1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to higher education; establishing an alternative teacher preparation grant 
1.3 	program; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.4 	Statutes, chapter 136A.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [136A.1281] ALTERNATIVE TEACHER PREPARATION GRANT 
1.7 	PROGRAM.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the definitions have 
1.9 	the meanings given.
1.10 	(b) "Alternative teacher preparation program" means a teacher preparation program 
1.11 	approved or seeking approval under section 122A.245, or an experimental teacher 
1.12 	preparation program approved or seeking approval from the Board of Teaching.
1.13 	(c) "Diversity" means the inclusion of different types of people including differences 
1.14 	in race, ethnicity, gender, background, and origin of individuals.
1.15 	(d) "Highly selective" means accepting less than 25 percent of applicants.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Establishment and eligibility. (a) A competitive grant program is 
1.17 	established for alternative teacher preparation programs. The commissioner of the Office 
1.18 	of Higher Education shall develop the form and method for applying for the grants.
1.19 	(b) The commissioner shall develop criteria for allocating the grants to alternative 
1.20 	teacher preparation programs that meet the following requirements:
1.21 	(1) have a highly selective process for program participants;
1.22 	(2) are seeking to increase the diversity of Minnesota's teaching workforce;
2.1 	(3) are based on an established teacher preparation model that has a positive impact 
2.2 	on student learning as demonstrated by peer-reviewed local or national research on the 
2.3 	program's model; and
2.4 	(4) aim to place educators in hard-to-fill positions or hard-to-staff school settings 
2.5 	such as a school with a majority of students whose families meet federal poverty 
2.6 	guidelines, a geographically isolated school, or a school identified by the state as eligible 
2.7 	for targeted programs or services for its students.
2.8 		Subd. 3.Use of grant. The grant must be used for:
2.9 	(1) expenses related to the recruitment, selection, and training of teachers;
2.10 	(2) ongoing professional development of teachers;
2.11 	(3) regional management and operational support, development, and central services, 
2.12 	including finance, technology, and human services;
2.13 	(4) leveraging nonstate money to accomplish clauses (1) to (3); or
2.14 	(5) expenses related to the application and establishment of alternative teacher 
2.15 	preparation programs new to Minnesota.
2.16 		Subd. 4.Evaluation. The Office of Higher Education may request a report from 
2.17 	the alternative teacher preparation program at the end of the biennium for the grantee to 
2.18 	share compliance with this section.

2.19 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 2.20 	$1,500,000 in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
2.21 	commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the alternative teacher preparation 
2.22 	grant program under section 1.