1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; requiring teacher and community 
  1.3             expert display of license or credential; limiting 
  1.4             nonlicensed community expert teaching; providing for 
  1.5             an optional credential for community experts; 
  1.6             increasing grant amounts to promote teaching 
  1.7             standards; providing for rulemaking; appropriating 
  1.8             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
  1.9             122A.22; 122A.25, subdivision 2, by adding a 
  1.10            subdivision; Laws 1997, First Special Session chapter 
  1.11            4, article 5, section 22, as amended; proposing coding 
  1.12            for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 122A. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 122A.22, is 
  1.15  amended to read: 
  1.16     122A.22 [DISTRICT RECORDING OF TEACHER LICENSES.] 
  1.17     No person shall be accounted a qualified teacher until the 
  1.18  person has filed for record with the district superintendent 
  1.19  where the person intends to teach a license, or certified copy 
  1.20  of a license, authorizing the person to teach school in the 
  1.21  district school system.  In addition, every licensed teacher and 
  1.22  nonlicensed community expert must prominently display a copy of 
  1.23  their license or credential in their instructional area or 
  1.24  office. 
  1.25     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for the 
  1.26  2002-2003 school year. 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 122A.25, 
  1.28  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.29     Subd. 2.  [APPLICATIONS; CRITERIA.] The school district or 
  2.1   charter school shall apply to the board of teaching for approval 
  2.2   to hire nonlicensed teaching personnel from the community.  In 
  2.3   approving or disapproving the application for each community 
  2.4   expert, the board shall consider: 
  2.5      (1) the qualifications of the community person whom the 
  2.6   district or charter school proposes to employ; 
  2.7      (2) the reasons for the need for a variance from the 
  2.8   teacher licensure requirements; 
  2.9      (3) the district's efforts to obtain licensed teachers, who 
  2.10  are acceptable to the school board, for the particular course or 
  2.11  subject area or the charter school's efforts to obtain licensed 
  2.12  teachers for the particular course or subject area; 
  2.13     (4) the amount of teaching time for which the community 
  2.14  expert would be hired; 
  2.15     (5) the extent to which the district or charter school is 
  2.16  utilizing other nonlicensed community experts under this 
  2.17  section; 
  2.18     (6) the nature of the community expert's proposed teaching 
  2.19  responsibility; and 
  2.20     (7) the proposed level of compensation to the community 
  2.21  expert. 
  2.22     In no event shall an application for hiring of nonlicensed 
  2.23  teaching personnel be approved for an individual who has 
  2.24  previously taught under a nonlicensed community expert 
  2.25  credential unless the individual can provide evidence of 
  2.26  reasonable progress toward licensure.  The maximum cumulative 
  2.27  amount of time any individual may teach under a nonlicensed 
  2.28  community expert credential shall be 45 days in any three-year 
  2.29  period. 
  2.30     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2002. 
  2.31     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 122A.25, is 
  2.32  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.33     Subd. 5.  [NOTIFICATION.] The school district must provide 
  2.34  annual written notification to the parent or guardian of any 
  2.35  student who receives instruction from a nonlicensed community 
  2.36  expert. 
  3.1      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2002. 
  3.2      Sec. 4.  [122A.34] [CREDENTIAL FOR EDUCATION 
  3.3   PARAPROFESSIONALS.] 
  3.4      Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The legislature recognizes that 
  3.5   education paraprofessionals play an important role in educating 
  3.6   school children and in assisting teachers.  To ensure quality 
  3.7   education and safety for students and staff, the legislature 
  3.8   establishes a credential for education paraprofessionals. 
  3.9      Subd. 2.  [RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.] The board of teaching 
  3.10  shall adopt rules to implement an optional credential for 
  3.11  education paraprofessionals who are directly involved with 
  3.12  students in the instructional process. 
  3.13     Subd. 3.  [QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL.] In order to qualify for 
  3.14  the education paraprofessional credential, an individual must, 
  3.15  at a minimum, demonstrate competency in at least the following 
  3.16  areas: 
  3.17     (1) characteristics of learners; 
  3.18     (2) support of the teaching and learning environment; 
  3.19     (3) facilitation of positive student behavior and social 
  3.20  interaction skills; 
  3.21     (4) professional and ethical practices; 
  3.22     (5) legal obligations; 
  3.23     (6) emergency health and safety procedures; and 
  3.24     (7) knowledge of the paraprofessional's role in the 
  3.25  educational setting. 
