HF 2189

as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 02:00am

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; amending textbook information; defining terms;
allowing appeal of resident status; providing additional award grant for online
courses; requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections
135A.25, subdivision 4; 136A.08, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision;
136A.127, by adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 135A.25, subdivision 4, is amended to
read:

Subd. 4.

Minnesota Office of Higher Education responsibilities.

(a) For private
postsecondary institutions, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education must develop
educational materials considering the recommendations by the Minnesota Office of Higher
Education and others and at least annually convene and sponsor meetings and workshops
and provide educational strategies for faculty, students, administrators, institutions, and
bookstores to inform all interested parties on strategies for reducing the costs of course
materials for students attending postsecondary institutions.

(b) The Minnesota Office of Higher Education must deleted text begin identify methods to compile and
distribute information on publishers that sell or distribute course material for classroom
use in postsecondary institutions in a manner that meets the requirements and complies
with subdivision 2. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education must also evaluate ways
to make this information available for use by students and faculty in postsecondary
institutions. deleted text end new text begin report to the committees of the legislature responsible for higher education
finance by January 15, 2010, on the implementation of textbook information requirements
under United States Code, title 20, section 1015b, effective July 1, 2010. In preparing
the report, the office must work with representatives of the Student Advisory Council,
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, the University of Minnesota, and the Private
College Council. At a minimum, the report must include a template that publishers may
use to provide the required information in a consistent format to all Minnesota campuses,
and make recommendations of methods to disseminate pricing information to support
students and faculty in making well informed decisions about course materials.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 136A.08, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

new text begin (a) new text end For the purposes of this section, the new text begin following new text end terms new text begin
have the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin (b) new text end "Province" and "provincial" mean the Canadian province of Manitoba.

new text begin (c) new text end new text begin "Resident of this state" means a resident student as defined in section 136A.101,
subdivision 8.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 136A.08, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Appeal; resident status. new text end

new text begin A student who does not meet the definition of
resident after residing in Minnesota for 12 months may appeal to the director by providing
documentation on the student's reasons for residing in Minnesota. The director may
grant resident status to the student upon determining the documentation establishes that
postsecondary education was not the student's principle reason for residing in Minnesota.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 136A.127, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 9a. new text end

new text begin Additional award for online course completion. new text end

new text begin An eligible student
who has completed at least one online course while in high school or in a home-school
setting under section 120A.22 may receive an additional award of up to $150 to be used
in conjunction with the base award described in subdivision 9. The additional award is
available to new applicants for terms of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2009,
and must be used during the period described in subdivision 12. The online course must
be offered by a provider certified by the Minnesota Department of Education under
section 124D.095 or by an eligible postsecondary institution as defined under section
136A.101, subdivision 4. If the official high school transcript is not sufficient to document
the completion of the online course, the student may be required to submit further
documentation that the office deems sufficient.
new text end