state.
The legislature shall not appropriate money from the general fund to pay
for these bonds.
Sec. 27. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
141.25, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Bond. (a) No license shall be issued to any school
which maintains, conducts, solicits for, or advertises within the state of
Minnesota any program, unless the applicant files with the office a continuous
corporate surety bond written by a company authorized to do business in
Minnesota conditioned upon the faithful performance of all contracts and
agreements with students made by the applicant.
(b)(1) The amount of
the surety bond shall be ten percent of the preceding year's gross income from
student tuition, fees, and other required institutional charges, but in no
event less than $10,000 nor greater than $250,000, except that a school may
deposit a greater amount at its own discretion. A school in each annual application for licensure must compute the
amount of the surety bond and verify that the amount of the surety bond
complies with this subdivision, unless the school maintains a surety bond equal
to at least $250,000. A school that
operates at two or more locations may combine gross income from student
tuition, fees, and other required institutional charges for all locations for
the purpose of determining the annual surety bond requirement. The gross tuition and fees used to determine
the amount of the surety bond required for a school having a license for the
sole purpose of recruiting students in Minnesota shall be only that paid to the
school by the students recruited from Minnesota.
(2) A school required to
obtain a private career school license due to the use of "academy,"
"institute," "college," or "university" in its
name and which is also licensed by another state agency or board shall be
required to provide a school bond of $10,000.
(c) The bond shall run to
the state of Minnesota and to any person who may have a cause of action against
the applicant arising at any time after the bond is filed and before it is
canceled for breach of any contract or agreement made by the applicant with any
student. The aggregate liability of the
surety for all breaches of the conditions of the bond shall not exceed the
principal sum deposited by the school under paragraph (b). The surety of any bond may cancel it upon
giving 60 days' notice in writing to the office and shall be relieved of
liability for any breach of condition occurring after the effective date of
cancellation.
(d) In lieu of bond, the
applicant may deposit with the commissioner of finance a sum equal to the
amount of the required surety bond in cash, or securities as may be legally
purchased by savings banks or for trust funds in an aggregate market value
equal to the amount of the required surety bond.
(e) Failure of a school to
post and maintain the required surety bond or deposit under paragraph (d) shall
result in denial, suspension, or revocation of the school's license.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 141.25, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 13. Schools licensed by
another state agency or board. A
school required to obtain a private career school license due to the use of
"academy," "institute," "college," or
"university" in its name and which is also licensed by another state
agency or board shall be required to satisfy only the requirements of
subdivisions 3, clauses (1), (2), (3), (5), (7), and (10); 4; 5, paragraph (b),
clause (2); 7, clauses (1) and (10); 8; 9, clause (13); and 12.
Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
141.28, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Disclosure
required; advertisement restricted.
A Schools, agents of schools, and solicitors may not advertise
or represent in writing or orally that such school is approved or accredited by
the state of Minnesota, except that any school, agent, or solicitor may
represent in advertisements and shall disclose in catalogues, applications, and
enrollment materials that the school is duly licensed by the state by
prominently displaying the following statement:
"(Name of school) is
licensed as a private career school with the Minnesota Office of Higher
Education pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 141.21 to 141.32. Licensure is not an endorsement of the
institution. Credits earned at the
institution may not transfer to all other institutions."
Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
141.35, is amended to read:
141.35 EXEMPTIONS.
Sections 141.21 to 141.32
shall not apply to the following:
(1) public postsecondary
institutions;
(2) postsecondary
institutions registered under sections 136A.615 136A.61 to
136A.71;
(3) schools of nursing
accredited by the state Board of Nursing or an equivalent public board of
another state or foreign country;
(4) private schools
complying with the requirements of section 120A.22, subdivision 4;
(5) courses taught to
students in a valid apprenticeship program taught by or required by a trade
union;
(6) schools exclusively
engaged in training physically or mentally disabled persons for the state of
Minnesota;
(7) schools licensed by
boards authorized under Minnesota law to issue licenses except schools
required to obtain a private career school license due to the use of
"academy," "institute," "college," or
"university" in their names;
(8) schools and educational
programs, or training programs, contracted for by persons, firms, corporations,
government agencies, or associations, for the training of their own employees,
for which no fee is charged the employee;
(9) schools engaged
exclusively in the teaching of purely avocational, recreational, or remedial
subjects as determined by the office except schools required to obtain a
private career school license due to the use of "academy,"
"institute," "college," or "university" in their
names;
(10) classes, courses, or
programs conducted by a bona fide trade, professional, or fraternal
organization, solely for that organization's membership;
(11) programs in the fine
arts provided by organizations exempt from taxation under section 290.05 and
registered with the attorney general under chapter 309. For the purposes of this clause, "fine
arts" means activities resulting in artistic creation or artistic
performance of works of the imagination which are engaged in for the primary
purpose of creative expression rather than commercial sale or employment. In making this determination the office may
seek the advice and recommendation of the Minnesota Board of the Arts;
(12) classes, courses, or
programs intended to fulfill the continuing education requirements for
licensure or certification in a profession, that have been approved by a
legislatively or judicially established board or agency responsible for
regulating the practice of the profession, and that are offered exclusively to
an individual practicing the profession;
(13) classes, courses, or
programs intended to prepare students to sit for undergraduate, graduate,
postgraduate, or occupational licensing and occupational entrance examinations;
(14) classes, courses, or
programs providing 16 or fewer clock hours of instruction that are not part of
the curriculum for an occupation or entry level employment except schools
required to obtain a private career school license due to the use of
"academy," "institute," "college," or
"university" in their names;
(15) classes, courses, or
programs providing instruction in personal development, modeling, or acting;
(16) training or
instructional programs, in which one instructor teaches an individual student,
that are not part of the curriculum for an occupation or are not intended to
prepare a person for entry level employment; and
(17) schools with no
physical presence in Minnesota, as determined by the office, engaged exclusively
in offering distance instruction that are located in and regulated by other
states or jurisdictions.
Sec. 31. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 144.1501,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Creation
of account. (a) A health professional
education loan forgiveness program account is established. The commissioner of health shall use money
from the account to establish a loan forgiveness program:
(1) for medical residents
agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or underserved urban communities
or specializing in the area of pediatric psychiatry;
(2) for midlevel
practitioners agreeing to practice in designated rural areas or to teach for
at least 20 hours 12 credit hours, or 720 hours per week
year in the nursing field in a postsecondary program at the
undergraduate level or the equivalent at the graduate level;
(3) for nurses who agree to
practice in a Minnesota nursing home or intermediate care facility for persons
with developmental disability or to teach for at least 20 hours 12
credit hours, or 720 hours per week year in the nursing field
in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at
the graduate level;
(4) for other health care
technicians agreeing to teach for at least 20 hours 12 credit
hours, or 720 hours per week year in their designated field
in a postsecondary program at the undergraduate level or the equivalent at
the graduate level. The
commissioner, in consultation with the Healthcare Education-Industry
Partnership, shall determine the health care fields where the need is the
greatest, including, but not limited to, respiratory therapy, clinical
laboratory technology, radiologic technology, and surgical technology;
(5) for pharmacists who
agree to practice in designated rural areas; and
(6) for dentists agreeing to
deliver at least 25 percent of the dentist's yearly patient encounters to state
public program enrollees or patients receiving sliding fee schedule discounts
through a formal sliding fee schedule meeting the standards established by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services under Code of Federal
Regulations, title 42, section 51, chapter 303.
