1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; providing for 4R high schools and academic rigor; 
1.3 	appropriating money;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
1.4 	chapter 120B.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [120B.0245] ENSURING ACADEMIC RIGOR AND 
1.7 	POSTSECONDARY COLLEGE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Dual credit course and program requirements. To learn effectively 
1.9 	without remediation in college and career preparation programs, public high school 
1.10 	students must complete one full school year of dual credit secondary and postsecondary 
1.11 	academic or career and technical courses or programs, consistent with section 120B.024, 
1.12 	as a condition of graduating from high school. To enable students to comply with this 
1.13 	requirement, and to acquire academic and work-ready knowledge and skills critical to 
1.14 	meeting college and workplace expectations, all public high schools must make available 
1.15 	dual-credit courses and programs that may include:
1.16 	(1) advanced placement courses or international baccalaureate programs under 
1.17 	section 120B.13;
1.18 	(2) postsecondary enrollment options courses and programs under section 124D.09;
1.19 	(3) concurrent enrollment courses under section 124D.09, subdivision 10, whether 
1.20 	or not the postsecondary institution grants postsecondary credit to high school students;
1.21 	(4) college in the schools courses under section 124D.09, subdivision 10;
1.22 	(5) college-level examination programs under section 120B.131;
1.23 	(6) work-based learning programs under sections 124D.4531, 124D.46, 124D.47, 
1.24 	or 124D.49; or
2.1 	(7) other relevant dual-credit course and program options that effectively prepare 
2.2 	students for postsecondary education and careers.
2.3 	School staff must continuously work with and support each student to strategically 
2.4 	plan and complete a core academic program and an academic or career and technical 
2.5 	concentration, consistent with this section and section 120B.024.
2.6 		Subd. 2.Expectations and opportunities for 4R high schools. (a) A 4R 
2.7 	high school is one that actively and effectively imbues relevance, rigor, results, and 
2.8 	relationships into all aspects of its educational enterprise. A high school that applies to the 
2.9 	commissioner to receive 4R high school aid under subdivision 3 must use the funds the 
2.10 	applicant receives to comply with the requirements of this subdivision.
2.11 	(b) A 4R high school must use the funds to provide pupil support services or 
2.12 	contract with a department-approved provider  to implement a college access program that 
2.13 	helps students, beginning in grade 9, and their families determine students' interests in 
2.14 	postsecondary education and employment. The program also may provide:
2.15 	(1) college admission and financial aid counseling, mentoring, SAT and ACT test 
2.16 	preparation, tutoring, and career guidance; and
2.17 	(2) ongoing support to help students complete the academic requirements necessary 
2.18 	for college or for career and technical programs that lead to an associate's degree or a 
2.19 	certificate, without remediation.
2.20 	(c) A 4R high school must implement and review at least annually a personal 
2.21 	graduation plan for every student beginning no later than grade 9 that allows the student to:
2.22 	(1) explore career options, match careers with the student's identified interests 
2.23 	and skills, and, with sufficient school support, pursue college or postsecondary career 
2.24 	opportunities;
2.25 	(2) identify the student's academic and career goals and the academic, school 
2.26 	leadership and participation, community service, work, career planning, and 
2.27 	extracurricular activities that the student anticipates pursuing during high school; and
2.28 	(3) monitor the student's progress in completing the course credits the student needs 
2.29 	to graduate on time.
2.30 	The student, the student's parents, and the school staff annually must review and 
2.31 	revise the student's personal graduation plan and parents annually must sign the plan to 
2.32 	indicate their agreement with its content and their willingness to support their student and 
2.33 	the school in realizing the student's plan.
2.34 	(d) A 4R high school must provide effective professional development and training 
2.35 	programs that give teachers and the principal ongoing opportunities to observe exemplary 
3.1 	educators and gain practical on-the-job teaching or administrative experience, and ensure 
3.2 	that:
3.3 	(1) teachers have a sufficiently high level of knowledge and skills to teach their 
3.4 	subject areas effectively and help low-performing students succeed; and
3.5 	(2) the principal, or other person having administrative control of the school, is 
