1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; repealing the profile of 
  1.3             learning; establishing local academic achievement 
  1.4             testing; establishing local testing revenue; 
  1.5             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.6             sections 120B.02; 120B.30, subdivision 1; 120B.31, 
  1.7             subdivision 3; 120B.35; proposing coding for new law 
  1.8             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B; repealing 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 120B.031; 120B.31, 
  1.10            subdivisions 1, 2, 4; Minnesota Rules, parts 
  1.11            3501.0300; 3501.0310; 3501.0320; 3501.0330; 3501.0340; 
  1.12            3501.0350; 3501.0370; 3501.0380; 3501.0390; 3501.0400; 
  1.13            3501.0410; 3501.0420; 3501.0440; 3501.0441; 3501.0442; 
  1.14            3501.0443; 3501.0444; 3501.0445; 3501.0446; 3501.0447; 
  1.15            3501.0448; 3501.0449; 3501.0450; 3501.0460; 3501.0461; 
  1.16            3501.0462; 3501.0463; 3501.0464; 3501.0465; 3501.0466; 
  1.17            3501.0467; 3501.0468; 3501.0469. 
  1.18  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.19     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.02, is 
  1.20  amended to read: 
  1.21     120B.02 [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE; BASIC SKILLS 
  1.22  REQUIREMENTS; PROFILE OF LEARNING.] 
  1.23     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing a 
  1.24  rigorous, results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's 
  1.25  public school students.  To that end, the commissioner shall use 
  1.26  its rulemaking authority under section 127A.05, subdivision 4, 
  1.27  to adopt a statewide, results-oriented graduation rule to be 
  1.28  implemented starting with students beginning ninth grade in the 
  1.29  1996-1997 school year.  The commissioner shall not prescribe in 
  1.30  rule or otherwise the delivery system or form of instruction 
  1.31  that independent school sites districts must use to meet the 
  2.1   requirements contained in this rule.  For purposes of this 
  2.2   chapter, a school site is a separate facility, or a separate 
  2.3   program within a facility that a local school board recognizes 
  2.4   as a school site.  
  2.5      (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the 
  2.6   commissioner shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  2.7   students.  The standards must contain the foundational basic 
  2.8   skills requirements in the three core curricular areas of 
  2.9   reading, writing, and mathematics while meeting requirements are 
  2.10  established by Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0010 to 3501.0180 and 
  2.11  3501.0200 to 3501.0290, and must be completed for public high 
  2.12  school graduation.  The standards graduation rule must also 
  2.13  provide an opportunity for students to excel by meeting higher 
  2.14  academic standards through a profile of learning that uses 
  2.15  curricular requirements to allow students to expand their local 
  2.16  academic achievement testing under section 120B.35 that measures 
  2.17  knowledge and skills beyond the foundational skills.  All 
  2.18  commissioner actions regarding the graduation rule must be 
  2.19  premised on the following:  
  2.20     (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  2.21  students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.22     (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.23  consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  2.24     (3) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  2.25  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  2.26  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  2.27  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  2.28  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  2.29  understandable. 
  2.30     (c) For purposes of adopting the rule, the commissioner, in 
  2.31  consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  2.32  experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  2.33  educators, using the most current version of professional 
  2.34  standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  2.35  alternative approaches to assessment.  
  2.36     (d) The content of the graduation rule must differentiate 
  3.1   between minimum competencies reflected in the basic requirements 
  3.2   assessment and rigorous profile of learning standards.  When 
  3.3   fully implemented, the requirements for high school graduation 
  3.4   in Minnesota must include both basic requirements and the 
  3.5   required profile of learning.  The profile of learning must 
  3.6   measure student performance using performance-based assessments 
  3.7   compiled over time that integrate higher academic standards, 
  3.8   higher order thinking skills, and application of knowledge from 
  3.9   a variety of content areas.  The profile of learning shall 
  3.10  include a broad range of academic experience and accomplishment 
  3.11  necessary to achieve the goal of preparing students to function 
  3.12  effectively as purposeful thinkers, effective communicators, 
  3.13  self-directed learners, productive group participants, and 
  3.14  responsible citizens.  