(b) Appropriations made to
the account do not cancel and are available until expended, except that at the
end of each biennium, any remaining balance in the account that is not
committed by contract and not needed to fulfill existing commitments shall
cancel to the fund.
Sec. 32. Laws 2007,
chapter 144, article 1, section 3, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. State Grants 147,400,000 144,138,000
If the appropriation in this
subdivision for either year is insufficient, the appropriation for the other
year is available for it.
For the biennium, the
tuition maximum for students in four-year programs is $9,838 in each year for
students in four-year programs, and for students in two-year programs, is
$6,114 in the first year and $5,808 in the second year.
This appropriation sets the
living and miscellaneous expense allowance at $5,900 each year.
Of the appropriation in the
second year, $3,800,000 must be transferred to the Board of Trustees of the
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for the power of you program under
section 136F.19. Up to half this amount
must be used for pilot programs under section 36.
Of the appropriation in the
second year, $200,000 is for the teachers of color financial aid pilot program
under section 37.
Sec. 33. Laws 2007,
chapter 144, article 1, section 3, subdivision 18, is amended to read:
Subd. 18. Transfers
The Minnesota Office of
Higher Education may transfer unencumbered balances from the appropriations in
this section to the state grant appropriation, the interstate tuition
reciprocity appropriation, the child care grant appropriation, the Indian
scholarship appropriation, the state work study appropriation, the public
safety officers' survivors appropriation, and the Minnesota college savings
plan appropriation. Transfers from the
child care or state work study appropriations may only be made to the extent
there is a projected surplus in the appropriation. A transfer may be made only with the prior written approval of
the commissioner of finance and prior written notice to the chairs of the
senate and house committees with jurisdiction over higher education finance.
Sec. 34. Laws 2007,
chapter 144, article 1, section 5, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Operations and Maintenance 621,184,000 637,824,000
This appropriation includes
funding for operation and maintenance of the system including amounts to
advance the University of Minnesota's efforts to sustain quality and
competitiveness; and funding for the "Advancing Education"
initiatives including an Ojibwe Indian language program on the Duluth campus.
This appropriation includes
funding to establish banded tuition at the Morris, Crookston, and Duluth
campuses to reduce tuition costs for students.
This appropriation includes
funding for scholarships for undergraduate Minnesota resident students with
family income under $150,000 per year.
This appropriation must be matched with $1.50 of nonstate money for each
$1 of state money.
This appropriation includes
funding for the Center for Transportation Studies to complete a study to assess
public policy options for reducing the volume of greenhouse gases emitted from
the transportation sector in Minnesota.
The Center for Transportation Studies must report its preliminary
findings to the legislature by February 1, 2008, and must issue its full report
by June 1, 2008. This is a onetime appropriation.
This appropriation includes
funding to establish an India Center to improve and promote relations with
India and Southeast Asia. The center
must partner with public and private organizations in Minnesota to:
(1) foster an understanding of
the history, culture, and values of India;
(2) serve as a resource and
catalyst to promote economic, governmental, and academic pursuits involving
India; and
(3) facilitate educational
and business exchanges and partnerships, collaborative research, and teaching
and training activities for Minnesota students and teachers.
The Board of Regents may
establish an advisory council to facilitate the mission and objectives of the
India Center and must report on the progress of the India Center by February
15, 2008, to the governor and chairs of the legislative committees responsible
for higher education finance. This
appropriation must be matched by an equal amount of nonstate money. This is a onetime appropriation.
This appropriation includes
funding to assist in the formation of the neighborhood alliance and for
projects identified in section 10. The
alliance, the Board of Regents, and the city of Minneapolis may cooperate on
the projects and may use public services of other entities to complete all or a
portion of a project. This is a onetime
appropriation.
This appropriation includes
funding to establish a Dakota language teacher training immersion program on
the Twin Cities campus to prepare teachers to teach in Dakota language
immersion programs.
One Two percent of the
appropriation in this subdivision for the second year is available when
the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota demonstrates to the
commissioner of finance that the board has met at least three of the five
following performance goals:
(1) increase financial
support to pay the cost of attendance for students demonstrating financial
need;
(2) maintain or improve the
University of Minnesota's rank in its national share of total research and
development expenditures reported to the National Science Foundation over the
2007 ranking;
(3) increase by at least
five percent, compared to fiscal year 2007, the number of degrees awarded in
science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health sciences disciplines;
(4) increase by at least
five percent, compared to fiscal year 2007, the amount of financial support
from key funding sources for renewable energy research; and
(5) increase and improve
interaction and research activity beneficial to business and industry.
By October 1, 2007, the
Board of Regents and the Office of Higher Education must agree on specific
numerical indicators and definitions for each of the five goals that will be
used to demonstrate the University of Minnesota's attainment of each goal.
On or before April 1, 2008,
the Board of Regents must report to the legislative committees with primary
jurisdiction over higher education finance and policy the progress of the
University of Minnesota toward attaining the goals.
Sec. 35. Laws 2007,
chapter 144, article 1, section 5, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. University of Minnesota and Mayo Foundation
Partnership 25,000,000 -0-
For the direct and indirect
expenses of the collaborative research partnership between the University of
Minnesota and the Mayo Foundation for research in biotechnology and medical
genomics. For fiscal years 2010 and
2011, the base shall be $8,000,000 in each year. This appropriation is available until expended. An annual report on the expenditure of these
funds must be submitted to the governor, the chair of the house bioscience
and emerging technologies committee, and the chairs of the senate and house
committees responsible for higher education and economic development by June 30
of each fiscal year. At a minimum,
the
report must include
information on the number of patents, disclosures, and licensing agreements;
the amount generated in royalties and how the royalty money is spent; and the
number of companies created, where they are located, how many jobs are created,
and the amount of venture capital raised.
Sec. 36. POWER
OF YOU PILOT PROGRAMS.
Subdivision 1. Power of you pilot
programs. Pilots shall be
established in suburban and rural sites to test the expansion of power of
you. In addition to the requirements
under Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.19, the power of you pilot programs must
follow the model set forth by the power of you at Metropolitan State
University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and St. Paul College,
increasing financial aid to students enrolled in the program.
Subd. 2. Suburban pilot
selection. By June 1, 2008,
Metropolitan State University shall select one technical college and one
community college or community-technical college to each partner with a high
school in developing a power of you pilot program, to test expansion of the
program established under Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.19, to students in
Twin Cities' suburban areas.
Metropolitan State University shall choose the colleges' high school
partners.
Subd. 3. Rural pilot selection. By June 1, 2008, the chancellor of
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities shall select two rural colleges, one
being a multicampus institution in an agricultural part of the state and the
other a multicampus institution in a nonagricultural part of the state
dependent on natural resources, for power of you pilot programs. Each of the campus sites of the colleges
shall work with a high school to test the application of the power of you pilot
program established under Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.19, to
nonmetropolitan students and colleges.
The chancellor shall choose the campus' high school partners.
Sec. 37. TEACHERS
OF COLOR FINANCIAL AID PILOT PROGRAM.
Subdivision 1. Establishment. The teachers of color financial aid pilot
program is established under the supervision of the Minnesota Office of Higher
Education to encourage academically talented postsecondary students of color to
become teachers of early childhood, elementary, or secondary education; to
increase the academic achievement of diverse student populations; to help close
the existing student achievement gaps by creating a cadre of qualified new
teachers; and to encourage students of color attending four-year institutions
to enroll in a teacher preparation program and students attending two-year
colleges to transfer to and enroll in a teacher preparation program at eligible
institutions. Financial aid under this
pilot program is to provide incentives for postsecondary students of color to
enter teacher preparation programs and to teach in Minnesota school districts.
Subd. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the
following terms have the meanings given them:
(1) "student of
color" means a student who is African American, African immigrant,
American Indian, Alaskan native, Asian American or Pacific Islander, or
Hispanic;
(2) "director"
means the director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education;
(3) "eligible
institution" means a public four-year postsecondary institution with an
approved teacher preparation program that is participating in a pilot
partnership under subdivision 5; and
(4) "teacher
preparation program" means a program at an institution that prepares
students to be teachers.
Subd. 3. Grants. (a) The director shall award grants under
this section to eligible students as an incentive to enter teacher preparation
programs. An eligible student must
submit an application for a grant under this section for the student's junior
and senior years in a teacher preparation program. Applications must be submitted to the director in the form and
manner and with the information required by the director.
(b) An eligible student who
is enrolled as a junior or senior in a teacher preparation program at an
eligible institution may receive a grant under this section of up to $5,000
each year for a maximum of two academic years or the equivalent at an eligible
institution if the student continues to make satisfactory progress toward a
baccalaureate degree in education.
(c) Grants under this
section are made within the limits of appropriations for the pilot
program. The director may prorate the
grant awards and the length of time of the award for students who attend
part-time. The director must give
priority for grants under this section to students who are eligible for the
Pell grant or for a state grant under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.121.
Subd. 4. Student eligibility. A student is eligible to receive a grant
under this section if the student:
(1) is an American citizen
or eligible noncitizen residing in Minnesota;
(2) certifies that the
student is a student of color;
(3) is enrolled in an
eligible institution and making satisfactory academic progress; and
(4) is admitted to an
approved teacher preparation program at an eligible institution.
Subd. 5. Pilot partnerships. Up to four partnerships between a public
four-year institution in Minnesota with an approved teacher preparation program
and at least one Minnesota school district may participate in the teachers of
color financial aid pilot program. Of
the four partnerships, one must be a partnership between Winona State
University and the Rochester school district and one must be a partnership
between St. Cloud State University and Robbinsdale public schools. The director must select the other
partnerships for the pilot program based on applications submitted according to
the timeline established and with information required by the director. Each partnership must agree to devise a plan
to recruit students of color for teacher preparation programs and assistance
under this section. Recruitment of
students must include recruiting and encouraging talented students of color who
attend two-year colleges to transfer to teacher preparation programs at participating
pilot institutions.
Subd. 6. Teachers of color
program promotion. The
director may use up to $25,000 of the appropriation for the program under this
section for the administration and promotion of the pilot program and to assist
with the recruitment of students of color for teacher preparation
programs. The director must consult
with the commissioner of education, the University of Minnesota, Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities, and private colleges to develop strategies to
recruit, retain, and mentor students in pilot programs while the students
attend a teacher preparation program.
To the extent possible, existing state or private programs must be used
to provide recruitment, retention, and mentoring services under this
subdivision.
Subd. 7. Report. The director must report to the
committees of the legislature with responsibility for higher education finance
by February 1, 2009, on the teachers of color financial aid pilot project. The report must include an evaluation of
participation with recommendations on the program design, including the
potential to expand the program to graduate education programs. The report must also make recommendations on
continued funding for the program.
Sec. 38. REPORT
TO LEGISLATURE.
The staff of the Office of
the Chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities shall evaluate the
performance of the power of you pilot programs established at the locations
chosen in section 36 and in Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.19, to determine
the effects on participation rates, retention, and potential enhancement of the
workforce, and shall evaluate the costs and benefits of the pilot
programs. The Office of the Chancellor
shall report the results of the evaluation to the committees in the senate and house
of representatives with jurisdiction over higher education by January 15, 2010.
Sec. 39. 2008
APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Notwithstanding Minnesota
Statutes, section 136F.02, the governor shall make no appointments to the Board
of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for board terms
expiring in 2008 and all appointments for these seats must be made by the labor
organizations under Minnesota Statutes, section 136F.02, subdivision 1. Beginning in 2008 and every six years
thereafter, the IFO, MSCF, MAPE, and AFSCME must each appoint one member to the
board of trustees according to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, sections
136F.02, subdivision 1, and 136F.045.
ARTICLE 4
JOBS AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Section 1. SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS.
The
amounts shown in this section summarize direct appropriations or reductions, by
fund, made in this article.
2008 2009 Total
General $(3,000,000) $2,218,000 $(782,000)
Cancellations -0- 2,758,000 2,758,000
Transfers From Other Funds -0- 22,000,000 22,000,000
Total $(3,000,000) $(22,540,000) $(25,540,000)
Sec.
2. JOBS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS AND REDUCTIONS.
The
dollar amounts in the columns under "Appropriations and Reductions"
are added to or, if shown in parentheses, subtracted from the appropriations in
Laws 2007, chapter 135, or other law to the specified agencies. The appropriations are from the general
fund, or another named fund, and are available for the fiscal years indicated
for each purpose. The figures
"2008" and "2009" used in this article mean that the
appropriations listed under them are available for the fiscal year ending June
30, 2008, or June 30, 2009, respectively. "The first year" is fiscal
year 2008. "The second year" is fiscal year 2009. "The
biennium" is fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
Appropriations for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, are effective
the day following final enactment.
APPROPRIATIONS AND
REDUCTIONS
Available for the Year
Ending June 30
2008 2009
Sec. 3. EMPLOYMENT
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Subdivision 1. Total Appropriation $(3,000,000) $2,250,000
Appropriations by Fund
2008 2009
General (3,000,000) 2,250,000
Cancellations -0- 2,758,000
Transfers From Other Funds -0- 8,000,000
The amounts that may be
spent for each purpose are specified in the following subdivisions.
Subd. 2. Employment and Economic Development
$550,000 in the second year
is a base reduction to the department's operating budget.
