1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; amending the state graduation 
  1.3             standards; providing for districts to adopt rigorous 
  1.4             academic standards; providing for statewide 
  1.5             accountability; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.6             sections 120B.02; 120B.30, subdivision 1; 120B.31, 
  1.7             subdivisions 1, 3, and 4; and 136A.233, subdivision 4; 
  1.8             repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03; 
  1.9             and 120B.04; Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0300; 
  1.10            3501.0310; 3501.0320; 3501.0330; 3501.0340; 3501.0350; 
  1.11            3501.0360; 3501.0370; 3501.0380; 3501.0390; 3501.0400; 
  1.12            3501.0410; 3501.0420; 3501.0430; 3501.0440; 3501.0441; 
  1.13            3501.0442; 3501.0443; 3501.0444; 3501.0445; 3501.0446; 
  1.14            3501.0447; 3501.0448; 3501.0449; 3501.0450; 3501.0460; 
  1.15            3501.0461; 3501.0462; 3501.0463; 3501.0464; 3501.0465; 
  1.16            3501.0466; 3501.0467; 3501.0468; and 3501.0469. 
  1.17  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.18     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.02, is 
  1.19  amended to read: 
  1.20     120B.02 [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE; BASIC SKILLS 
  1.21  REQUIREMENTS; PROFILE OF LEARNING RIGOROUS ACADEMIC STANDARDS.] 
  1.22     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing a 
  1.23  rigorous, results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's 
  1.24  public school students.  To that end, the state board shall use 
  1.25  its rulemaking authority under section 127A.66, subdivision 2, 
  1.26  to adopt a statewide, results-oriented graduation 
  1.27  rule containing foundational skills in the three core curricular 
  1.28  areas of reading, writing and mathematics to be implemented 
  1.29  starting with students beginning ninth grade in the 1996-1997 
  1.30  school year.  The board shall not prescribe in rule or otherwise 
  1.31  the delivery system or form of instruction that local sites must 
  2.1   use to meet the requirements contained in this rule. 
  2.2      (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the state 
  2.3   board shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  2.4   students.  The standards must contain the foundational skills in 
  2.5   the three core curricular areas of reading, writing, and 
  2.6   mathematics while meeting district requirements for high school 
  2.7   graduation.  The standards In addition, districts must also 
  2.8   provide an opportunity for students to excel by meeting higher 
  2.9   rigorous academic standards through a profile of learning that 
  2.10  uses use curricular requirements to allow students to expand 
  2.11  their knowledge and skills beyond the foundational skills.  The 
  2.12  curricular requirements that constitute rigorous academic 
  2.13  standards adopted by districts must at least include the 
  2.14  curriculum and instruction required under paragraph (c).  All 
  2.15  state board actions regarding the rule must be premised on the 
  2.16  following:  
  2.17     (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  2.18  students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.19     (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.20  consideration of respect school district autonomy; and 
  2.21     (3) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  2.22  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  2.23  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  2.24  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  2.25  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  2.26  understandable. 
  2.27     (c) A district must provide instruction under this section 
  2.28  in at least the following subject areas: 
  2.29     (1) communication skills including reading and writing, 
  2.30  literature, and fine arts; 
  2.31     (2) mathematics including at least geometry and algebra; 
  2.32     (3) science including at least biology and physical 
  2.33  science; 
  2.34     (4) social studies including at least history, geography, 
  2.35  economics and government; 
  2.36     (5) health, which shall include abstinence-based sex 
  3.1   education at all grade levels, and physical education; and 
  3.2      (6) computer science. 
  3.3      (d) For purposes of adopting the rule, the state board, in 
  3.4   consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  3.5   experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  3.6   educators, using the most current version of professional 
  3.7   standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  3.8   alternative approaches to assessment.  
  3.9      (d) (e) The content of the graduation rule must 
  3.10  differentiate between minimum competencies reflected in the 
  3.11  basic requirements assessment and rigorous profile of learning 
  3.12  academic standards districts adopt that include, at a minimum, 
  3.13  the curriculum and instruction requirements under paragraph (c). 
  3.14  When fully implemented, The requirements for high school 
  3.15  graduation in Minnesota must include both the basic requirements 
  3.16  adopted by the state board and the required profile of 
  3.17  learning.  The profile of learning rigorous academic standards 
  3.18  adopted by a district.  Using rigorous academic standards, 
  3.19  districts must measure student learning performance using 
  3.20  performance-based assessments compiled over time that integrate 
  3.21  higher academic standards, higher order thinking skills, and 
  3.22  application of knowledge from a variety of content areas.  The 
  3.23  profile of learning shall include a broad range of academic 
  3.24  experience and accomplishment necessary to achieve the goal of 
  3.25  preparing students to function effectively as purposeful 
  3.26  thinkers, effective communicators, self-directed learners, 
  3.27  productive group participants, and responsible citizens.  The 
  3.28  commissioner shall develop and disseminate to school districts a 
  3.29  uniform method for reporting student performance on the profile 
  3.30  of learning. 