  3.15     (e) The profile of learning contains the following learning 
  3.16  areas: 
  3.17     (1) read, listen, and view; 
  3.18     (2) write and speak; 
  3.19     (3) arts and literature; 
  3.20     (4) mathematical concepts and applications; 
  3.21     (5) inquiry and research; 
  3.22     (6) scientific concepts and applications; 
  3.23     (7) social studies; 
  3.24     (8) physical education and lifetime fitness; 
  3.25     (9) economics and business; 
  3.26     (10) world languages; and 
  3.27     (11) technical and vocational education. 
  3.28     (f) The commissioner shall periodically review and report 
  3.29  on the assessment process and student achievement with the 
  3.30  expectation of raising the standards and expanding high school 
  3.31  graduation requirements. 
  3.32     (g) Beginning August 31, 2000, the commissioner must 
  3.33  publish, including in electronic format for the Internet, a 
  3.34  report, by school site, area learning center, and charter 
  3.35  school, of: 
  3.36     (1) the required preparatory content standards; 
  4.1      (2) the high school content standards required for 
  4.2   graduation; and 
  4.3      (3) the number of student waivers the district, area 
  4.4   learning center, or charter school approves under section 
  4.5   120B.031, subdivisions 4, 5, and 6, based on information each 
  4.6   district, area learning center, and charter school provides. 
  4.7      (h) School districts must integrate required and elective 
  4.8   content standards in the scope and sequence of the district 
  4.9   curriculum. 
  4.10     (i) School districts are not required to adopt, and 
  4.11  students are not required to participate in, specific provisions 
  4.12  of the Goals 2000 and the, federal School-to-Work programs, the 
  4.13  National Assessment of Educational Progress, and Title I of the 
  4.14  Elementary and Secondary Education Act. 
  4.15     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.30, 
  4.16  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.17     Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] (a) The commissioner, 
  4.18  with advice from experts with appropriate technical 
  4.19  qualifications and experience and stakeholders, shall include in 
  4.20  the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be 
  4.21  tested, a test, which shall be aligned with the state's 
  4.22  graduation standards and administered annually to all students 
  4.23  in the third, fifth, and eighth grades.  The commissioner shall 
  4.24  establish one or more months during which schools shall 
  4.25  administer the basic skills tests to students each school year.  
  4.26  Only Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, mathematics, and 
  4.27  writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing 
  4.28  requirements for a passing state notation.  The passing scores 
  4.29  of the state tests in reading and mathematics are the equivalent 
  4.30  of:  
  4.31     (1) 70 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  4.32  1996; and 
  4.33     (2) 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 in 
  4.34  1997 and thereafter, as based on the first uniform test 
  4.35  administration of February 1998.  
  4.36     Notwithstanding Minnesota Rules, part 3501.0050, subpart 2, 
  5.1   at the written request of a parent or guardian, and with the 
  5.2   recommendation of the student's teacher, a district may offer 
  5.3   the test of basic requirements in reading, math, or writing to 
  5.4   an individual student beginning in grade 5.  The student must 
  5.5   take the same test on the same date as administered to students 
  5.6   in eighth grade or higher.  Third and fifth grade test results 
  5.7   shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes 
  5.8   affecting student learning and district instruction and 
  5.9   curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability.  
  5.10  The commissioner must disseminate to the public the third and 
  5.11  fifth grade test results upon receiving those results. 
  5.12     (b) In addition, at the secondary level, districts shall 
  5.13  assess student performance in all required learning areas and 
  5.14  selected required standards within each area of the profile of 
  5.15  learning.  The testing instruments and testing process shall be 
  5.16  determined by the commissioner.  The results shall be aggregated 
  5.17  at the site and district level.  The testing shall be 
  5.18  administered beginning in the 1999-2000 school year and 
  5.19  thereafter. A statewide test under this section shall: 
  5.20     (1) use a multiple choice format with only one factually 
  5.21  correct answer, except for writing, which may include an essay 
  5.22  requirement; 
  5.23     (2) test academic, objective knowledge, and not personal 
  5.24  characteristics, values, attitudes, or conscientiously held 
  5.25  beliefs of students; and 
  5.26     (3) be made available in its entirety, including questions, 
  5.27  answer key, and aggregate results, to the public, and the 
  5.28  aggregated results shall be reported to the department and the 
  5.29  office of educational accountability within 60 days of its 
  5.30  administration.  Upon request, a parent of a student who 
  5.31  participated in the testing program shall receive a copy of each 
  5.32  test in its entirety and the results for the child. 
