1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for a rural school 
  1.3             pilot program; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [RURAL SCHOOL PILOT PROGRAM.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A rural school pilot 
  1.7   program is established in independent school district Nos. 495, 
  1.8   Grand Meadow; 499, Leroy; 500, Southland; and 2198, Fillmore 
  1.9   Central, to provide multidistrict cooperation, innovative and 
  1.10  nontraditional learning approaches from early childhood through 
  1.11  adulthood, and parental and community involvement in learning.  
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [APPLICATION.] To participate in the pilot 
  1.13  program, the districts shall submit an application to the 
  1.14  commissioner of children, families, and learning in the form and 
  1.15  manner prescribed by the commissioner.  The application shall 
  1.16  include a plan for developing and implementing a rural school 
  1.17  pilot program that: 
  1.18     (1) significantly improves the accessibility of educational 
  1.19  programs for all ages and ability levels; 
  1.20     (2) integrates the concept of the community as part of the 
  1.21  school into the curriculum; 
  1.22     (3) uses computer technology and communication as an 
  1.23  educational tool; 
  1.24     (4) significantly increases the involvement of the family 
  2.1   in the education of the child; 
  2.2      (5) provides effective instruction that rural communities 
  2.3   are an integral part of the world as a whole; 
  2.4      (6) provides educational opportunities for students who 
  2.5   need a nontraditional learning format to succeed; and 
  2.6      (7) provides educational opportunities for students to meet 
  2.7   high academic standards. 
  2.8      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.9      $290,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 1998 from the 
  2.10  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  2.11  learning for a grant to independent school district Nos. 495, 
  2.12  Grand Meadow; 499, Leroy; 500, Southland; and 2198, Fillmore 
  2.13  Central, for the purposes of section 1.  This appropriation is 
  2.14  available until June 30, 1999.