1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; balancing statewide 
  1.3             accountability and district autonomy under the profile 
  1.4             of learning; requiring the graduation rule to be 
  1.5             developed independently of any national education 
  1.6             goals; reducing the required number of content 
  1.7             standards; including decision making and inquiry in 
  1.8             all content standards; determining scoring criteria 
  1.9             and recordkeeping practices; amending Minnesota 
  1.10            Statutes 1998, sections 120A.41; 120B.03, subdivisions 
  1.11            1 and 3; and 123A.06, by adding a subdivision; 
  1.12            Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 120B.02; 
  1.13            120B.30, subdivision 1; 120B.35; and 124D.10, 
  1.14            subdivision 10; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.15            Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B; repealing Minnesota 
  1.16            Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03, subdivision 2; and 
  1.17            120B.04; Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0320, subpart 2, 
  1.18            items E and F; 3501.0360; 3501.0370; 3501.0400; and 
  1.19            3501.0430, items A, B, C, and D. 
  1.20  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.21     Section 1.  [MORATORIUM; MORATORIUM REPEAL.] 
  1.22     (a) Minnesota Statutes, sections 120B.02 and 120B.03, and 
  1.23  other law and rules governing the state's profile of learning, 
  1.24  including preparatory content standards and state high school 
  1.25  graduation standards related to the profile of learning, are not 
  1.26  mandated by the state for kindergarten through grade 12 students.
  1.27     (b) Paragraph (a) shall remain in effect until: 
  1.28     (1) the commissioner certifies to the legislature that, 
  1.29  under section 2, the recommendations in the commissioner's plan 
  1.30  have been addressed and districts' technology needs for 
  1.31  reporting have been fully met; and 
  1.32     (2) after the legislature receives the certification under 
  2.1   clause (1), a law is enacted specifically repealing paragraph 
  2.2   (a). 
  2.3      (c) During the period of the moratorium, school districts 
  2.4   may develop and implement a system of high academic standards 
  2.5   for students.  Districts may disseminate to the commissioner 
  2.6   information about the district's system of high academic 
  2.7   standards for students.  The commissioner, at the request of a 
  2.8   school district, must disseminate to that district the 
  2.9   information the commissioner receives about districts' systems 
  2.10  of high academic standards for students that are developed and 
  2.11  implemented under this paragraph. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  [REPORT; IMPLEMENTATION PLAN; TECHNOLOGY NEEDS; 
  2.13  CERTIFICATION.] 
  2.14     Subdivision 1.  [REPORT ON CONTRACTORS' RECOMMENDATIONS; 
  2.15  IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.] After two nationally recognized 
  2.16  independent organizations under contract, including the American 
  2.17  Federation of Teachers, conduct an external review of the 
  2.18  state's standards and related procedures, policies, assessments, 
  2.19  and the department of children, families, and learning's 
  2.20  implementation plan consistent with section 3, the commissioner 
  2.21  must analyze the contractors' recommendations and report to the 
  2.22  legislature by December 15, 2000.  The report must contain the 
  2.23  contractors' recommendations, the commissioner's analysis of the 
  2.24  contractors' recommendations, and a plan the commissioner 
  2.25  develops in response to those recommendations for implementing 
  2.26  the recommendations the commissioner considers appropriate.  The 
  2.27  plan must indicate how the commissioner proposes to alter 
  2.28  graduation standards under the profile of learning to meet the 
  2.29  educational needs of all students.  The plan must separately 
  2.30  indicate which of the contractors' recommendations that the 
  2.31  commissioner considers appropriate: 
  2.32     (1) can be effected through administrative actions; 
  2.33     (2) require changes in rule; and 
  2.34     (3) require changes in law. 
  2.35  The commissioner may implement the recommendations under clause 
  2.36  (1), but must not begin to adopt rules to implement the 
  3.1   recommendations under clause (2) until specifically authorized 
  3.2   by law.  The commissioner is prohibited from implementing the 
  3.3   recommendations under clause (3). 
  3.4      Subd. 2.  [TECHNOLOGY NEEDS.] The commissioner must work 
  3.5   with school districts to ensure that all districts have 
  3.6   sufficient ongoing access to computers and needed software at 
  3.7   minimal cost, and staff training and support to permit: 
  3.8      (1) efficient daily classroom recordkeeping; 
  3.9      (2) consistent communications between schools and between 
  3.10  school districts; and 
  3.11     (3) compatible local and state accountability reporting. 
