1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a statewide 
  1.3             testing grant program; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [SINGLE STATEWIDE TESTING SYSTEM GRANT 
  1.6   PROGRAM.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program for fiscal 
  1.8   year 1999 is established to explore the option of allowing 
  1.9   school districts to meet the basic skills testing requirements 
  1.10  of the graduation rule under Minnesota Statutes, section 121.11, 
  1.11  subdivision 7c, and the statewide testing requirements under 
  1.12  Minnesota Statutes, section 121.1113.  A school district 
  1.13  participating in this program is exempt from the requirements of 
  1.14  Minnesota Statutes, section 121.11, subdivision 7c, during the 
  1.15  term of the district's participation in the program. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant for a grant must be a 
  1.17  school district that meets all of the following criteria: 
  1.18     (1) between February and April of each school year, the 
  1.19  school district assesses the performance of every child enrolled 
  1.20  in grades 3 to 8 using a nationally norm-referenced standardized 
  1.21  achievement examination; 
  1.22     (2) the school board of the school district makes a 
  1.23  one-time selection of an examination for each grade level; 
  1.24     (3) school district officials agree to place children's 
  2.1   test results in the children's education records; 
  2.2      (4) the school board of the school district establishes a 
  2.3   written policy indicating what type of assistance the school 
  2.4   district will make available to parents and children when a 
  2.5   child's battery score on any single portion of an achievement 
  2.6   examination is at or below the 30th percentile; 
  2.7      (5) the school district gives parents the option of 
  2.8   selecting the particular form of assistance; 
  2.9      (6) the school board enters into an agreement with a 
  2.10  testing company for the purpose of assessing children's 
  2.11  performance; and 
  2.12     (7) the school board agrees to preserve for five years all 
  2.13  aggregate assessment data measuring children's performance on 
  2.14  examinations and makes the data available to the public in a 
  2.15  timely and accessible manner. 
  2.16     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] To obtain a grant to 
  2.17  explore the option of allowing school districts to meet the 
  2.18  requirements of the graduation rule and statewide testing 
  2.19  requirements applicable to students in grades 3 to 8, a school 
  2.20  district must submit an application to the commissioner of 
  2.21  children, families, and learning in the form and manner the 
  2.22  commissioner prescribes.  The applicant must indicate the 
  2.23  applicant's intent to meet the criteria listed in subdivision 2. 
  2.24  The commissioner may require an applicant to submit additional 
  2.25  information related to determining the amount of the grant. 
  2.26     Subd. 4.  [GRANT AWARDS; PROCEEDS.] The commissioner may 
  2.27  award up to 30 grants.  Grant recipients must be located 
  2.28  throughout the state.  Each grant recipient shall receive $60 
  2.29  times the number of pupils in average daily membership in grades 
  2.30  3 to 8 for the purposes of assessing the performance of every 
  2.31  enrolled child in grades 3 to 8 and providing assistance to 
  2.32  every child who receives a battery score on any single portion 
  2.33  of an achievement test that is at or below the 30th percentile.  
  2.34  After providing assistance to every eligible child, a grant 
  2.35  recipient may use any remaining funds to develop academically 
  2.36  related programs or curricula that enhance the educational 
  3.1   performance of students in the district. 
  3.2      Subd. 5.  [EVALUATION.] The commissioner shall use the 
  3.3   aggregate data on children's test scores compiled from grant 
  3.4   recipients to evaluate the grant sites and recommend to the 
  3.5   education committees of the legislature by February 15, 2001, 
  3.6   whether or not a locally controlled, single statewide testing 
  3.7   system applicable to children in grades 3 to 8 should be 
  3.8   extended statewide. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.10     $2,300,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  3.11  commissioner of children, families, and learning in fiscal year 
  3.12  1999 for the purpose of section 1.