1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; allowing school districts to 
  1.3             assign a student to an area learning center; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 121A.55; 124D.128, 
  1.5             subdivision 3.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 121A.55, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      121A.55 [POLICIES TO BE ESTABLISHED.] 
  1.10     (a) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  1.11  shall promulgate guidelines to assist each school board.  Each 
  1.12  school board shall establish uniform criteria for dismissal and 
  1.13  adopt written policies and rules to effectuate the purposes of 
  1.14  sections 121A.40 to 121A.56.  The policies shall emphasize 
  1.15  preventing dismissals through early detection of problems and 
  1.16  shall be designed to address students' inappropriate behavior 
  1.17  from recurring.  The policies shall recognize the continuing 
  1.18  responsibility of the school for the education of the pupil 
  1.19  during the dismissal period.  The alternative educational 
  1.20  services, if the pupil wishes to take advantage of them, must be 
  1.21  adequate to allow the pupil to make progress towards meeting the 
  1.22  graduation standards adopted under section 120B.02 and help 
  1.23  prepare the pupil for readmission.  
  1.24     (b) Consistent with its policies adopted under paragraph 
  1.25  (a), a school district, in consultation with a student's parent 
  2.1   or guardian, may assign a student to an area learning center or 
  2.2   provide other alternative educational services under section 
  2.3   121A.41, subdivision 11.  An area learning center under section 
  2.4   123A.05 may not prohibit an expelled or excluded pupil from 
  2.5   enrolling solely because a district expelled or excluded the 
  2.6   pupil.  The board of the area learning center may use the 
  2.7   provisions of the Pupil Fair Dismissal Act to exclude a pupil or 
  2.8   to require an admission plan. 
  2.9      (c) The commissioner shall actively encourage and assist 
  2.10  school districts to cooperatively establish alternative 
  2.11  educational services within school buildings or at alternative 
  2.12  program sites that offer instruction to pupils who are dismissed 
  2.13  from school for willfully engaging in dangerous, disruptive, or 
  2.14  violent behavior, including for possessing a firearm in a school 
  2.15  zone. 
  2.16     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  2.17  following final enactment.  
  2.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 124D.128, 
  2.19  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 3.  [STUDENT PLANNING.] A district must inform all 
  2.21  pupils and their parents about the learning year program and 
  2.22  that participation in the program is optional.  A continual 
  2.23  learning plan must be developed at least annually for each pupil 
  2.24  with the participation of the pupil, parent or guardian, 
  2.25  teachers, and other staff; each participant must sign and date 
  2.26  the plan.  The plan must specify the learning experiences that 
  2.27  must occur during the entire fiscal year and, for secondary 
  2.28  students, for graduation.  The plan must include:  
  2.29     (1) the pupil's learning objectives and experiences, 
  2.30  including courses or credits the pupil plans to complete each 
  2.31  year and, for a secondary pupil, the graduation requirements the 
  2.32  student must complete; 
  2.33     (2) the assessment measurements used to evaluate a pupil's 
  2.34  objectives; 
  2.35     (3) requirements for grade level or other appropriate 
  2.36  progression; and 
  3.1      (4) for pupils generating more than one average daily 
  3.2   membership in a given grade, an indication of which objectives 
  3.3   were unmet. 
  3.4   The plan may be modified to conform to district schedule 
  3.5   changes.  The district may not modify the plan if the 
  3.6   modification would result in delaying the student's time of 
  3.7   graduation.  
  3.8      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  3.9   following final enactment.