  3.12     Subd. 3.  [ANNUAL REPORTS.] The commissioner annually by 
  3.13  December 15 must report to the legislature on the progress made 
  3.14  in implementing the commissioner's plan under subdivision 1 and 
  3.15  meeting districts' technology needs for reporting under 
  3.16  subdivision 2.  The commissioner must continue to present an 
  3.17  annual progress report until the conditions under section 1, 
  3.18  paragraph (b), are met. 
  3.19     Sec. 3.  [CONTENT OF EXTERNAL REVIEW.] 
  3.20     (a) The contractors under section 2 must examine and report 
  3.21  on the quality of the state's standards and assessments as an 
  3.22  integrated educational system. 
  3.23     (b) The contractors' report must include: 
  3.24     (1) an analysis of the link between the state's standards 
  3.25  and assessments intended to hold schools accountable for 
  3.26  educational achievement; 
  3.27     (2) meaningful comparisons and specific recommendations for 
  3.28  revision by benchmarking the state's standards and assessments 
  3.29  against the best existing models; and 
  3.30     (3) diagnostic information, including the strengths and 
  3.31  weaknesses of the state's academic standards. 
  3.32     (c) For benchmarking purposes, the contractors must 
  3.33  indicate: 
  3.34     (1) whether the standards are clear, specific, and 
  3.35  measurable, and whether they are easily understood by teachers, 
  3.36  parents, and students; 
  4.1      (2) how Minnesota's standards in English, mathematics, 
  4.2   science, and social studies compare to objective exemplary 
  4.3   standards; what important elements found in the objective 
  4.4   exemplary standards are not found in Minnesota's standards; and 
  4.5   what is most important for students to learn; 
  4.6      (3) how well state assessments measure the standards, 
  4.7   whether the assessments measure the core academic standards and, 
  4.8   if they do not, which standards are not adequately measured; 
  4.9      (4) whether the state assessments are challenging, or more 
  4.10  demanding or less demanding than the standards imply, and 
  4.11  whether the assessments are set at an appropriate level of 
  4.12  difficulty for a particular grade level; and 
  4.13     (5) how proficiency is defined on the state's assessments, 
  4.14  whether this definition is comparable to the definition of 
  4.15  proficiency, and what changes can strengthen the quality and 
  4.16  alignment of the state's standards and assessments. 
  4.17     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120A.41, is 
  4.18  amended to read: 
  4.19     120A.41 [LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR; DAYS OF INSTRUCTION.] 
  4.20     A school board's annual school calendar must include at 
  4.21  least three additional days of student instruction or staff 
  4.22  development training related to implementing section 16 beyond 
  4.23  the number of days of student instruction the board formally 
  4.24  adopted as its school calendar at the beginning of the 1996-1997 
  4.25  school year. 
  4.26     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  4.27  120B.02, is amended to read: 
  4.28     120B.02 [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE; BASIC SKILLS 
  4.29  REQUIREMENTS; PROFILE OF LEARNING.] 
  4.30     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing a 
  4.31  rigorous, results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's 
  4.32  public school students.  To that end, the commissioner shall use 
  4.33  its rulemaking authority under section 127A.05, subdivision 4, 
  4.34  to adopt a statewide, results-oriented graduation rule to be 
  4.35  implemented starting with students beginning ninth grade in the 
  4.36  1996-1997 school year.  The commissioner shall not prescribe in 
  5.1   rule or otherwise the delivery system or form of instruction 
  5.2   that local sites must use to meet the requirements contained in 
  5.3   this rule. 