3.6 	sufficiently autonomous and successful to be able to continuously improve rates of student 
3.7 	achievement, student attendance, student graduation, and staff retention.
3.8 	A 4R high school is encouraged to enter into a school site decision-making 
3.9 	agreement under section 123B.04 to increase the school's autonomy and student 
3.10 	performance and to offer administrative opportunities to interested licensed teachers.
3.11 	(e) A 4R high school must provide its students with:
3.12 	(1) rigorous academic courses and challenging instruction;
3.13 	(2) relevant and accelerated learning opportunities;
3.14 	(3) critical academic and workplace skills;
3.15 	(4) performance expectations and formative assessments linked to postsecondary 
3.16 	readiness standards;
3.17 	(5) ongoing support for college and career readiness; and
3.18 	(6) opportunities to participate in online learning courses where appropriate.
3.19 	(f) A 4R high school must develop and implement a data system for school 
3.20 	improvement that uses formative and summative assessments to at least:
3.21 	(1) monitor student progress through established curriculum and against state and 
3.22 	local standards;
3.23 	(2) identify the needs and challenges of specific classes, grades, and demographic 
3.24 	groups of students;
3.25 	(3) provide instruction that meets students' identified needs;
3.26 	(4) identify exemplary faculty members to share instructional plans and strategies 
3.27 	that may help support individual teachers;
3.28 	(5) analyze disaggregated student assessment data for purposes of making 
3.29 	comparisons, planning instruction, and monitoring student progress;
3.30 	(6) determine whether or not the students are completing the course credit 
3.31 	requirements they need to graduate on time; and 
3.32 	(7) develop goals and benchmarks for school improvement planning.
3.33 	(g) A 4R high school must use student progress data to identify those students who 
3.34 	are not completing the course credit requirements they need to graduate on time, and 
3.35 	provide the educational support to enable those students to graduate on time.
4.1 		Subd. 3.4R high school aid. (a) A 4R high school aid program is established to 
4.2 	help public high schools meet expectations and realize opportunities for world-class, 21st 
4.3 	century high schools, consistent with subdivisions 1 and 2.
4.4 	(b) Interested public high schools must submit an application to the commissioner, 
4.5 	in the form and manner the commissioner determines, that demonstrates the applicant's 
4.6 	ability to meet the requirements of this section. A high school that does not enroll students 
4.7 	in grade 9 may submit a joint application with one or more junior high schools located 
4.8 	in the high school attendance area. The commissioner must approve or disapprove the 
4.9 	application based on the requirements under subdivision 2.
4.10 	(c) For fiscal year 2008, the 4R high school aid for a school district, intermediate 
4.11 	school district, charter school, or cooperative equals the product of $68 times the number 
4.12 	of pupils in grades 9 through 12 enrolled on October 1 of the previous school year in 
4.13 	schools with an approved application under paragraph (b). For fiscal years 2009 and 
4.14 	later, the 4R high school aid for a school district, intermediate school district, charter 
4.15 	school, or cooperative equals the product of $200 times the number of pupils in grades 9 
4.16 	through 12 enrolled on October 1 of the previous school year in schools with an approved 
4.17 	application under paragraph (b).
4.18 	(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (c), the aid for an eligible charter school in its first 
4.19 	year of operation must be computed using the number of pupils in grades 9 through 12 
4.20 	enrolled on October 1 of the current school year in a school with an approved application 
4.21 	under paragraph (b).
4.22 	(e) Aid recipients must periodically report to the commissioner on their efforts 
4.23 	under this section.
4.24 	(f) Aid recipients must not expend more than five percent of the 4R high school aid 
4.25 	they receive each year for administrative costs under this section.

4.26 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2007-2008 school year 
4.27 	and later. The requirement to complete one full year of dual-credit secondary and 
4.28 	postsecondary academic or career and technical courses or programs applies to students in 
4.29 	the 2014-2015 graduating class and later.

4.30 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATIONS.
 4.31 		Subdivision 1.Department. The sums indicated in this section are appropriated 
4.32 	from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years designated.
4.33 		Subd. 2.4R high schools. For 4R high school aid under Minnesota Statutes, 
4.34 	section 120B.0245:

5.1		$
	19,147,000
	.....
	2008
	
5.2		$
	55,927,000
	.....
	2009