1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for site 
  1.3             decision-making options; providing for intradistrict 
  1.4             enrollment options; modifying certain charter school 
  1.5             provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 
  1.6             120.064, subdivisions 3, 4, and 4a; 123.33, by adding 
  1.7             a subdivision; and 123.951; proposing coding for new 
  1.8             law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [PURPOSE.] 
  1.11     The purpose of site decision-making is to give teachers the 
  1.12  freedom and authority to deliver education services as 
  1.13  effectively as possible, to enhance the ability of school 
  1.14  boards, students, and parents to hold schools accountable for 
  1.15  results, to reduce bureaucratic and administrative expense and 
  1.16  increase the flow of funding into the classroom, and to increase 
  1.17  parent involvement in the schools. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 123.33, is 
  1.19  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.20     Subd. 1a.  [REVENUE AND COST ALLOCATION.] (a) Revenue for a 
  1.21  fiscal year received or receivable by the district shall be 
  1.22  allocated to education site accounts.  The district must 
  1.23  establish separate accounts in the general and capital funds for 
  1.24  each site.  Revenue shall remain in the account of each site 
  1.25  until expended by or on behalf of the site.  The district 
  1.26  remains responsible for legally entering into contracts and 
  1.27  expending funds. 
  2.1      (b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), no less than 95 
  2.2   percent of revenue attributable to the general fund other than 
  2.3   operating capital revenue and no less than 25 percent of the 
  2.4   operating capital revenue shall be allocated to the education 
  2.5   site accounts of the district.  The allocation shall be based on 
  2.6   the number of pupil units served at the site as a portion of 
  2.7   total pupil units served in the district.  To the extent 
  2.8   compatible with federal law, the per pupil allotment shall 
  2.9   follow the pupil to the education site. 
  2.10     (c) 100 percent of compensatory education revenue shall be 
  2.11  allocated to the education sites at which qualifying students 
  2.12  were enrolled as determined under section 124.175.  Revenue 
  2.13  received under sections 124.312, 124.3201, 124.3202, 124.321, 
  2.14  124.322, 124.323, and 124.574 shall be allocated to the sites 
  2.15  where the costs are incurred. 
  2.16     (d) The district must charge the accounts of each site the 
  2.17  actual costs of goods and services from the general or capital 
  2.18  funds attributable to the site.  The costs of goods and services 
  2.19  shall not exceed resources in the accounts for each year. 
  2.20     (e) For the purposes of this section, "education site" is 
  2.21  as defined in section 123.951. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 123.951, is 
  2.23  amended to read: 
  2.24     123.951 [SCHOOL EDUCATION SITE DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENT.] 
  2.25     (a) A school board may enter into an agreement with a 
  2.26  school site decision-making team concerning the governance, 
  2.27  management, or control of any school in the district.  Upon a 
  2.28  written request from a proposed school site decision-making 
  2.29  team, an initial school site decision-making team shall be 
  2.30  appointed by the school board and may include the school 
  2.31  principal, representatives of teachers in the school, 
  2.32  representatives of other employees in the school, 
  2.33  representatives of parents of pupils in the school, 
  2.34  representatives of pupils in the school, representatives of 
  2.35  other members in the community, or others determined appropriate 
  2.36  by the board.  The school site decision-making team shall 
  3.1   include the school principal or other person having general 
  3.2   control and supervision of the school.  For the purposes of this 
  3.3   section and section 126.061, subdivision 1, "education site" 
  3.4   means a separate facility or program or programs that have a 
  3.5   separate and unique management organization.  The principal or 
  3.6   other person having general control and supervision shall 
  3.7   appoint the site decision-making team.  The education site 
  3.8   decision-making team shall include teachers at the education 
  3.9   site, representatives of parents of pupils at the education 
  3.10  site, representatives of pupils at the education site, 
  3.11  representatives of businesses or other members in the community, 
  3.12  and the education site principal or other person having general 
  3.13  control and supervision of the education site. 
  3.14     (b) School site decision-making agreements must delegate 
  3.15  powers and duties to site teams and involve staff members, 
  3.16  students as appropriate, and parents in decision making.  
  3.17     (c) An agreement may include: The site decision-making team 
  3.18  may: 
  3.19     (1)  permit the district to maintain its current level of 
  3.20  authority and responsibility for the education site; or 
  3.21     (2)  develop and implement a plan that determines the level 
  3.22  of authority and responsibility for the functions in paragraph 
  3.23  (c). 
  3.24     (c) The site team's plan may contain: 
  3.25     (1) a mechanism to implement flexible support systems and 
  3.26  instructional methods for improvement in student achievement of 
  3.27  education outcomes and for implementation of the graduation 
  3.28  rule; 
  3.29     (2) a decision-making structure that allows teachers to 
  3.30  identify instructional problems and control and apply the 
  3.31  resources needed to solve them; 
  3.32     (3) a mechanism to allow principals, or other persons 
  3.33  having general control and supervision of the school, to make 
  3.34  decisions regarding how financial and personnel resources are 
  3.35  best allocated at the site and from whom goods or services are 
  3.36  purchased; 
  4.1      (4) a mechanism to implement parental involvement programs 
  4.2   under section 126.69 and to provide for effective parental 
  4.3   communication and feedback on this involvement at the site 
  4.4   level; 
  4.5      (5) a provision that would allow the team to determine who 
  4.6   is hired placed into licensed and nonlicensed positions; 
  4.7      (6) a provision that would allow a majority of teachers to 
  4.8   choose the principal or other person having general control; 
  4.9      (7) direct contact with other social service providers; 
  4.10     (8) in-service training for site decision-making team 
  4.11  members for financial management of school sites; and 
  4.12     (9) any other powers and duties determined appropriate by 
  4.13  the board functions determined appropriate by the site team. 