  5.33     (c) The commissioner shall report aggregate school site and 
  5.34  school district student academic basic skills achievement levels 
  5.35  of the current and two immediately preceding school years.  The 
  5.36  report shall include students' unweighted mean test scores in 
  6.1   each tested subject, the unweighted mean test scores of only 
  6.2   those students enrolled in the school by January 1 of the 
  6.3   previous school year, and the unweighted test scores of all 
  6.4   students except those students receiving limited English 
  6.5   proficiency instruction.  The report also shall record 
  6.6   separately, in proximity to the reported performance levels, the 
  6.7   percentages of students who are eligible to receive a free or 
  6.8   reduced price school meal, demonstrate limited English 
  6.9   proficiency, or are eligible to receive special education 
  6.10  services. 
  6.11     (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
  6.12  under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), the commissioner shall 
  6.13  include the following components in the statewide public 
  6.14  reporting system: 
  6.15     (1) uniform statewide testing of all third, fifth, eighth, 
  6.16  and post-eighth grade students that provides exemptions, only 
  6.17  with parent or guardian approval, for those very few students 
  6.18  for whom the student's individual education plan team under 
  6.19  sections 125A.05 and 125A.06, determines that the student is 
  6.20  incapable of taking a statewide test, or for a limited English 
  6.21  proficiency student under section 124D.59, subdivision 2, if the 
  6.22  student has been in the United States for fewer than 12 months 
  6.23  and for whom special language barriers exist, such as the 
  6.24  student's native language does not have a written form or the 
  6.25  district does not have access to appropriate interpreter 
  6.26  services for the student's native language; 
  6.27     (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
  6.28  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
  6.29  basis, including average daily attendance, high school 
  6.30  graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and 
  6.31  grade level; and 
  6.32     (3) (2) students' scores on the American College Test; and 
  6.33     (4) participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
  6.34  Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against 
  6.35  the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other 
  6.36  countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor 
  7.1   achievement. 
  7.2      (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
  7.3   clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
  7.4   provided by the commissioner, the Preliminary Scholastic 
  7.5   Aptitude Test, and the Scholastic Aptitude Test. 
  7.6      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.31, 
  7.7   subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  7.8      Subd. 3.  [EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.] (a) The independent 
  7.9   office of educational accountability, as authorized by Laws 
  7.10  1997, First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section 28, 
  7.11  subdivision 2, is established.  The office shall advise the 
  7.12  education committees of the legislature and the commissioner of 
  7.13  children, families, and learning, at least on a biennial basis, 
  7.14  on the degree to which the statewide educational 
  7.15  accountability testing and reporting system includes a 
  7.16  comprehensive assessment framework that measures school 
  7.17  accountability for students achieving the goals described in the 
  7.18  state's results-oriented graduation rule.  The office shall 
  7.19  consider whether the statewide system of educational 
  7.20  accountability utilizes multiple indicators to provide valid and 
  7.21  reliable comparative and contextual data on students, schools, 
  7.22  districts, and the state, and if not, recommend ways to improve 
  7.23  the accountability reporting system reflect student academic 
  7.24  achievement. 
  7.25     (b) When the office reviews the statewide educational 
  7.26  accountability and reporting system, it shall also consider: 
  7.27     (1) the objectivity and neutrality of the state's 
  7.28  educational accountability system; and 
  7.29     (2) the impact of a testing program on school curriculum 
  7.30  and student learning. 
  7.31     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 120B.35, is 
  7.32  amended to read: 
  7.33     120B.35 [STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS.] 
  7.34     Subdivision 1.  [LOCAL TESTING.] (a) Each school year, a 
  7.35  school district must administer a uniform testing program to 
  7.36  determine if the student academic achievement levels at each 
  8.1   school site in the third, fifth, and tenth grades meet state and 
  8.2   local expectations.  If student achievement levels at a school 
  8.3   site do not meet state and local expectations for two out of 
  8.4   three consecutive school years, beginning with the 2000-2001 
  8.5   school year, the district must work with the school site to 
  8.6   adopt a plan to raise student achievement levels to meet state 
  8.7   and local expectations.  The legislature will determine state 
  8.8   expectations after receiving a recommendation from the 
  8.9   commissioner of children, families, and learning.  