Subd. 3. Business and Community Development
(3,000,000) 2,800,000
Appropriations by Fund
General (3,000,000) 2,800,000
$400,000 in the second year
is for the establishment and operation of the Office of Science and
Technology. This is a onetime appropriation
and is available until expended.
$2,000,000 in the second
year is for grants to the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations to expand
existing small business revolving loans with a focus on lending to
entrepreneurs and new businesses. The
commissioner of employment and economic development must make equal grants to
each Minnesota Initiative Foundation.
This is a onetime appropriation.
$200,000 in the second year
is for a grant to the Hennepin-Carver Workforce Investment Board (WIB) to
coordinate with the Partners for Progress Regional Skills Consortium to provide
employment and training as demonstrated by the Twin Cities regional health care
training partnership project. This is a
onetime appropriation.
APPROPRIATIONS AND
REDUCTIONS
Available for the Year
Ending June 30
2008 2009
$125,000 in the second year
is for a grant to HIRED to operate its industry sector training initiatives,
which provide employee training developed in collaboration with employers in
specific, high-demand industries. This
is a onetime appropriation.
$75,000 in the second year
is for a grant to Lifetrack Resources for a onetime pilot project in Rochester
focusing on immigrant and refugee collaborative programs, including those
related to job-seeking skills and workplace orientation, intensive job
development, functional work English, and on-site job coaching. This is a onetime appropriation.
Subd. 4. Cancellations -0- 2,758,000
Prior to July 31, 2008, the
unexpended balances from the following appropriations are canceled to the
general fund:
(1) the appropriation made
in Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 3, article 10, section 23, to the
foreign trade zone authority; and
(2) the
appropriation made in Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter
1, article 3, section 2, subdivision 2, for the methamphetamine laboratory
cleanup revolving loan fund.
Prior to July 31, 2008, of
the unexpended balance in the job skills partnership account, $2,000,000 is
canceled to the general fund.
Subd. 5. Transfers -0- 8,000,000
Prior to July 31, 2008, the
amount specified from the unexpended balance of the workforce development fund
must be transferred to the general fund.
Subd. 6. Minnesota Minerals 21st Century Fund
Notwithstanding Minnesota
Statutes, section 116J.423, by June 30, 2009, the commissioner shall make a
$1,000,000 grant and a $1,000,000 loan from the Minnesota Minerals 21st Century
Fund to Magnetation, Inc. for reclamation of iron ore.
Sec. 4. LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Subdivision 1. Base Reduction $-0- $(43,000)
APPROPRIATIONS AND
REDUCTIONS
Available for the Year
Ending June 30
2008 2009
$43,000 in the second year
is a base reduction to the municipal building permit reporting unit in the
labor standards program. The
commissioner must not reduce funding available for prevailing wage enforcement
and must fill all positions when vacancies become available.
Subd. 2. Transfers -0- 14,000,000
Prior to July 31, 2008, the
amount specified from the unexpended balance of the worker's compensation
special fund must be transferred to the general fund.
Sec. 5. BUREAU OF MEDIATION SERVICES $-0- $(69,000)
This is a base reduction.
Sec. 6. COMBATIVE SPORTS COMMISSION $-0- $80,000
This amount is added to the
commission's base budget.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 116J.423,
is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. Grants authorized. Notwithstanding subdivision 2, the
commissioner may use money in the fund to make grants to a city, county, or to
a county regional rail authority as appropriate, for public infrastructure
needed to support an eligible project under this section. Grant money may be used by the city, county,
or regional rail authority to acquire right-of-way and mitigate loss of
wetlands and runoff of storm water; to predesign, design, construct, and equip
roads and rail lines; and, in cooperation with municipal utilities, to
predesign, design, construct, and equip natural gas pipelines, electric
infrastructure, water supply systems, and wastewater collection and treatment
systems. Grants made under this
subdivision are available until expended.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 8. [116J.996]
MILITARY RESERVIST ECONOMIC INJURY LOANS.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision
apply to this section.
(b) "Active
service" has the meaning given in section 190.05.
(c) "Commissioner"
means the commissioner of employment and economic development.
(d) "Eligible
business" means a small business, as defined in section 645.445, that was
operating in Minnesota on the date a military reservist received orders for
active service.
(e) "Essential
employee" means a military reservist who is an owner or employee of an
eligible business and whose managerial or technical expertise is critical to
the day-to-day operation of the eligible business.
(f) "Military
reservist" means a member of the reserve component of the armed forces.
(g) "Reserve component
of the armed forces" has the meaning given it in United States Code, title
10, section 101(c).
(h) "Substantial
economic injury" means an economic harm to an eligible business that
results in the inability of the eligible business to:
(1) meet its obligations as
they mature;
(2) pay its ordinary and
necessary operating expenses; or
(3) manufacture, produce,
market, or provide a product or service ordinarily manufactured, produced,
marketed, or provided by the eligible business.
Subd. 2. Loan program. The commissioner may make onetime,
interest-free loans of up to $20,000 per borrower to eligible businesses that
have sustained or are likely to sustain substantial economic injury as a result
of the call to active service for 180 days or more of an essential employee. Loans must be made for the purpose of
preventing, remedying, or ameliorating the substantial economic injury.
Subd. 3. Transfer. The commissioner of veterans affairs
shall transfer funds as requested by the commissioner of employment and
economic development for the purposes of the loan program created in this
section, including costs incurred by the commissioner to establish and
administer the program.
Subd. 4. Rules. Using the expedited rulemaking procedures
of section 14.389, the commissioner shall develop and publish expedited rules
for loan applications, use of funds, needed collateral, terms of loans, and
other details of military reservist economic injury loans.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
116L.17, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
following terms have the meanings given them in this subdivision.
(b) "Commissioner"
means the commissioner of employment and economic development.
(c) "Dislocated
worker" means an individual who is a resident of Minnesota at the time
employment ceased or was working in the state at the time employment ceased
and:
(1) has been permanently
separated or has received a notice of permanent separation from public or
private sector employment and is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to
unemployment benefits, and is unlikely to return to the previous industry or
occupation;
(2) has been long-term
unemployed and has limited opportunities for employment or reemployment in the
same or a similar occupation in the area in which the individual resides,
including older individuals who may have substantial barriers to employment by
reason of age;
(3) has been terminated or
has received a notice of termination of employment as a result of a plant
closing or a substantial layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise;
(4) has been self-employed,
including farmers and ranchers, and is unemployed as a result of general
economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because
of natural disasters;
(5) has been permanently
separated from employment in a restaurant, bar, or lawful gambling organization
from October 1, 2007, to October 1, 2009, due to the implementation of any
state law prohibiting smoking; or
(6) is a veteran as defined
by section 197.447, has been discharged or released from active duty under
honorable conditions within the last 36 months, and (i) is unemployed or (ii)
is employed in a job which pays less than what the veteran could verifiably
earn; or
(6) (7) is a displaced
homemaker. A "displaced
homemaker" is an individual who has spent a substantial number of years in
the home providing homemaking service and (i) has been dependent upon the
financial support of another; and now due to divorce, separation, death, or
disability of that person, must find employment to self support; or (ii)
derived the substantial share of support from public assistance on account of
dependents in the home and no longer receives such support.