  3.26     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2002. 
  3.27     Sec. 5.  Laws 1997, First Special Session chapter 4, 
  3.28  article 5, section 22, as amended by Laws 1999, chapter 241, 
  3.29  article 9, section 46, is amended to read: 
  3.30     Sec. 22.  [GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE PROFESSIONAL TEACHING 
  3.31  STANDARDS.] 
  3.32     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] A grant program to promote 
  3.33  professional teaching standards through the national board for 
  3.34  professional teaching standards is established to provide 
  3.35  eligible teachers with the opportunity to receive national board 
  3.36  for professional teaching standards certification and to reward 
  4.1   teachers who have already received such certification. 
  4.2      Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An applicant for a grant must be a 
  4.3   licensed K-12 school teacher employed in a state school.  To be 
  4.4   eligible for a grant, the teacher must have been employed as a 
  4.5   teacher for a minimum of five school years and demonstrate 
  4.6   either that the national board for professional teaching 
  4.7   standards has accepted the teacher as a candidate for board 
  4.8   certification or that the teacher already has received board 
  4.9   certification. 
  4.10     Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] To obtain a grant to 
  4.11  participate in the national board for professional teaching 
  4.12  standards certification process or to receive a reward for 
  4.13  already completing the board certification process, a teacher 
  4.14  must submit an application to the commissioner of children, 
  4.15  families, and learning in the form and manner the commissioner 
  4.16  establishes.  The applicant must demonstrate either that the 
  4.17  national board for professional teaching standards has accepted 
  4.18  the teacher as a candidate for board certification or that the 
  4.19  teacher already has received board certification.  The 
  4.20  commissioner shall consult with the state board of teaching when 
  4.21  reviewing the applications. 
  4.22     Subd. 4.  [GRANT AWARDS; PROCEEDS.] (a) The commissioner 
  4.23  may award matching grants of $1,000 each for eligible teachers 
  4.24  who provide a matching amount through collaboration with either 
  4.25  a school district, professional organization, or both and are 
  4.26  accepted as candidates for national board for professional 
  4.27  teaching standards certification.  The grant award shall be paid 
  4.28  to the national board for professional teaching standards in the 
  4.29  teacher's name.  Within 24 months of receiving certification, a 
  4.30  grant recipient must satisfactorily complete the certification 
  4.31  process or repay the state the amount of the grant, except if 
  4.32  the commissioner determines that death or disability prevents 
  4.33  the grant recipient from providing the one year of teaching 
  4.34  service. 
  4.35     (b) The commissioner may award grants to eligible teachers 
  4.36  who have earned national board for professional teaching 
  5.1   standards certification on or after November 1, 2001.  The 
  5.2   amount of each grant shall not exceed $1,000 $2,500 and the 
  5.3   commissioner shall establish criteria to determine the actual 
  5.4   amount of each grant.  Grant recipients shall use the grant 
  5.5   proceeds for educational purposes, including purchasing 
  5.6   instructional materials, equipment, or supplies and realizing 
  5.7   professional development opportunities.  
  5.8      Subd. 5.  [REGIONAL COORDINATORS.] The state shall provide 
  5.9   the equivalent of four full-time regional coordinators with two 
  5.10  located in the seven-county metropolitan area and two located in 
  5.11  greater Minnesota.  $25,000 per year, for the first two years 
  5.12  only, shall be provided to cover expenses of the regional 
  5.13  coordinators including, but not limited to, travel, meetings, 
  5.14  web page maintenance, and cost related to supporting candidate's 
  5.15  expenses.  After the first two years, individual school 
  5.16  districts must negotiate with the exclusive representative of 
  5.17  the teachers in the district for coordinator positions. 
  5.18     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  5.19  following final enactment. 
  5.20     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.21     The following sum is appropriated from the general fund to 
  5.22  the department of children, families, and learning in the fiscal 
  5.23  year indicated for grants to promote and reward high 
  5.24  professional teaching standards: 
  5.25         $612,500     .....     2002 
  5.26     Of this amount, $300,000 is for grants to teachers applying 
  5.27  for national board for professional teaching standards 
  5.28  certification, and $312,500 is for resource grants.  This 
  5.29  appropriation is available until June 30, 2004. 
  5.30     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  5.31  following final enactment.