HF 1800

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; clarifying staff development goals and expenditures;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 122A.60, subdivision 3; 122A.61,
subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 122A.60, subdivision 3, is amended to
read:

Subd. 3.

Staff development outcomes.

The advisory staff development committee
must adopt a staff development plan for improving student achievement. The plan must
be consistent with education outcomes that the school board determines. The plan
must include ongoing staff development activities that contribute toward continuous
improvement in achievement of the following goals:

(1) improve student achievement of state and local education standards in all areas
of the curriculum by using best practices methods;

(2) effectively meet the needs of a diverse student population, including at-risk
children, children with disabilities, and gifted children, within the regular classroom
and other settings;

(3) provide an inclusive curriculum for a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse
student population that is consistent with the state education diversity rule and the district's
education diversity plan;

(4) improve staff collaboration and develop mentoring and peer coaching programs
for teachers new to the school or district;

(5) effectively teach and model violence prevention policy and curriculum that
address early intervention alternatives, issues of harassment, and teach nonviolent
alternatives for conflict resolution; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(6) provide teachers and other members of site-based management teams with
appropriate management and financial management skills new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (7) improve and increase teachers' knowledge of the academic subjects they teach new text end .

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 122A.61, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Staff development revenue.

A district is required to reserve
an amount equal to at least two percent of the basic revenue under section 126C.10,
subdivision 2, for in-service education for programs under section 120B.22, subdivision 2,
for staff development plans, including plans for challenging instructional activities and
experiences under section 122A.60, and for curriculum development and programs, other
in-service education, teachers' workshops, teacher conferences, the cost of substitute
teachers staff development purposes, preservice and in-service education for special
education professionals and paraprofessionals, new text begin higher education courses and programs in
teachers' areas of licensure, new text end and other related costs for staff development efforts. A district
may annually waive the requirement to reserve their basic revenue under this section if
a majority vote of the licensed teachers in the district and a majority vote of the school
board agree to a resolution to waive the requirement. A district in statutory operating debt
is exempt from reserving basic revenue according to this section. Districts may expend an
additional amount of unreserved revenue for staff development based on their needs. With
the exception of amounts reserved for staff development from revenues allocated directly
to school sites, the board must initially allocate 50 percent of the reserved revenue to each
school site in the district on a per teacher basis, which must be retained by the school site
until used. The board may retain 25 percent to be used for district wide staff development
efforts. The remaining 25 percent of the revenue must be used to make grants to school
sites for best practices methods. A grant may be used for any purpose authorized under
section 120B.22, subdivision 2, 122A.60, or for the costs of curriculum development and
programs, other in-service education, teachers' workshops, teacher conferences, substitute
teachers for staff development purposes, and other staff development efforts, and
determined by the site professional development team. The site professional development
team must demonstrate to the school board the extent deleted text begin to which deleted text end new text begin that new text end staff at the site have
met the outcomes of the program. The board may withhold a portion of initial allocation
of revenue if the staff development outcomes are not being met.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end