To be eligible under this
clause, the support must have ceased while the worker resided in Minnesota.
(d) "Eligible
organization" means a state or local government unit, nonprofit
organization, community action agency, business organization or association, or
labor organization.
(e) "Plant
closing" means the announced or actual permanent shutdown of a single site
of employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within a single
site of employment.
(f) "Substantial
layoff" means a permanent reduction in the workforce, which is not a
result of a plant closing, and which results in an employment loss at a single
site of employment during any 30-day period for at least 50 employees excluding
those employees that work less than 20 hours per week.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 116L.17, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 11. Transfer from
department of veterans affairs.
The commissioner of veterans affairs shall transfer funds as
requested by the commissioner of employment and economic development to
reimburse the workforce development fund for costs incurred under section
116L.17, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), clause (6).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
214.04, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Officers;
staff. The executive director of
each health-related board and the executive secretary of each
non-health-related board shall be the chief administrative officer for the
board but shall not be a member of the board.
The executive director or executive secretary shall maintain the records
of the board, account for all fees received by it, supervise and direct employees
servicing the board, and perform other services as directed by the board. The executive directors, executive
secretaries, and other employees of the following boards shall be hired by the
board, and the executive directors or executive secretaries shall be in the
unclassified civil service, except as provided in this subdivision:
(1) Dentistry;
(2) Medical Practice;
(3) Nursing;
(4) Pharmacy;
(5) Accountancy;
(6) Architecture,
Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior
Design;
(7) Barber Examiners;
(8) Cosmetology;
(9) Teaching;
(10) Peace Officer Standards
and Training;
(11) Social Work;
(12) Marriage and Family
Therapy;
(13) Dietetics and Nutrition
Practice; and
(14) Licensed Professional
Counseling.; and
(15) Combative Sports
Commission.
The executive directors or
executive secretaries serving the boards are hired by those boards and are in
the unclassified civil service, except for part-time executive directors or
executive secretaries, who are not required to be in the unclassified
service. Boards not requiring full-time
executive directors or executive secretaries may employ them on a part-time
basis. To the extent practicable, the
sharing of part-time executive directors or executive secretaries by boards
being serviced by the same department is encouraged. Persons providing services to those boards not listed in this
subdivision, except executive directors or executive secretaries of the boards
and employees of the attorney general, are classified civil service employees
of the department servicing the board.
To the extent practicable, the commissioner shall ensure that staff
services are shared by the boards being serviced by the department. If necessary, a board may hire part-time,
temporary employees to administer and grade examinations.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.047, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. General
rule. Unemployment benefits paid to
an applicant, including extended, additional, and shared work benefits,
will be used in computing the future tax rate of a taxpaying base period
employer or charged to the reimbursable account of a base period nonprofit or
government employer that has elected to be liable for reimbursements except as
provided in subdivisions 2 and 3. The
amount of unemployment benefits used in computing the future tax rate of
taxpaying employers or charged to the reimbursable account of a nonprofit or
government employer that has elected to be liable for reimbursements is the
same percentage of the total amount of unemployment benefits paid as the
percentage of wage credits from the employer is of the total amount of wage
credits from all the applicant's base period employers.
In making computations under
this subdivision, the amount of wage credits, if not a whole dollar, must be
computed to the nearest whole dollar.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.047, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Exceptions
for all employers. Unemployment
benefits paid will not be used in computing the future tax rate of a taxpaying
base period employer or charged to the reimbursable account of a base period
nonprofit or government employer that has elected to be liable for
reimbursements when:
(1) the applicant was
discharged from the employment because of aggravated employment misconduct as
determined under section 268.095. This
exception applies only to unemployment benefits paid for periods after the
applicant's discharge from employment;
(2) an applicant's discharge
from that employment occurred because a law required removal of the applicant
from the position the applicant held;
(3) the employer is in the
tourist or recreation industry and is in active operation of business less than
15 calendar weeks each year and the applicant's wage credits from the employer
are less than 600 times the applicable state or federal minimum wage;
(4) the employer provided
regularly scheduled part-time employment to the applicant during the
applicant's base period and continues to provide the applicant with regularly
scheduled part-time employment during the benefit year of at least 90 percent
of the part-time employment provided in the base period, and is an involved
employer because of the applicant's loss of other employment. This exception terminates effective the
first week that the employer fails to meet the benefit year employment
requirements. This exception applies to
educational institutions without consideration of the period between academic
years or terms;
(5) the employer is a fire
department or firefighting corporation or operator of a life-support
transportation service, and continues to provide employment for the applicant as
a volunteer firefighter or a volunteer ambulance service personnel during the
benefit year on the same basis that employment was provided in the base
period. This exception terminates
effective the first week that the employer fails to meet the benefit year
employment requirements;
(6) the applicant's
unemployment from this employer was a direct result of the condemnation of
property by a governmental agency, a fire, flood, or act of nature, where 25
percent or more of the employees employed at the affected location, including
the applicant, became unemployed as a result.
This exception does not apply where the unemployment was a direct result
of the intentional act of the employer or a person acting on behalf of the
employer;
(7) the unemployment benefits
were paid by another state as a result of the transferring of wage credits
under a combined wage arrangement provided for in section 268.131;
(8) the applicant stopped
working because of a labor dispute at the applicant's primary place of
employment if the employer was not a party to the labor dispute;
(9) the unemployment
benefits were determined overpaid unemployment benefits under section 268.18; or
(10) the applicant was
employed as a replacement worker, for a period of six months or longer, for an
employee who is in the military reserve and was called for active duty during
the time the applicant worked as a replacement, and the applicant was laid off
because the employee returned to employment after active duty; or
(11) the trust fund was reimbursed
for the unemployment benefits by the federal government.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.085, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Payments
that delay unemployment benefits.
(a) An applicant is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits for
any week with respect to which the applicant is receiving, has received, or has
filed for payment, equal to or in excess of the applicant's weekly unemployment
benefit amount, in the form of:
(1) vacation pay paid upon
temporary, indefinite, or seasonal separation.
This clause does not apply to (i) vacation pay paid upon a
permanent separation from employment;, or (ii) vacation pay paid from
a vacation fund administered by a union or a third party not under the control
of the employer;
(2) severance pay, bonus
pay, sick pay, and any other payments, except earnings under subdivision 5, and
back pay under subdivision 6, paid by an employer because of, upon, or after
separation from employment, but only if the payment is considered wages at the
time of payment under section 268.035, subdivision 29. This clause does not apply to the first
$5,000 of any amount of severance pay, bonus pay, sick pay, or any other
payments paid to an employee; or
(3) pension, retirement, or
annuity payments from any plan contributed to by a base period employer
including the United States government, except Social Security benefits that
are provided for in subdivision 4. The
base period employer is considered to have contributed to the plan if the
contribution is excluded from the definition of wages under section 268.035,
subdivision 29, clause (1).