  8.10     (b) The testing program shall measure knowledge in the 
  8.11  following subject areas: 
  8.12     (1) for third grade, at least math and language arts, which 
  8.13  shall include reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and 
  8.14  spelling; and 
  8.15     (2) for fifth and tenth grades: 
  8.16     (i) math; 
  8.17     (ii) language arts, which shall include reading, writing, 
  8.18  grammar, vocabulary, and spelling; 
  8.19     (iii) science; 
  8.20     (iv) history, which shall include an emphasis on the United 
  8.21  States and Minnesota; and 
  8.22     (v) geography. 
  8.23     (c) The testing program shall be selected by the school 
  8.24  district and may include nationally normed tests, the placement 
  8.25  tests or their equivalents used by Minnesota post-secondary 
  8.26  institutions, locally developed tests, or other valid tests.  
  8.27  Each test shall be: 
  8.28     (1) in multiple choice question format with only one 
  8.29  factually correct answer for each question, except for language 
  8.30  arts, which may include an essay requirement; 
  8.31     (2) academic, objective, and not pertain to the personal 
  8.32  characteristics, values, attitudes, or conscientiously held 
  8.33  beliefs of students; 
  8.34     (3) secure, confidential, timed, and not permit the use of 
  8.35  any outside aid or reference, except that calculators may be 
  8.36  permitted at the secondary level and special accommodations may 
  9.1   be permitted under state or federal law for students with an 
  9.2   individualized education plan; 
  9.3      (4) comprehensive enough to include questions that would 
  9.4   identify students of academic excellence; and 
  9.5      (5) made available in its entirety, including questions, 
  9.6   answer key, and aggregate results, to the public, and be 
  9.7   reported to the department and the office of educational 
  9.8   accountability, within 60 days of its administration.  Upon 
  9.9   request, a parent of a student who participated in the testing 
  9.10  program shall receive a copy of each test in its entirety and 
  9.11  the results for the child. 
  9.12     Subd. 2.  [ASSISTANCE.] The department, at a district's 
  9.13  request, must assist the district and the school site in 
  9.14  developing a plan to improve student achievement.  The plan When 
  9.15  developing the plan, a district must include consider parental 
  9.16  involvement components recommendations. 
  9.17     Sec. 5.  [120B.36] [STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS; 
  9.18  LOCAL TESTING REVENUE.] 
  9.19     A school district's local testing revenue under this 
  9.20  section is equal to $....... times its adjusted marginal cost 
  9.21  pupil units beginning in fiscal year 2002 and later.  Local 
  9.22  testing revenue may only be used to meet the requirements of 
  9.23  section 120B.35. 
  9.24     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION; LOCAL TESTING REVENUE.] 
  9.25     The following sums are appropriated in the fiscal year 
  9.26  indicated from the general fund to the department of children, 
  9.27  families, and learning for local testing revenue: 
  9.28       $.......     .....     2002
  9.29       $.......     .....     2003
  9.30     Sec. 7.  [REPEALER.] 
  9.31     (a) Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 120B.031; and 
  9.32  120B.31, subdivisions 1, 2, and 4, are repealed. 
  9.33     (b) Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0300; 3501.0310; 3501.0320; 
  9.34  3501.0330; 3501.0340; 3501.0350; 3501.0370; 3501.0380; 
  9.35  3501.0390; 3501.0400; 3501.0410; 3501.0420; 3501.0440; 
  9.36  3501.0441; 3501.0442; 3501.0443; 3501.0444; 3501.0445; 
 10.1   3501.0446; 3501.0447; 3501.0448; 3501.0449; 3501.0450; 
 10.2   3501.0460; 3501.0461; 3501.0462; 3501.0463; 3501.0464; 
 10.3   3501.0465; 3501.0466; 3501.0467; 3501.0468; and 3501.0469, are 
 10.4   repealed. 
 10.5      Sec. 8.  [INSTRUCTION TO THE REVISOR.] 
 10.6      The revisor of statutes shall change the headnote names of 
 10.7   sections 120B.30 from "STATEWIDE TESTING AND REPORTING SYSTEM" 
 10.8   to "STATEWIDE BASIC SKILLS TESTING AND REPORTING" and 120B.31 
 10.9   from "SYSTEM ACCOUNTABILITY AND STATISTICAL ADJUSTMENTS" to 
 10.10  "OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY."