1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
A bill for an act
relating to education; directing the Minnesota Department of Education to
collaboratively establish, maintain, and revise statewide technology standards and
guidelines for school districts to use in improving the academic achievement of
all students; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 125B.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) Notwithstanding
other law to the contrary, the commissioner, the Minnesota Education Technology Task
Force, and representatives of school districts must enter into a technology partnership to
identify for school districts the robust technology tools and systems that improve the
educational achievement of all Minnesota students. The partnership must establish a
foundation of flexible shared services that supports state development and implementation
of new and more efficient educational business practices, including the use of modern
analytical tools that help schools and school districts make data-driven decisions
and increase instructional time. The partnership also must anticipate the needs of
school districts for effectively using emerging technologies to make the best and most
cost-effective use of finite educational resources.
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(b) The commissioner, in collaboration with the other members of the technology
partnership and other interested and affected stakeholders, must establish and then
maintain, revise, and publish every four years beginning June 1, 2012, state and district
technology standards and accompanying guidelines consistent with the requirements of
this section. The state and school districts must use the technology standards to participate
in a uniform data collection system premised on:
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(1) common data definitions for all required data elements;
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(2) a common course catalogue;
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(3) common transcript definitions; and
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(4) school district infrastructure technology standards.
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(c) School districts, consistent with this section and other applicable law, may use
financial resources in addition to state funding to provide students with the technology
tools they need to succeed in an increasingly complex and information-rich environment.
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(a) The commissioner, in collaboration
with the Minnesota Education Technology Task Force, must establish and then maintain,
revise, and publish six categories of district technology standards consistent with this
section. The district technology standards must encompass:
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(1) instructional technology that include best practices in 21st century classroom
instruction and student learning;
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(2) technological tools that support formative and summative online assessments,
equipment, and software;
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(3) shared services that facilitate network and data systems administration;
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(4) data practices that include technical security, Internet safety, and data privacy;
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(5) data management that facilitates efficient data transfers involving school districts
and the department; and
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(6) facilities infrastructure that supports multipurpose technology facilities for
instruction and assessment.
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(b) School districts must align district technology expenditures with state and district
technology standards established under this section.
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(c) Beginning December 1, 2010, and each two-year period thereafter, school
districts must use the district technology standards in this section to complete a review of
the district technology environment that:
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(1) examines the alignment of district technology expenditures to the technology
standards under this section;
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(2) identifies service gaps in the district technology plan; and
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(3) estimates the funding needed to fill service gaps.
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(d) School districts must transmit the substance of the review to the commissioner in
the form and manner the commissioner determines in collaboration with the Minnesota
Education Technology Task Force. The commissioner must evaluate and report the
substance of the reviews to the legislature by February 15, 2011, and each two-year period
thereafter.
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The commissioner must use the expedited rulemaking
process under section 14.389 to adopt state and district technology standards consistent
with this section.
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This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to the 2008-2009 school year and later.
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The Department of Education, by December 1, 2008, must report to the education
committees of the legislature on its efforts to add a computer adaptive assessment that
includes formative analytics to the Minnesota's comprehensive assessment administered
under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30.
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This section is effective the day following final enactment.
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