  3.31     (e) (f) The state board shall periodically review and 
  3.32  report on the assessment process and student achievement with 
  3.33  the expectation of raising the standards and expanding high 
  3.34  school graduation requirements. 
  3.35     (f) (g) The state board shall report in writing to the 
  3.36  legislature annually by January 15 on its progress in developing 
  4.1   and implementing the graduation requirements according to the 
  4.2   requirements of this subdivision and section 120B.10 until such 
  4.3   time as all the graduation requirements are implemented. 
  4.4      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.30, 
  4.5   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.6      Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] (a) The commissioner, 
  4.7   with advice from experts with appropriate technical 
  4.8   qualifications and experience and stakeholders, shall include in 
  4.9   the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be 
  4.10  tested, a single statewide norm-referenced or 
  4.11  criterion-referenced test, or a combination of a norm-referenced 
  4.12  and a criterion-referenced test, which shall be highly 
  4.13  correlated with the state's graduation standards and 
  4.14  administered annually to all students in the third, fifth, and 
  4.15  eighth grades grade.  As students' performance improves over 
  4.16  time, the items in the reading and mathematics basic skills 
  4.17  tests currently at a sixth grade level must be gradually 
  4.18  upgraded to establish an eighth grade level of achievement.  
  4.19  Nationally norm-referenced standardized achievement tests in 
  4.20  reading and math shall be administered to third and fifth grade 
  4.21  students and such a test in writing shall be administered to 
  4.22  fifth grade students.  The commissioner shall establish one or 
  4.23  more months during which schools shall administer the tests to 
  4.24  students each school year.  Only Minnesota basic skills tests in 
  4.25  reading, and mathematics first administered in grade 8, and 
  4.26  writing first administered in grade 10 shall fulfill students' 
  4.27  testing requirements for a passing state notation.  Third and 
  4.28  fifth grade test results shall be available to districts for 
  4.29  diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district 
  4.30  instruction and curriculum, and for establishing educational 
  4.31  accountability.  The commissioner shall disseminate to the 
  4.32  public the third and fifth grade test results immediately upon 
  4.33  receiving those results.  
  4.34     (b) In addition, at the secondary level, districts 
  4.35  shall apply rigorous academic standards to assess student 
  4.36  learning and performance in all required learning areas and 
  5.1   selected required standards within each area of the profile of 
  5.2   learning.  The testing instruments and testing process shall be 
  5.3   determined by the commissioner.  The commissioner, after 
  5.4   consulting with qualified experts and stakeholders, shall 
  5.5   include in the comprehensive assessment system for secondary 
  5.6   students, a single nationally norm-referenced standardized 
  5.7   achievement test that is correlated with rigorous academic 
  5.8   standards and administered annually to all eleventh grade 
  5.9   students.  The results shall be aggregated at the site and 
  5.10  district level.  The testing shall be administered beginning in 
  5.11  the 1999-2000 school year and thereafter and may be used by 
  5.12  districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning, 
  5.13  instruction and curriculum, by students for post-secondary 
  5.14  planning purposes, and to establish educational accountability. 
  5.15     (c) The A comprehensive assessment system shall include an 
  5.16  evaluation of school site and school district performance levels 
  5.17  during the 1997-1998 school year and thereafter using an 
  5.18  established performance baseline developed from students' test 
  5.19  scores under this section that records, at a minimum, students' 
  5.20  unweighted mean test scores in each tested subject, a second 
  5.21  performance baseline that reports, at a minimum, the same 
  5.22  unweighted mean test scores of only those students enrolled in 
  5.23  the school by January 1 of the previous school year, and a third 
  5.24  performance baseline that reports the same unweighted test 
  5.25  scores of all students except those students receiving limited 
  5.26  English proficiency instruction.  The evaluation also shall 
  5.27  record separately, in proximity to the performance baselines, 
  5.28  the percentages of students who are eligible to receive a free 
  5.29  or reduced price school meal, demonstrate limited English 
  5.30  proficiency, or are eligible to receive special education 
  5.31  services. 
  5.32     (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
  5.33  under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), the commissioner, in 
  5.34  consultation with the state board of education, shall include 
  5.35  the following components in the statewide educational 
  5.36  accountability and public reporting system: 
  6.1      (1) uniform nationally normed statewide testing of all 
  6.2   third, fifth, eighth, and post-eighth eleventh grade students 
  6.3   with that provides testing exemptions, only with parent or 
  6.4   guardian approval, from the testing requirement only for those 
  6.5   very few students for whom the student's individual education 
  6.6   plan team under sections 125A.05 and 125A.06, determines that 
  6.7   the student is incapable of taking a statewide test, or for a 
  6.8   limited English proficiency student under section 124D.59, 
  6.9   subdivision 2, if the student has been in the United States for 
  6.10  fewer than 12 months and for whom special language barriers 
  6.11  exist, such as the student's native language does not have a 
  6.12  written form or the district does not have access to appropriate 
  6.13  interpreter services for the student's native language; 
  6.14     (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
  6.15  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
  6.16  basis; 
  6.17     (3) students' scores on the American College Test; 
  6.18     (4) participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
  6.19  Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against 
  6.20  the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other 
  6.21  countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor 
  6.22  achievement; and 
  6.23     (5) basic skills and advanced competencies rigorous 
  6.24  academic standards connecting teaching and learning to high 
  6.25  academic standards, assessment, and transitions to citizenship 
  6.26  and employment under section 120B.02. 
