HF 724

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; providing for health and
physical education course requirements; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 120B.021,
subdivision 1; 120B.024.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.021,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Required academic standards.

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) health and physical education, for which locally
developed academic standards apply; and

(6) 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.

The commissioner must submit proposed standards in science
and social studies to the legislature by February 1, 2004.

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.

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.

new text begin School districts must maintain the same physical education
and health education requirements for kindergarten through 8th
grade students adopted for the 2004-2005 school year through the
2007-2008 school year. Beginning in the 2008-2009 school year,
public elementary school students must participate in physical
education for at least 150 minutes during the school week and
health education for at least 50 hours a school year. Beginning
in the 2008-2009 school year, public 7th and 8th grade students
must participate in physical education for at least 225 minutes
per week and health education for at least 50 hours a school
year.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 120B.024, is
amended to read:

120B.024 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; COURSE CREDITS.

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 or business department;

(5) one credit in the arts; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(6) new text begin one credit in physical education and one credit in
health education; and
new text end

new text begin (7) new text end a minimum of deleted text begin seven deleted text end new text begin five new text end 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.