  5.4      (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the 
  5.5   commissioner shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  5.6   students.  The standards must contain the foundational skills in 
  5.7   the three core curricular areas of reading, writing, and 
  5.8   mathematics while meeting requirements for high school 
  5.9   graduation.  The standards must also provide an opportunity for 
  5.10  students to excel by meeting higher academic standards through a 
  5.11  profile of learning that uses curricular requirements to allow 
  5.12  students to expand their knowledge and skills beyond the 
  5.13  foundational skills.  All commissioner actions regarding the 
  5.14  rule must be premised on the following:  
  5.15     (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  5.16  students, teachers, and schools; 
  5.17     (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  5.18  consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  5.19     (3) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  5.20  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  5.21  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  5.22  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  5.23  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  5.24  understandable.; 
  5.25     (4)(i) student work completed in the six required learning 
  5.26  areas of learning area 1, English language and grammar; learning 
  5.27  area 2, composition and speech; learning area 3, mathematics; 
  5.28  learning area 4, science; learning area 5, social studies; and 
  5.29  learning area 6, literature and the arts; means high school 
  5.30  students in grades 9 to 12 must at least complete 12 content 
  5.31  standards that include six state-required content standards and 
  5.32  six elective content standards, (ii) middle school students in 
  5.33  grades 6 to 8 must at least complete one content standard in 
  5.34  each of the six required learning areas, (iii) intermediate 
  5.35  school students in grades 4 and 5 must complete a content 
  5.36  standard in learning areas 1, 2, and 3 and two elective content 
  6.1   standards, and (iv) primary school students in kindergarten to 
  6.2   grade 3 must focus on learning areas 1, 2, and 3 but are not 
  6.3   required to complete content standards in any learning areas; 
  6.4      (5) districts, at their election, may offer students a 
  6.5   seventh learning area of world language from which students may 
  6.6   satisfy an elective content standard requirement; and 
  6.7      (6) a student who is participating in a rigorous course of 
  6.8   study, including an advanced placement or international 
  6.9   baccalaureate program, talented youth mathematics project, a 
  6.10  concurrent enrollment course where a student takes a college 
  6.11  course in a secondary school setting, or a post-secondary 
  6.12  enrollment options course or program under section 124D.09, is 
  6.13  not required to complete other requirements of any content 
  6.14  standards corresponding to the student's rigorous course of 
  6.15  study. 
  6.16     (c) Districts must ensure that: 
  6.17     (1) district curriculum and corresponding instruction 
  6.18  incorporate content standards in courses offered to students; 
  6.19     (2) assessment of student academic achievement on a content 
  6.20  standard is integrated into the grade the student receives for 
  6.21  the quality of work a student completes for a course or program; 
  6.22  and 
  6.23     (3) all required and elective content standards contain 
  6.24  elements of decision making and inquiry. 
  6.25     (d) For purposes of adopting the rule, the commissioner, in 
  6.26  consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  6.27  experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  6.28  educators, using the most current version of professional 
  6.29  standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  6.30  alternative approaches to assessment.  
  6.31     (d) (e) The content of the graduation rule must 
  6.32  differentiate between minimum competencies reflected in the 
  6.33  basic requirements assessment and rigorous profile of learning 
  6.34  standards.  When fully implemented, the requirements for high 
  6.35  school graduation in Minnesota must include both basic 
  6.36  requirements and the required profile of learning.  The profile 
  7.1   of learning must measure student performance academic 
  7.2   achievement using performance-based assessments based on student 
  7.3   academic achievement compiled over time that integrate higher 
  7.4   academic standards, higher order thinking skills, and 
  7.5   application of knowledge from a variety of content areas.  The 
  7.6   profile of learning shall include a broad range of academic 
  7.7   experience and accomplishment necessary to achieve the goal of 
  7.8   preparing students to function effectively as purposeful 
  7.9   thinkers, effective communicators, self-directed learners, 
  7.10  productive group participants, and responsible citizens.  The 
  7.11  commissioner shall develop and disseminate to school districts a 
  7.12  uniform method for reporting student performance academic 
  7.13  achievement on the profile of learning.  Districts may use 
  7.14  outstanding work from each grade level as exemplars for 
  7.15  measuring student work in that grade. 
  7.16     (e) (f) The commissioner shall periodically review and 
  7.17  report on the assessment process and student achievement with 
  7.18  the expectation of raising the standards and expanding high 
  7.19  school graduation requirements. 
  7.20     (f) (g) The commissioner shall report in writing to the 
  7.21  legislature annually by January 15 on its progress in developing 
  7.22  and implementing the graduation requirements according to the 
  7.23  requirements of this subdivision and section 120B.10 until such 
  7.24  time as all the graduation requirements are implemented. 
  7.25     (h) Basic skills and profile of learning requirements must 
  7.26  be developed and implemented independently of any national 
  7.27  education goals established under the 1994 Goals 2000:  Educate 
  7.28  America Act. 
  7.29     Sec. 6.  [120B.0215] [VARIATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH 
  7.30  INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS OR SECTION 504 ACCOMMODATION PLANS.] 
  7.31     Subdivision 1.  [DETERMINATION OF REQUIREMENTS.] (a) A 
  7.32  student in kindergarten through grade 8 with an individual 
  7.33  education plan or section 504 accommodation plan shall have all 
  7.34  content standards considered by the student's individual 
  7.35  education plan team or section 504 accommodation plan team for 
  7.36  inclusion in the student's individual education plan or section 
  8.1   504 accommodation plan under subdivision 2. 