  4.14     (d) The school board must: 
  4.15     (1) set education result goals for the school district and 
  4.16  education sites; 
  4.17     (2) provide information to the sites regarding the goals; 
  4.18     (3) monitor and publish the education results of education 
  4.19  sites in the school district; and 
  4.20     (4) monitor and publish education site revenues and 
  4.21  expenses for sites in the school district. 
  4.22     If a school board is not satisfied with the performance at 
  4.23  an education site, the school board may notify the site, 
  4.24  intervene, suspend the management at the site, or close the 
  4.25  site.  A school board may also open a new education site. 
  4.26     The school board of the district remains the legal employer 
  4.27  under paragraph (c), clauses (5) and (6). 
  4.28     (d) (e) Any powers or duties not delegated to the school 
  4.29  site management team in the school site management 
  4.30  agreement authority and responsibilities not assumed by the site 
  4.31  team shall remain with the school board. 
  4.32     (e) (f) Approved agreements shall be filed with the 
  4.33  commissioner.  If a school board denies a request to enter into 
  4.34  a school site management agreement, it shall provide a copy of 
  4.35  the request and the reasons for its denial to the 
  4.36  commissioner Site decision-making plans shall be filed with the 
  5.1   school board and commissioner. 
  5.2      Sec. 4.  [120.061] [INTRA DISTRICT ENROLLMENT OPTIONS.] 
  5.3      Subdivision 1.  [PARENTAL CHOICE.] The parents or guardians 
  5.4   have the right to enroll the student in any education site in 
  5.5   the school district of residence.  The school board shall 
  5.6   establish timelines and application forms for the enrollment 
  5.7   process.  These timelines and forms must be consistent with 
  5.8   timelines established under section 120.062.  However, a school 
  5.9   board may choose to reduce the period of time between the date 
  5.10  of application and the beginning of the school year.  School 
  5.11  boards shall annually inform all parents or guardians of their 
  5.12  right of choice under this section. 
  5.13     Subd. 2.  [TRANSPORTATION.] The school district is 
  5.14  responsible for transporting students to the school of 
  5.15  attendance.  Notwithstanding section 120.74, if a student 
  5.16  attends a school that is outside of the usual attendance area 
  5.17  the district may charge the parent or guardian for the actual 
  5.18  cost of the additional distance.  The district must reserve a 
  5.19  portion of the transportation budget to provide transportation 
  5.20  subsidies for parents and guardians from low-income families.  
  5.21  The school board shall adopt policies concerning the amount and 
  5.22  distribution of the subsidies. 
  5.23     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 120.064, 
  5.24  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  5.25     Subd. 3.  [SPONSOR.] A school board, community college, 
  5.26  state university, technical college, or the University of 
  5.27  Minnesota may sponsor one or more charter schools. 
  5.28     No more than a total of 40 charter schools may be 
  5.29  authorized not more than three of which may be sponsored by 
  5.30  public post-secondary institutions.  The state board of 
  5.31  education shall advise potential sponsors when the maximum 
  5.32  number of charter schools has been authorized. 
  5.33     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 120.064, 
  5.34  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  5.35     Subd. 4.  [FORMATION OF SCHOOL.] (a) A sponsor may 
  5.36  authorize one or more licensed teachers under section 125.05, 
  6.1   subdivision 1, to operate a charter school subject to approval 
  6.2   by the state board of education.  If a school board elects not 
  6.3   to sponsor a charter school, the applicant may appeal the school 
  6.4   board's decision to the state board of education if two members 
  6.5   of the school board voted to sponsor the school.  If the state 
  6.6   board authorizes the school, the state board shall sponsor the 
  6.7   school according to this section.  The school shall be organized 
  6.8   and operated as a cooperative under chapter 308A or nonprofit 
  6.9   corporation under chapter 317A.  
  6.10     (b) Before the operators may form and operate a school, the 
  6.11  sponsor must file an affidavit with the state board of education 
  6.12  stating its intent to authorize a charter school.  The affidavit 
  6.13  must state the terms and conditions under which the sponsor 
  6.14  would authorize a charter school.  The state board must approve 
  6.15  or disapprove the sponsor's proposed authorization within 60 
  6.16  days of receipt of the affidavit.  Failure to obtain state board 
  6.17  approval precludes a sponsor from authorizing the charter school 
  6.18  that was the subject of the affidavit.  
  6.19     (c) The operators authorized to organize and operate a 
  6.20  school shall hold an election for members of the school's board 
  6.21  of directors in a timely manner after the school is operating.  
  6.22  Any staff members who are employed at the school, including 
  6.23  teachers providing instruction under a contract with a 
  6.24  cooperative, and all parents of children enrolled in the school 
  6.25  may participate in the election.  Licensed teachers employed at 
  6.26  the school, including teachers providing instruction under a 
  6.27  contract with a cooperative, must be a majority of the members 
  6.28  of the board of directors.  A provisional board may operate 
  6.29  before the election of the school's board of directors.  Board 
  6.30  of director meetings must comply with section 471.705. 
  6.31     (d) The granting or renewal of a charter by a sponsoring 
  6.32  entity shall not be conditioned upon the bargaining unit status 
  6.33  of the employees of the school. 
  6.34     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 120.064, 
  6.35  subdivision 4a, is amended to read: 
  6.36     Subd. 4a.  [CONVERSION OF EXISTING SCHOOLS.] A school board 
  7.1   may convert one or more of its existing schools to charter 
  7.2   schools under this section if 90 percent of the full-time 
  7.3   teachers at the school sign a petition seeking conversion.  The 
  7.4   conversion must occur at the beginning of an academic year.