An applicant is not
considered to have received the lump sum payment if the applicant immediately
deposits that payment in a qualified pension plan or account.
(b) This subdivision applies
to all the weeks of payment. Payments
under paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (2), are applied to the period immediately
following the last day of employment. and The number of weeks of
payment, for purposes of those clauses, is determined as follows:
(1) if the payments are made
periodically, the total of the payments to be received is divided by the
applicant's last level of regular weekly pay from the employer; or
(2) if the payment is made
in a lump sum, that sum is divided by the applicant's last level of regular
weekly pay from the employer.
(c) If the payment is less
than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount, unemployment benefits
are reduced by the amount of the payment.
If the computation of reduced unemployment benefits is not a whole
dollar, it is rounded down to the next lower whole dollar.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section, except for subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause
(2), is effective the day following final enactment. Subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (2), is effective for
unemployment benefits paid on or after January 1, 2006, regardless of when the
continued request was filed or the week for which the unemployment benefits are
paid.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.085, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. Business
owners. Wage credits from an
employer may not be used for unemployment benefit purposes by any applicant who:
(1) individually, jointly,
or in combination with the applicant's spouse, parent, or child owns or
controls directly or indirectly 25 percent or more interest in the employer,;
or
(2) is the spouse, parent, or
minor child of any individual who owns or controls directly or indirectly 25
percent or more interest in the employer; and.
(2) is temporarily,
seasonally, or indefinitely unemployed and not permanently separated from the
employment.
This subdivision only
applies if the applicant has been paid unemployment benefits based upon wage
credits from this employer within the prior four years and is effective
when the applicant has been paid four five times the applicant's
weekly unemployment benefit amount in the current benefit year.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 6, 2008, and applies to
applications for unemployment benefits filed on or after that date.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.085, subdivision 16, is amended to read:
Subd. 16. Actively
seeking suitable employment defined.
(a) "Actively seeking suitable employment" means those
reasonable, diligent efforts an individual in similar circumstances would make
if genuinely interested in obtaining suitable employment under the existing
conditions in the labor market area.
Limiting the search to positions that are not available or are above the
applicant's training, experience, and qualifications is not "actively
seeking suitable employment."
(b) To be considered
"actively seeking suitable employment" an applicant must, when
reasonable, contact those employers from whom the applicant was laid off
because of lack of work and request suitable employment.
(c) If reasonable prospects
of suitable employment in the applicant's usual or customary occupation do not
exist, the applicant must actively seek other suitable employment to be
considered "actively seeking suitable employment." This applies to an
applicant who is seasonally unemployed.
(d) An applicant who is
seeking employment only through a union is not considered
actively seeking suitable employment unless if the applicant is
in an occupation where it is required by union rule that all the hiring
in that locality is done through the union. or that all members are
If the applicant is a union member who is restricted to obtaining
employment among signatory contractors in the construction industry, seeking
employment only with those signatory contractors is considered actively seeking
employment. The applicant must be a
union member in good standing, registered with the union for employment, and in
compliance with other union rules to be considered "actively seeking
suitable employment."
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 268.125,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Additional
unemployment benefits; when available.
Additional unemployment benefits are available if:
(1) a county had a total
unemployment rate for the prior 12-calendar month period of at least 1.8 times
the state average unemployment rate for the prior 12-calendar month period and
the state average unemployment rate for the same 12-calendar month period was
at least 4.6 percent. The commissioner
must calculate the applicable unemployment rates within 30 calendar days
following the end of the month. Once it
has been calculated that the total unemployment rate in a county equals or
exceeds 1.8 times the state average unemployment rate for the prior 12-calendar
month period, the additional benefits are available beginning the Sunday
following the date of calculation and continuing for a minimum of 13 calendar
weeks; or
(1) (2) (i) at a
facility that had 100 or more employees, the employer reduced operations,
resulting within a one-month period in the layoff of 50 percent or more of the
facility's work force, including reductions caused as a result of a major
natural disaster declared by the president;
(2) (ii) the employer
has no expressed plan to resume operations that would lead to the reemployment
of those employees in the immediate future; and
(3) (iii) the seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate in the county that the facility is located was ten
percent or more during the month of the reduction or any of the three months
before or after the month of the reduction.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies retroactively from January 1, 2008.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 268.125,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Payment
of unemployment benefits from trust fund; effect on employer. Additional unemployment benefits are payable
from the trust fund. Additional
unemployment benefits paid will not be used in computing the experience rating
of a taxpaying employer nor charged to the reimbursing account of a nonprofit
or government employer.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
268.125, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Eligibility
conditions. An applicant is
eligible to receive additional unemployment benefits for any week during the
applicant's benefit year if:
(1) for any week during
which benefits are available under subdivision 1, clause (1):
(i) the applicant resides in
a county that meets the requirements of subdivision 1, clause (1), and resided
in that county each week that regular unemployment benefits were paid;
(ii) the applicant meets the
same eligibility requirements that are required for regular unemployment
benefits under section 268.069; and
(iii) the applicant has
exhausted regular unemployment benefits under section 268.07, is not entitled
to receive extended unemployment benefits under section 268.115, and is not
entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law
for that week; or
(1) (2) the applicant
was laid off from employment as a result of a reduction under subdivision 1,
clause (2), or was laid off because of lack of work from that employer
during the three-month period before, or the three-month period after, the
month of the reduction under subdivision 1, clause (2);
(2) (3) the applicant
meets the same eligibility requirements that are required for regular
unemployment benefits under section 268.085 268.069;
(3) the applicant is not
ineligible under section 268.095 because of a quit or a discharge;
(4) the applicant has
exhausted regular unemployment benefits under section 268.07, is not entitled
to receive extended unemployment benefits under section 268.115, and is not
entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law
for that week; and
(5) a majority of the
applicant's wage credits were from the employer that had a reduction in
operations under subdivision 1, clause (2).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies retroactively from January 1, 2008.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 268.125, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 6. Notice. The commissioner must notify applicants
of the availability of additional unemployment benefits by contacting
applicants by mail or electronic transmission, by posting a notice on the
department's official Web site, and by appropriate announcement.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 21. [268.232]
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WORKER INITIATIVE.
Subdivision 1. Purpose; set aside. The unemployment insurance workers
initiative is created to increase the number of staff at each workforce
development center who are available to provide services to unemployed workers
seeking information, assistance, and advice on applying for unemployment
insurance benefits.
Subd. 2. Tax reduction. Beginning January 1, 2009, the base
unemployment tax calculated under section 268.051, subdivision 2, paragraph
(b), is reduced by .01 percent.
Subd. 3. Fee suspension. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes,
section 116L.20, the special assessment under that section of .10 percent is
suspended until December 31, 2011.
Subd. 4. Workforce enhancement
fee. A workforce enhancement
fee of .11 percent on taxable wages as defined in section 268.035 subdivision
24, is assessed in addition to unemployment taxes under section 268.051. The workforce enhancement fee shall be paid
on the same schedule and in the same manner as unemployment taxes under section
268.051. Late payment of fees under
this section is subject to the same interest and penalty provisions as those
that apply to unemployment taxes.