  8.2      (b) A student's individual education plan team or section 
  8.3   504 accommodation plan team must consider the state's graduation 
  8.4   requirements for inclusion in the student's individual education 
  8.5   plan or section 504 accommodation plan when a student with a 
  8.6   disability is 14 years old or registers for grade 9, whichever 
  8.7   is first.  An individual education plan team also must consider 
  8.8   the student's transition plan when determining which of the 
  8.9   required and elective content standards to include in the 
  8.10  student's individual education plan. 
  8.11     Subd. 2.  [INDIVIDUALIZED PLANS.] (a) For a student in 
  8.12  kindergarten through grade 8 with an individual education plan 
  8.13  or section 504 accommodation plan, the student's individual 
  8.14  education plan team or section 504 accommodation plan team may 
  8.15  modify preparatory content standards for the student in the 
  8.16  individual education plan or section 504 accommodation plan.  
  8.17  The team must determine the specifications of a content standard 
  8.18  the student will pursue under the selected modification.  If the 
  8.19  team determines that the student is exempt from one or more of 
  8.20  the content standards, it must explain the exemption in the 
  8.21  student's individual education plan or section 504 accommodation 
  8.22  plan.  When the team adopts an exempt status for a content 
  8.23  standard, it must determine whether or not a different standard 
  8.24  or individual education plan goal specific to the learning area 
  8.25  is appropriate and include that goal in the student's plan. 
  8.26     (b) For a high school student with an individual education 
  8.27  plan or section 504 accommodation plan, the student's individual 
  8.28  education plan team or section 504 accommodation plan team must: 
  8.29     (1) determine whether the student will pursue the content 
  8.30  standards without modification; 
  8.31     (2) determine whether one or more of the required content 
  8.32  standards will be modified to an individual level; 
  8.33     (3) define the elective content standards that the student 
  8.34  also will pursue and whether, for each elective, the student 
  8.35  will pursue the content standard without modification or have 
  8.36  the content standard modified to an individual level; or 
  9.1      (4) determine whether the student is exempt from one or 
  9.2   more of the state's graduation requirements. 
  9.3   When the team adopts exempt status for a content standard, it 
  9.4   must determine whether or not a different standard or individual 
  9.5   education plan goal specific to the learning area is appropriate 
  9.6   and include that goal in the student's plan. 
  9.7      (c) A student's individual education plan team or section 
  9.8   504 accommodation plan team must determine the specifications of 
  9.9   a preparatory or high school content standard the student will 
  9.10  pursue when the team modifies a content standard.  When a 
  9.11  content standard is modified, the student's individual education 
  9.12  plan team or section 504 accommodation plan team must determine 
  9.13  the appropriate assessment of the modified content standard. 
  9.14     Sec. 7.  [120B.0216] [ENGLISH PROFICIENCY; INDIVIDUAL 
  9.15  GRADUATION PLANS.] 
  9.16     A district must establish and maintain procedures giving 
  9.17  students the opportunity to complete both preparatory courses 
  9.18  and high school content standards.  Graduation requirements for 
  9.19  a student must not be modified unless section 120B.0215 applies 
  9.20  or unless modified in an individual graduation plan developed 
  9.21  for a student with limited English proficiency and annually 
  9.22  reviewed by a team that includes school advisory staff 
  9.23  designated by the district, the student's teachers, the 
  9.24  student's parent or guardian, and the student.  A district must 
  9.25  not modify specifications for standards in learning areas one to 
  9.26  six to permit a student to complete a standard in a language 
  9.27  other than English. 
  9.28     Sec. 8.  [120B.0217] [TESTING AND ASSESSMENT; MEASURING 
  9.29  STUDENT PERFORMANCE.] 
  9.30     Subdivision 1.  [DISTRICT CRITERION-REFERENCED TESTING AND 
  9.31  ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS.] (a) The commissioner must develop a 
  9.32  state model for local criterion-referenced testing and 
  9.33  assessment consistent with this section. 
  9.34     (b) A district must: 
  9.35     (1) test and assess student performance in preparatory and 
  9.36  high school content standards; 
 10.1      (2) establish processes by which to transfer as completed 
 10.2   (i) those content standards that other Minnesota public school 
 10.3   districts verify on transcripts as completed, (ii) the work that 
 10.4   post-secondary educational institutions or educational 
 10.5   institutions outside the state accept for completing the 
 10.6   equivalent of content standards and verify on transcripts as 
 10.7   completed, and (iii) a student's opportunities to complete high 
 10.8   school content standards through learning the student acquires 
 10.9   outside the district's curriculum; and 
 10.10     (3) use grading criteria under subdivision 2. 