  6.27     (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
  6.28  clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
  6.29  provided by the commissioner. 
  6.30     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.31, 
  6.31  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.32     Subdivision 1.  [EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC 
  6.33  REPORTING.] Consistent with the state board of education process 
  6.34  to adopt a results-oriented graduation rule under section 
  6.35  120B.02, the state board and the department, in consultation 
  6.36  with education and other system stakeholders, must establish a 
  7.1   coordinated and comprehensive system of educational 
  7.2   accountability and public reporting that promotes higher 
  7.3   academic achievement under this chapter.  
  7.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.31, 
  7.5   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  7.6      Subd. 3.  [EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.] (a) The independent 
  7.7   office of educational accountability, as authorized by Laws 
  7.8   1997, First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section 28, 
  7.9   subdivision 2, is established.  The office shall advise the 
  7.10  education committees of the legislature and the commissioner of 
  7.11  children, families, and learning, at least on a biennial an 
  7.12  annual basis, on the degree to which the statewide educational 
  7.13  accountability and reporting system includes a comprehensive 
  7.14  assessment framework that measures school accountability for 
  7.15  students achieving the goals described in the state's 
  7.16  results-oriented graduation rule.  The office shall consider 
  7.17  whether the statewide system of educational accountability 
  7.18  utilizes multiple indicators to provide valid and reliable 
  7.19  comparative and contextual data on students, schools, districts, 
  7.20  and the state, and if not, recommend ways to improve the 
  7.21  accountability reporting system. 
  7.22     (b) When the office reviews the statewide educational 
  7.23  accountability and reporting system, it shall also consider: 
  7.24     (1) the objectivity and neutrality of the state's 
  7.25  educational accountability system; and 
  7.26     (2) the impact of a testing program on school curriculum 
  7.27  and student learning. 
  7.28     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.31, 
  7.29  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  7.30     Subd. 4.  [STATISTICAL ADJUSTMENTS.] In developing policies 
  7.31  and assessment processes to hold schools and districts 
  7.32  accountable for high levels of academic standards under section 
  7.33  120B.02, including the profile of learning, the commissioner 
  7.34  shall aggregate student data over time to report student 
  7.35  performance levels measured at the school district, regional, or 
  7.36  statewide level.  When collecting and reporting the data, the 
  8.1   commissioner shall:  (1) acknowledge the impact of significant 
  8.2   demographic factors such as residential instability, the number 
  8.3   of single parent families, parents' level of education, and 
  8.4   parents' income level on school outcomes; and (2) organize and 
  8.5   report the data so that state and local policymakers can 
  8.6   understand the educational implications of changes in districts' 
  8.7   demographic profiles over time.  Any report the commissioner 
  8.8   disseminates containing summary data on student performance must 
  8.9   integrate student performance and the demographic factors that 
  8.10  strongly correlate with that performance.  
  8.11     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 136A.233, 
  8.12  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  8.13     Subd. 4.  [COOPERATION WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS.] Each campus 
  8.14  using the state work study program is encouraged to cooperate 
  8.15  with its local public elementary and secondary schools to place 
  8.16  college work study students in activities in the schools, such 
  8.17  as tutoring.  Students must be placed in meaningful activities 
  8.18  that directly assist students in kindergarten through grade 12 
  8.19  in meeting graduation standards including the profiles of 
  8.20  learning.  College students shall work under direct supervision; 
  8.21  therefore, school hiring authorities are not required to request 
  8.22  criminal background checks on these students under section 
  8.23  123B.03. 
  8.24     Sec. 7.  [REPEALER.] 
  8.25     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03; and 120B.04, are 
  8.26  repealed. 
  8.27     Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0300; 3501.0310; 3501.0320; 
  8.28  3501.0330; 3501.0340; 3501.0350; 3501.0360; 3501.0370; 
  8.29  3501.0380; 3501.0390; 3501.0400; 3501.0410; 3501.0420; 
  8.30  3501.0430; 3501.0440; 3501.0441; 3501.0442; 3501.0443; 
  8.31  3501.0444; 3501.0445; 3501.0446; 3501.0447; 3501.0448; 
  8.32  3501.0449; 3501.0450; 3501.0460; 3501.0461; 3501.0462; 
  8.33  3501.0463; 3501.0464; 3501.0465; 3501.0466; 3501.0467; 
  8.34  3501.0468; and 3501.0469, are repealed. 
  8.35     Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  8.36     Sections 1 to 7 are effective the day following final 
  9.1   enactment.  The rigorous academic standards established under 
  9.2   Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.02, apply to students entering 
  9.3   the ninth grade in the 1999-2000 school year and later.