Subd. 5. Use of funds. (a) Of the funds collected under this
section an amount equal to .01 percent on taxable wages must be deposited in
the unemployment insurance worker initiative account created under subdivision
6.
(b) The remaining funds
collected under this section must be deposited in the workforce development
fund under section 116L.20 minus reimbursement for costs under section 116L.20,
subdivision 2, paragraph (c).
Subd. 6. Account. The unemployment insurance worker
initiative account is created as a special account in the special revenue fund
in the state treasury. All funds
deposited under subdivision 5, paragraph (a), and any interest earnings on
those funds are appropriated to the commissioner to increase the amount of
staff in the workforce centers to provide assistance and support to applicants
for unemployment insurance. The
commissioner shall give priority to providing sufficient staff in workforce
centers located outside of the seven county metropolitan area. Any funds that remain unexpended in the
first year are available for expenditure until December 31, 2011. Any unexpended funds in this account after
December 31, 2011 shall be transferred to the unemployment insurance trust
fund.
Subd. 7. Report. Beginning in 2010 and every two years
thereafter, the commissioner shall report by January 15 to the standing committees
of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over
unemployment insurance on the number of staff providing unemployment insurance
assistance to applicants at each workforce center, the salaries paid to staff,
and the amount of unemployment benefits paid to applicants who received
unemployment insurance assistance at the workforce centers.
Subd. 8. Sunset. Except for the reporting requirements
under subdivision 7, this section sunsets on December 31, 2011.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2009.
Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.2214,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Creation
of committee; purpose. A committee
is created to advise the commissioner of Iron Range resources and rehabilitation
board on providing higher education programs in cooperation with the
University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and
private colleges in the taconite assistance area defined in section
273.1341. The committee is subject to
section 15.059.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.2214,
subdivision 2, as amended by Laws 2008, chapter 154, article 8, section 4, is
amended to read:
Subd. 2. Iron
Range Higher Education Committee; membership. The members of the committee shall consist of:
(1) one member appointed by
the governor;
(2) one member appointed by
the president of the University of Minnesota;
(3) four members of the Iron
Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board appointed by the chair;
(4) the commissioner of
Iron Range resources and rehabilitation one member appointed by the
chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; and
(5) the president of the Northeast
Higher Education District or its successor.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 24. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.223,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Administration. (a) The taconite area environmental
protection fund shall be administered by the commissioner of the Iron Range
Resources and Rehabilitation Board. The
commissioner shall by September 1 of each year submit to the board a list of
projects to be funded from the taconite area environmental protection fund,
with such supporting information including description of the projects, plans,
and cost estimates as may be necessary.
(b) Each year no less than
one-half of the amounts deposited into the taconite environmental protection
fund must be used for public works projects, including construction of sewer
and water systems, as specified under subdivision 1, paragraph (c). The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation
Board with a majority vote of the members, may waive the requirements of this
paragraph.
(c) Upon approval by a majority
of the members of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, this
the list of projects approved under this subdivision shall be
submitted to the governor by November 1 of each year. By December 1 of each year, the governor shall approve or
disapprove, or return for further consideration, each project. Funds for a project may be expended only
upon approval of the project by the board and governor. The commissioner may submit supplemental
projects to the board and governor for approval at any time.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for distributions beginning in 2009.
Sec. 25. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
298.227, is amended to read:
298.227 TACONITE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND.
For distributions prior to
January 1, 2009, an amount equal to that distributed pursuant to each taconite
producer's taxable production and qualifying sales under section 298.28,
subdivision 9a, shall be held by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation
Board in a separate taconite economic development fund for each taconite and
direct reduced ore producer. Money from
the fund for each producer shall be released by the commissioner after review
by a joint committee consisting of an equal number of representatives of the
salaried employees and the nonsalaried production and maintenance employees of
that producer. The District 11 director
of the United States Steelworkers of America, on advice of each local employee
president, shall select the employee members.
In nonorganized operations, the employee committee shall be elected by
the nonsalaried production and maintenance employees. The review must be completed no later than six months after the
producer presents a proposal for expenditure of the funds to the
committee. The funds held pursuant to
this section may be released only for acquisition of plant and stationary
mining equipment and facilities for the producer or for research and development
in Minnesota on new mining, or taconite, iron, or steel production technology,
but only if the producer provides a matching expenditure to be used for the
same purpose of at least 50 percent of the distribution based on 14.7 cents per
ton beginning with distributions in 2002.
Effective for proposals for expenditures of money from the fund
beginning May 26, 2007, the commissioner may not release the funds before the
next scheduled meeting of the board. If
the board rejects a proposed expenditure, the funds must be deposited in the
Taconite Environmental Protection Fund under sections 298.222 to 298.225. If a producer uses money which has been
released from the fund prior to May 26, 2007 to procure haulage trucks, mobile
equipment, or mining shovels, and the producer removes the piece of equipment
from the taconite tax relief area defined in section 273.134 within ten years
from the date of receipt of the money from the fund, a portion of the money
granted from the fund must be repaid to the taconite economic development fund. The portion of the money to be repaid is 100
percent of the grant if the equipment is removed from the taconite tax relief
area within 12 months after receipt of the money from the fund, declining by
ten percent for each of the subsequent nine years during which the equipment
remains within the taconite tax relief area.
If a taconite production facility is sold after operations at the
facility had ceased, any money remaining in the fund for the former producer
may be released to the purchaser of the facility on the terms otherwise
applicable to the former producer under this section. If a producer fails to provide matching funds for a proposed
expenditure within six months after the commissioner approves release of the
funds, the funds are available for release to another producer in proportion to
the distribution provided and under the conditions of this section. Any portion of the fund which is not
released by the commissioner within two years of its deposit in the fund shall
be divided between the taconite environmental protection fund created in
section 298.223 and the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund
created in section 298.292 for placement in their respective special
accounts. Two-thirds of the unreleased
funds shall be distributed to the taconite environmental protection fund and
one-third to the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund.
Sec. 26. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.28,
subdivision 9b, is amended to read:
Subd. 9b. Taconite
environmental fund. Five Eight
cents per ton must be paid to the taconite environmental fund for use under
section 298.2961, subdivision 4.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for production in 2008,
distributions in 2009 and thereafter.
Sec. 27. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.28,
subdivision 9d, as added by Laws 2008, chapter 154, article 8, section 9, is
amended to read:
Subd. 9d. Iron
Range higher education account. Two
Five cents per taxable ton must be allocated to the Iron Range Resources
and Rehabilitation Board to be deposited in an Iron Range higher education
account that is hereby created, to be used for higher education programs
conducted at educational institutions in the taconite assistance area defined
in section 273.1341. The Iron Range
Higher Education committee under section 298.2214 and the Iron Range Resources
and Rehabilitation Board must approve all expenditures from the account.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.292,
subdivision 2, as amended by Laws 2008, chapter 154, article 8, section 11, is
amended to read:
Subd. 2. Use
of money. Money in the Douglas J.