 10.11     Subd. 2.  [GRADING.] The assessment of student achievement 
 10.12  under the profile of learning must align with the district's 
 10.13  grading system and must be included as part of the student's 
 10.14  grade for a subject or course.  
 10.15     Sec. 9.  [120B.0218] [NOTICE TO PARENTS AND STUDENTS.] 
 10.16     In addition to other applicable notice requirements, the 
 10.17  district must notify parents and students in writing about: 
 10.18     (1) the content standards taught and assessed in the school 
 10.19  curriculum; 
 10.20     (2) the procedures for advising the student and the 
 10.21  student's parent or guardian about graduation requirements and 
 10.22  for accessing these procedures; 
 10.23     (3) the procedures by which students may meet graduation 
 10.24  requirements with the equivalent of content standards completed 
 10.25  outside the district's curriculum; and 
 10.26     (4) the district's individual student progress and 
 10.27  achievement reporting schedule. 
 10.28     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, 
 10.29  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 10.30     Subdivision 1.  [DISTRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROFILE OF 
 10.31  LEARNING.] (a) A school district shall implement the profile of 
 10.32  learning of the graduation rule under paragraph (b), or (c), or 
 10.33  (d). 
 10.34     A district may implement the profile of learning under 
 10.35  paragraph (c) or (d) only after the commissioner approves the 
 10.36  district's request for a waiver and approves the local plan for 
 11.1   full implementation. 
 11.2      (b) A school district shall implement the profile of 
 11.3   learning for the 1998-1999 school year and later.  
 11.4      (c) (b) A school district shall implement the profile of 
 11.5   learning as follows: 
 11.6      (1) for the 1998-1999 first school year after which the 
 11.7   moratorium under section 1 is repealed and later, the district 
 11.8   shall implement all the required standards in learning areas at 
 11.9   the preparatory level and (i) must implement for ninth grade 
 11.10  students a minimum of six at least two learning areas under the 
 11.11  profile of learning with three from the areas of read, listen, 
 11.12  and view English language and grammar; write and speak 
 11.13  composition and speech; mathematical 
 11.14  applications mathematics; scientific applications and science; 
 11.15  and people and cultures; (ii) in addition, may implement for 
 11.16  ninth grade students the learning areas of social studies and 
 11.17  three from the areas of literature and the arts; inquiry; 
 11.18  decision making; resource management; and world language; 
 11.19     (2) for the 1999-2000 second school year after which the 
 11.20  moratorium under section 1 is repealed and later, the district 
 11.21  shall implement for ninth and tenth grade students two other 
 11.22  learning areas under clause (1)(i) in addition to those 
 11.23  implemented under clause (1) if four learning areas were not 
 11.24  completed under clause (1)(i).  The district shall complete the 
 11.25  four learning areas of read, listen, and view; write and speak; 
 11.26  mathematical applications; scientific applications; and people 
 11.27  and cultures if the four areas were not completed in clause 
 11.28  (1);, in addition, may implement the learning areas of social 
 11.29  studies and the remainder from the areas of literature and the 
 11.30  arts; inquiry; decision making; resource management; and world 
 11.31  language if the learning areas were not completed under clause 
 11.32  (1)(ii); and 
 11.33     (3) for the 2000-2001 third school year after which the 
 11.34  moratorium under section 1 is repealed and later, the district 
 11.35  shall implement for ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade students 
 11.36  the two learning areas in the profile of learning that were not 
 12.1   implemented under clauses (1) and (2), if applicable, with the 
 12.2   expectation that students graduating in the fourth school year 
 12.3   after which the moratorium under section 1 is repealed must 
 12.4   successfully complete all profile of learning requirements under 
 12.5   section 120B.02 in order to graduate. 
 12.6      (d) (c) A district shall develop a local plan to implement 
 12.7   the profile of learning and have all ten six learning areas 
 12.8   fully implemented by the 2001-2002 start of the third school 
 12.9   year after which the moratorium under section 1 is repealed with 
 12.10  the expectation that students graduating in the fourth school 
 12.11  year after which the moratorium under section 1 is repealed must 
 12.12  successfully complete all profile of learning requirements under 
 12.13  section 120B.02 in order to graduate. 
