1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; developing special education 
  1.3             services and access to information; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2000, sections 122A.18, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; 122A.61, subdivision 1; 125A.76, 
  1.6             subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 122A.18, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2b.  [SPECIAL EDUCATION INFORMATION.] All colleges 
  1.11  and universities approved by the board of teaching to prepare 
  1.12  persons for classroom teacher licensure must include in their 
  1.13  teacher preparation programs information on special education 
  1.14  laws, teaching strategies, and positive behavior interventions. 
  1.15     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective December 1, 
  1.16  2001. 
  1.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 122A.61, 
  1.18  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [STAFF DEVELOPMENT REVENUE.] A district is 
  1.20  required to reserve an amount equal to at least two percent of 
  1.21  the basic revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for 
  1.22  in-service education for programs under section 120B.22, 
  1.23  subdivision 2, for staff development plans, including plans for 
  1.24  challenging instructional activities and experiences under 
  1.25  section 122A.60, and for curriculum development and programs, 
  1.26  other in-service education, teachers' workshops, teacher 
  2.1   conferences, the cost of substitute teachers staff development 
  2.2   purposes, preservice and in-service education for special 
  2.3   education professionals and paraprofessionals and other related 
  2.4   costs for staff development efforts.  A district may annually 
  2.5   waive the requirement to reserve their basic revenue under this 
  2.6   section if a majority vote of the licensed teachers in the 
  2.7   district and a majority vote of the school board agree to a 
  2.8   resolution to waive the requirement.  A district in statutory 
  2.9   operating debt is exempt from reserving basic revenue according 
  2.10  to this section.  Districts may expend an additional amount of 
  2.11  unreserved revenue for staff development based on their needs.  
  2.12  With the exception of amounts reserved for staff development 
  2.13  from revenues allocated directly to school sites, the board must 
  2.14  initially allocate 50 percent of the reserved revenue to each 
  2.15  school site in the district on a per teacher basis, which must 
  2.16  be retained by the school site until used.  The board may retain 
  2.17  25 percent to be used for district wide staff development 
  2.18  efforts.  The remaining 25 percent of the revenue must be used 
  2.19  to make grants to school sites for best practices methods.  A 
  2.20  grant may be used for any purpose authorized under section 
  2.21  120B.22, subdivision 2, 122A.60, or for the costs of curriculum 
  2.22  development and programs, other in-service education, teachers' 
  2.23  workshops, teacher conferences, substitute teachers for staff 
  2.24  development purposes, and other staff development efforts, and 
  2.25  determined by the site professional development team.  The site 
  2.26  professional development team must demonstrate to the school 
  2.27  board the extent to which staff at the site have met the 
  2.28  outcomes of the program.  The board may withhold a portion of 
  2.29  initial allocation of revenue if the staff development outcomes 
  2.30  are not being met. 
  2.31     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  2.32  following final enactment. 
  2.33     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 125A.76, 
  2.34  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  2.36  section, the definitions in this subdivision apply. 
  3.1      (a) "Base year" for fiscal year 1998 and later fiscal years 
  3.2   means the second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which 
  3.3   aid will be paid. 
  3.4      (b) "Basic revenue" has the meaning given it in section 
  3.5   126C.10, subdivision 2.  For the purposes of computing basic 
  3.6   revenue pursuant to this section, each child with a disability 
  3.7   shall be counted as prescribed in section 126C.05, subdivision 1.
  3.8      (c) "Essential personnel" means teachers, related services, 
  3.9   and support services staff providing direct services to 
  3.10  students, and support services staff carrying out due process 
  3.11  clerical work. 
  3.12     (d) "Average daily membership" has the meaning given it in 
  3.13  section 126C.05. 
  3.14     (e) "Program growth factor" means 1.08 for fiscal year 
  3.15  2002, and 1.046 for fiscal year 2003 and later. 
  3.16     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  3.17  following final enactment.