Johnson economic protection trust fund may be used for the following
purposes:
(1) to provide loans, loan
guarantees, interest buy-downs and other forms of participation with private sources
of financing, but a loan to a private enterprise shall be for a principal
amount not to exceed one-half of the cost of the project for which financing is
sought, and the rate of interest on a loan to a private enterprise shall be no
less than the lesser of eight percent or an interest rate three percentage
points less than a full faith and credit obligation of the United States
government of comparable maturity, at the time that the loan is approved;
(2) to fund reserve accounts
established to secure the payment when due of the principal of and interest on
bonds issued pursuant to section 298.2211;
(3) to pay in periodic
payments or in a lump sum payment any or all of the interest on bonds issued
pursuant to chapter 474 for the purpose of constructing, converting, or
retrofitting heating facilities in connection with district heating systems or
systems utilizing alternative energy sources;
(4) to invest in a venture
capital fund or enterprise that will provide capital to other entities that are
engaging in, or that will engage in, projects or programs that have the
purposes set forth in subdivision 1. No
investments may be made in a venture capital fund or enterprise unless at least
two other unrelated investors make investments of at least $500,000 in the
venture capital fund or enterprise, and the investment by the Douglas J.
Johnson economic protection trust fund may not exceed the amount of the largest
investment by an unrelated investor in the venture capital fund or enterprise. For purposes of this subdivision, an
"unrelated investor" is a person or entity that is not related to the
entity in which the investment is made or to any individual who owns more than
40 percent of the value of the entity, in any of the following relationships: spouse, parent, child, sibling, employee, or
owner of an interest in the entity that exceeds ten percent of the value of all
interests in it. For purposes of
determining the limitations under this clause, the amount of investments made
by an investor other than the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund
is the sum of all investments made in the venture capital fund or enterprise
during the period beginning one year before the date of the investment by the
Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund; and
(5) to purchase forest land
in the taconite assistance area defined in section 273.1341 to be held and
managed as a public trust for the benefit of the area for the purposes
authorized in section 298.22, subdivision 5a.
Property purchased under this section may be sold upon approval by a
majority vote of the board. The net
proceeds must be deposited in the trust fund for the purposes and uses of this
section.
Money from the trust fund
shall be expended only in or for the benefit of the taconite assistance area
defined in section 273.1341.
Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 298.2961,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Projects;
approval. (a) Projects funded must
be for:
(1) environmentally unique
reclamation projects; or
(2) pit or plant repairs,
expansions, or modernizations other than for a value added iron products plant;
or.
(3) haulage trucks and
equipment and mining shovels.
(b) To be proposed by the
board, a project must be approved by at least eight Iron Range Resources and
Rehabilitation Board members. The money
for a project may be spent only upon approval of the project by the
governor. The board may submit
supplemental projects for approval at any time.
(c) The board may require
that it receive an equity percentage in any project to which it contributes
under this section.
Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 341.21, as
amended by Laws 2007, chapter 135, article 3, section 30, is amended to read:
341.21 DEFINITIONS.
Subdivision 1. Applicability. The definitions in this section apply to
this chapter.
Subd. 2. Boxing. "Boxing" means the act of attack
and defense with the fists, using padded gloves, that is practiced as a sport
under the rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions, or equivalent. Where applicable, boxing includes tough
person contests.
Subd. 2a. Combatant. "Combatant" means an individual
who employs the act of attack and defense as a boxer, tough person, or mixed
martial artist while engaged in a combative sport.
Subd. 2b. Combative sport. "Combative sport" means a sport
that employs the act of attack and defense with the fists, with or without
using padded gloves, or feet that is practiced as a sport under the rules of
the Association of Boxing Commissions, unified rules for mixed martial arts, or
their equivalent. Combative sports
include professional boxing and professional and amateur tough person and
professional and amateur mixed martial arts contests.
Subd. 3. Commission. "Commission" means the Minnesota
Boxing Combative Sports Commission.
Subd. 4. Combative
sports contest. "Combative
sports contest" means any a professional boxing, a
professional or amateur tough person, or a professional or amateur mixed
martial art bout, competition contest, match, or exhibition.
Subd. 4a. Director. "Director" means the executive
director of the commission.
Subd. 4b. HBV. "HBV" means the hepatitis B
virus with the e-antigen present in the most recent blood test.
Subd. 4c. HCV. "HCV" means the hepatitis C
virus.
Subd. 4d. HIV. "HIV" means the human
immunodeficiency virus.
Subd. 4e. Individual. "Individual" means a living
human being.
Subd. 4f. Mixed martial arts
contest. "Mixed martial
arts contest" means a contest between two or more individuals consisting
of any combination of full contact martial art including, but not limited to,
Muay Thai and Karate, kickboxing, wrestling, grappling, or other recognized
martial art.
Subd. 4g. Person. "Person" means an individual,
corporation, partnership, limited liability company, organization, or other
business entity organized and existing under law, its officers and directors,
or a person holding 25 percent or more of the ownership of a corporation that
is authorized to do business under the laws of this state.
Subd. 5. Professional. "Professional" means any person
who competes for any money prize or a prize that exceeds the value of $50 or
teaches, pursues, or assists in the practice of boxing a combative
sport as a means of obtaining a livelihood or pecuniary gain.
Subd. 6. Director. "Director" means the executive
director of the commission.
Subd. 7. Tough
person contest. "Tough person
contest," including contests marketed as tough man and or
tough woman contests, means any boxing match consisting a contest
of one-minute rounds two-minute rounds consisting of not more than
four rounds between two or more persons individuals who use
their hands, or their feet, or both, in any manner. Tough person contest does not include kick
boxing kickboxing or any recognized martial arts competition
contest.
Subd. 8. Mixed martial arts. "Mixed martial arts" means any
combination of boxing, kick boxing, wrestling, grappling, or other recognized
martial arts.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 31. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section
341.22, is amended to read:
341.22 BOXING COMBATIVE SPORTS COMMISSION.
There is hereby created the
Minnesota Boxing Combative Sports Commission consisting of nine
members who are citizens of this state.
The members must be appointed by the governor. One member of the commission must be a retired judge of the
Minnesota district court, Minnesota Court of Appeals, Minnesota Supreme Court,
the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, or the Eighth
Circuit Court of Appeals, and at least three four members must
have knowledge of the boxing industry.
At least four members must have knowledge of the mixed martial arts
industry. The governor shall make
serious efforts to appoint qualified women to serve on the commission. Membership terms, compensation of members,
removal of members, the filling of membership vacancies, and fiscal year and
reporting requirements must be as provided in sections 214.07 to 214.09. Unless otherwise provided, the
provision of staff, administrative services, and office space; the review and
processing of complaints; the setting of fees; and other provisions relating to
commission operations must be are as provided in chapter
214. The purpose of the commission is
to protect health, promote safety, and ensure fair events.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 32. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 341.23, is
amended to read:
341.23 LIMITATIONS.