 12.14     (e) (d) A district shall notify the commissioner by July 1, 
 12.15  1998 of the first school year preceding the school year in which 
 12.16  districts' obligation to begin implementing the profile of 
 12.17  learning under paragraph (b), clause (1), arises, as to whether 
 12.18  the district will implement the profile of learning under 
 12.19  paragraph (b), or (c), or (d). 
 12.20     (f) An advisory committee of 11 members is established to 
 12.21  advise the governor and commissioner on the implementation of 
 12.22  the graduation rule under this section.  The commissioner shall 
 12.23  appoint 11 members with representatives from education 
 12.24  organizations, business, higher education, parents, and 
 12.25  organizations representing communities of color. 
 12.26     The committee shall review the implementation of the basic 
 12.27  requirements and the profile of learning standards. 
 12.28     The commissioner shall provide technical and other 
 12.29  assistance to the advisory committee.  The committee expires on 
 12.30  December 1, 1998. 
 12.31     (e) Consistent with the requirements under section 2, 
 12.32  subdivision 2, the commissioner shall convene an advisory group 
 12.33  composed of qualified experts and interested stakeholders to 
 12.34  recommend recordkeeping practices under the profile of 
 12.35  learning.  After reviewing advisory group recommendations, the 
 12.36  commissioner must evaluate the software available to implement 
 13.1   recordkeeping practices under the profile of learning and 
 13.2   certify to all districts and the legislature that the software 
 13.3   needed to record and report student academic achievement levels 
 13.4   is readily available to all districts at minimal cost by July 1 
 13.5   of the first school year preceding the school year in which 
 13.6   districts' obligation to begin implementing the profile of 
 13.7   learning under paragraph (b), clause (1), arises.  
 13.8      (f) To meet the educational accountability and reporting 
 13.9   standards under this chapter, and consistent with the 
 13.10  requirements under section 2, subdivision 2, the commissioner 
 13.11  shall work with school districts to develop and implement a 
 13.12  uniform system of measuring and reporting student academic 
 13.13  achievement completed as requirements under the profile of 
 13.14  learning.  
 13.15     Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, 
 13.16  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 13.17     Subd. 3.  [WAIVER LOCAL PLAN.] In order to receive a 
 13.18  waiver, A district must document why the waiver is necessary, 
 13.19  how the local plan under subdivision 1, paragraph (c), improves 
 13.20  student achievement, and how the profile of learning will be 
 13.21  fully implemented for the 2001-2002 students graduating in the 
 13.22  fourth school year after which the moratorium is repealed under 
 13.23  section 1. 
 13.24     Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 13.25  120B.30, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
 13.26     Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING AND REPORTING.] (a) The 
 13.27  commissioner, with advice from experts with appropriate 
 13.28  technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, shall 
 13.29  include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade 
 13.30  level to be tested, a single statewide norm-referenced or 
 13.31  criterion-referenced test, or a combination of a norm-referenced 
 13.32  and a criterion-referenced test, which shall be highly 
 13.33  correlated aligned with the state's graduation standards and 
 13.34  administered annually to all students in the third, fifth, and 
 13.35  eighth grades.  The reading and math tests administered to third 
 13.36  and fifth grade students and the writing test administered to 
 14.1   fifth grade students must be sufficiently rigorous, valid, and 
 14.2   reliable for districts to use the test results for diagnostic 
 14.3   purposes affecting student learning and district instruction and 
 14.4   curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability.  
 14.5   The commissioner shall establish one or more months during which 
 14.6   schools shall administer the tests to students each school 
 14.7   year.  Only Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, 
 14.8   mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills 
 14.9   testing requirements for a passing state notation.  
 14.10     (b) In addition, at the secondary level, districts shall 
 14.11  assess student performance in all required learning areas and 
 14.12  selected required standards within each area of the profile of 
 14.13  learning.  The testing instruments and testing process shall be 
 14.14  determined by the commissioner.  The results shall be aggregated 
 14.15  at the site and district level.  The testing shall be 
 14.16  administered beginning in the 1999-2000 school year and 
 14.17  thereafter. 
 14.18     (c) The comprehensive assessment system shall include an 
 14.19  evaluation of commissioner shall report school site and school 
 14.20  district performance student academic achievement levels during 
 14.21  the 1997-1998 school year and thereafter using an established 
 14.22  performance baseline developed from students' test scores under 
 14.23  this section that records, at a minimum, of the current and two 
 14.24  immediately preceding school years.  The report shall include 
 14.25  students' unweighted mean test scores in each tested subject, a 
 14.26  second performance baseline that reports, at a minimum, the same 
 14.27  unweighted mean test scores of only those students enrolled in 
 14.28  the school by January 1 of the previous school year, and a third 
 14.29  performance baseline that reports the same unweighted test 
 14.30  scores of all students except those students receiving limited 
 14.31  English proficiency instruction.  The evaluation report also 
 14.32  shall record separately, in proximity to the reported 
 14.33  performance baselines levels, the percentages of students who 
 14.34  are eligible to receive a free or reduced price school meal, 
 14.35  demonstrate limited English proficiency, or are eligible to 
 14.36  receive special education services. 
 15.1      (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
 15.2   under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), the commissioner shall 
 15.3   include the following components in the statewide educational 
 15.4   accountability and public reporting system: 
 15.5      (1) uniform statewide testing of all third, fifth, eighth, 
 15.6   and post-eighth grade students with that provides testing 
 15.7   exemptions, only with parent or guardian approval, from the 
 15.8   testing requirement only for those very few students for whom 
 15.9   the student's individual education plan team under sections 
 15.10  125A.05 and 125A.06, determines that the student is incapable of 
 15.11  taking a statewide test, or for a limited English proficiency 
 15.12  student under section 124D.59, subdivision 2, if the student has 
 15.13  been in the United States for fewer than 12 months and for whom 
 15.14  special language barriers exist, such as the student's native 
 15.15  language does not have a written form or the district does not 
 15.16  have access to appropriate interpreter services for the 
 15.17  student's native language; 
 15.18     (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
 15.19  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
 15.20  basis including average daily attendance, high school graduation 
 15.21  rates, and high school drop-out rates by grade level; and 
 15.22     (3) students' scores on the American College Test; 
 15.23     (4) participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
 15.24  Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against 
 15.25  the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other 
 15.26  countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor 
 15.27  achievement; and 
 15.28     (5) basic skills and advanced competencies connecting 
 15.29  teaching and learning to high academic standards, assessment, 
 15.30  and transitions to citizenship and employment. 
 15.31     (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
 15.32  clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
 15.33  provided by the commissioner. 
 15.34     Sec. 13.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 15.35  120B.35, is amended to read: 
 15.36     120B.35 [STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS.] 
 16.1      (a) Each school year, a school district must determine if 
 16.2   the student achievement levels at each school site meet 
 16.3   state and local expectations.  If student achievement levels at 
 16.4   a school site do not meet state and local expectations for two 
 16.5   out of three consecutive school years, beginning with 
 16.6   the 2000-2001 first school year after which the moratorium under 
 16.7   section 1 is repealed, the district must work with the school 
 16.8   site to adopt a plan to raise student achievement levels to meet 
 16.9   state and local expectations.  The legislature will determine 
 16.10  state expectations after receiving a recommendation from the 
 16.11  commissioner of children, families, and learning.  The 
 16.12  commissioner must submit recommendations to the legislature by 
 16.13  January 15, 2000.  
 16.14     (b) A district, with timely and adequate technical support 
 16.15  from the department at the district's request, must assist 
 16.16  school sites in developing recommendations for rigorous, valid, 
 16.17  and reliable assessment methods to determine student achievement 
 16.18  of content standards required for graduation.  The methods of 
 16.19  assessment may be different for different content standards, but 
 16.20  must indicate a clearly defined minimum level of student 
 16.21  achievement in each content standard required for graduation.  A 
 16.22  district must make timely information about its assessment 
 16.23  methods and levels of student achievement readily available in a 
 16.24  useful format to interested members of the public and the 
 16.25  department, consistent with the requirements of section 13.32.  
 16.26  The district also must publish an annual report containing 
 16.27  district information about student achievement on the state's 
 16.28  basic reading, math, and writing tests, the content standards 
 16.29  that students must complete under the profile of learning in 
 16.30  order to graduate, sample assessment methods the district uses 
 16.31  to determine student achievement, and planned and implemented 
 16.32  district efforts to improve student learning and district 
 16.33  instruction and curriculum, which it must disseminate to 
 16.34  district residents and transmit to the department in a useful 
 16.35  and timely manner.  The commissioner must review the performance 
 16.36  of a school site or district demonstrating a pattern of low 
 17.1   student achievement on the state's third and fifth grade reading 
 17.2   and math tests and fifth grade writing test and on the eighth 
 17.3   grade basic reading and math skills tests and tenth grade 
 17.4   writing skills test, and may review the performance of other 
 17.5   districts at the request of the district or at the discretion of 
 17.6   the commissioner.  The commissioner must pay the costs of these 
 17.7   reviews. 
 17.8      (c) The department, at a district's request, must assist 
 17.9   the district and the school site in developing a plan to improve 
 17.10  student achievement.  The plan must include parental involvement 
 17.11  components. 
 17.12     Sec. 14.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 123A.06, is 
 17.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 17.14     Subd. 3a.  [GRADUATION REQUIREMENT ALTERNATIVE.] The 
 17.15  profile of learning high school graduation requirement under 
 17.16  section 120B.02 does not apply to students enrolled in an area 
 17.17  learning center if the center has: 
 17.18     (1) adopted a resolution to use alternative graduation 
 17.19  requirements that are specified and detailed; and 
 17.20     (2) informed the parent or guardian of students who are 
 17.21  enrolled or applying to enroll of this resolution. 
 17.22     Sec. 15.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
 17.23  124D.10, subdivision 10, is amended to read: 
 17.24     Subd. 10.  [PUPIL PERFORMANCE.] A charter school must 
 17.25  design its programs to at least meet the outcomes adopted by the 
 17.26  commissioner for public school students.  In the absence of the 
 17.27  commissioner's requirements, the school must meet the outcomes 
 17.28  contained in the contract with the sponsor.  The achievement 
 17.29  levels of the outcomes contained in the contract may exceed the 
 17.30  achievement levels of any outcomes adopted by the commissioner 
 17.31  for public school students.  The profile of learning high school 
 17.32  graduation requirement under section 120B.02 does not apply to 
 17.33  students enrolled in a charter school if the board has: 
 17.34     (1) adopted a resolution to use alternative graduation 
 17.35  requirements that are specified and detailed; and 
 17.36     (2) informed the parent or guardian of students who are 
 18.1   enrolled or applying to enroll of this resolution. 
 18.2      Sec. 16.  [CURRICULUM; INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR 
 18.3   TEACHERS; ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS.] 
 18.4      To fully implement standards and assessments, districts 
 18.5   must work to improve: 
 18.6      (1) the scope and sequence of curriculum, especially in 
 18.7   language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies at all 
 18.8   instruction levels; 
 18.9      (2) research-based instructional skills of teachers and 
 18.10  other district staff who work with students; and 
 18.11     (3) alternative assessments of student achievement. 
 18.12     Sec. 17.  [CONTRACTORS TO COMPARE PROPOSALS.] 
 18.13     The commissioner separately must contract with each of the 
 18.14  two nationally recognized independent organizations under 
 18.15  contract in section 2 to conduct an external review and analysis 
 18.16  of the learning areas and content standards proposed in a 
 18.17  Minnesota revisor of statutes document labeled A00-1008 and 
 18.18  dated 03/06/00.  This review and analysis must incorporate the 
 18.19  review content listed in section 3 and must compare the state's 
 18.20  standards and related procedures, policies, and assessments with 
 18.21  the proposals in a Minnesota revisor of statutes document 
 18.22  labeled A00-1008 and dated 03/06/00.  The contractors must 
 18.23  report their findings by December 15, 2000, to the commissioner 
 18.24  and the education committees of the legislature. 
 18.25     Sec. 18.  [DISSEMINATING INFORMATION.] 
 18.26     The commissioner, in a timely fashion using readily 
 18.27  accessible formats, must disseminate clear information to all 
 18.28  school districts about the changes made in this act. 
 18.29     Sec. 19.  [EFFECT ON PROFILE OF LEARNING RULES.] 
 18.30     The rules of the department of children, families, and 
 18.31  learning are void to the extent they are inconsistent with this 
 18.32  act. 
 18.33     Sec. 20.  [DEPARTMENT COSTS.] 
 18.34     The department of children, families, and learning is 
 18.35  responsible for any costs resulting from the implementing of 
 18.36  this act. 
 19.1      Sec. 21.  [REPEALER.] 
 19.2      (a) Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03, subdivision 
 19.3   2; and 120B.04, are repealed. 
 19.4      (b) Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0320, subpart 2, items E 
 19.5   and F; 3501.0360; 3501.0370; 3501.0400; and 3501.0430, items A 
 19.6   to D, are repealed. 
 19.7      Sec. 22.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 19.8      Sections 1 to 21 are effective the day following final 
 19.9   enactment.