Relating to education

ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION

Modifying permanent school fund reporting requirements; allowing certain
cooperating school districts and school districts with agreements to commence before Labor Day; setting the maximum and the alternative method for the referendum allowance for certain reorganized school districts; authorizing school boards to form a business entity for the sole purpose of producing and operating a wind energy conversion system for the benefit of the district; modifying certain dates for audited financial data conversion by commissioner of education; changing the date for the commissioner to notify the legislature of school districts failing to limit expenditures and in statutory operating debt; excluding compensatory revenue from the referendum equalization aid calculation for students serviced by cooperative units without a fiscal agent school district; updating a reference to foreign exchange pupils registered with the office of secretary of state for recognition as a resident pupil; providing sparsity revenue eligibility for school districts closing facilities; modifying the alternative teacher compensation aid calculation; requiring compensatory revenue generated by students at cooperative to be paid to the cooperative unit; requiring separate account maintenance for cooperative units in receipt of basic skills revenue; making board referendums optional and removing voter petition; modifying the school district definition for lease purchase; expanding district levy authority for retired employee health benefits; modifying a safe schools levy staffing minimum requirement; modifying the area learning center resident district tuition calculation; eliminating the authority of a municipality to issue bonds for funding actuarial liabilities to pay for postemployment benefits to employees or officers after termination of service; providing St. Louis county, independent school district #2142 with sparsity revenue eligibility; reducing the state total general education aid by a certain amount and requiring allocation among school districts and charter schools in proportion to general education revenue for fiscal year 2008 and requiring commissioner to offset the onetime reduction with an equal amount of federal aid; creating the fiscal stabilization account in the state treasury federal fund; requiring equalizing factor adjustments and providing a formula; appropriating money to the department of education for general education aid, enrollment options transportation, abatement revenue, consolidation transition, nonpublic pupil education aid and transportation, one-room schoolhouse, independent school districts #239, Rushford-Peterson and #356, Lancaster and for the compensatory revenue pilot project program; appropriating money from federal funds for the general education offset

ARTICLE 2 - EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

Authorizing a parent or guardian to allow an individual to participate in school conferences and receive student data, providing a consent form; allowing school attendance excuse notes from physicians (MD) or licensed mental health professional (psychologist) for compulsory school attendance legitimate exemptions, adding an attendance exemption for mental health ongoing treatment or diagnosis; modifying certain educational expectations for high school graduation, requiring students to successfully pass state graduation exams; allowing public, charter and private (nonpublic) schools to award Minnesota world language proficiency certificates or Minnesota world language proficiency high achievement certificates; removing the deadline for mathematics state academic standards alignment; removing certain information requirements for state reporting; establishing and providing for state measures for student achievement and growth, making conforming amendments; modifying the statewide testing and reporting system and educational accountability and public reporting requirements; clarifying the definition of comprehensive, scientifically based reading instruction; modifying board of teaching appointment and vacant position eligibility; modifying teacher initial licensure requirements; specifying teacher relicensure requirements, modifying the peer review for probationary teachers process to include mentors or community participation and the peer review for continuing contract teachers to include peer coaches, modifying the educational improvement plan by adding certain research and practice-based requirements, requiring commissioner of education to establish alternative teacher professional pay system application submission deadlines, providing alternative compensation rural district application assistance, specifying additional staff development program plan requirements; authorizing school districts to establish alternative learning programs under certain conditions; permitting school districts to pay for the costs of conducting criminal background checks for employees, contractors and volunteers; authorizing school boards to create site-governed schools; striking certain obsolete and unneeded mandates relating to commissioner contract duties; providing a process for the temporary closing of a schoolhouse or facility; defining online course syllabus; clarifying and modifying requirements for supplemental and full-time online learning providers (online learning option act); specifying and modifying online learning provider requirements; modifying online learning parameters; extending the sunset for the online learning advisory council; modifying charter school provisions by modifying purposes, charter school advisory council membership, qualifications, duties and sponsors; excluding nonpublic sectarian or religious institutions from the charitable organization definition; requiring prospective sponsor application to commissioner of education for approval and specifying approval requirement; requiring separate affidavit filing for each separate charter school; allowing sponsors to prevent school openings; specifying charter school board requirements; providing for commissioner review and comment; modifying conflict of interest, conversion of existing schools, charter contract, audit report, statutes and rules exemption, admission requirements, employment and operating matters, annual public reports, sponsor fees, leased space, leave to teach in a charter school, causes for nonrenewal or termination of charter school contract, related party lease costs, legal authority extent and charter schools aids payment; establishing a Minnesota reading corps program to provide Americorps members with a data-based problem-solving model of literacy instruction used in helping to train local Head Start program providers, other prekindergarten program providers and staff in schools with students in K-3 to evaluate and teach early literacy skills to children age 3 to grade 3; modifying the graduation incentives program participation eligibility; reorganizing early childhood family education (ECFE) revenue as a grant program for federally recognized tribes; directing schools on use of integration revenue, setting budget deadlines, requiring board plan approval and implementing innovative strategies; defining a project-based instructional program; establishing and providing for the Minnesota P-20 education partnership, prescribing powers and duties and specifying permanency; clarifying applicable conditions for deployed national guard and teacher reserve members to receive a pay differential; requiring commissioner to convene groups for the development of a model projecting anticipated performance of each high school on preparation and rigorous coursework measures for school comparison purposes and for implementing measures for assessing school safety and students' engagement and connection at school, specifying certain membership requirements and duties; requiring a college and career-readiness workgroup on a comprehensive high school assessment and accountability system aligning college and career readiness to evaluate and make certain recommendations; requiring the commissioner to make a legislative report on integration revenue district use and need; authorizing school districts and charter schools to use reserved staff development revenue for general education revenue; establishing and providing for the innovative school advisory council; specifying certain duties of the board and commissioner relating to adopting an assessment for reading instruction; appropriating money to the department of education for charter school building lease and startup aid, integration aid, magnet school grants, interdistrict desegregation or integration transportation grants, native American success for the future, American Indian teacher preparation grants, tribal contract schools, early childhood programs at tribal schools, statewide testing and reporting system, examination fees and teacher training and support programs, concurrent enrollment programs, collaborative urban educator, youth works program, student organizations, education planning and assessment system (EPAS) program, early childhood literacy programs and math and science teacher centers; repealing the value-added assessment program, commissioner uniform forms for state examinations, requirements for assessment professionals centers, schools mentoring schools regional sites, and administrator's academy

ARTICLE 3 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Redefining pupil; clarifying the days of suspension to be school days and
eliminating certain duties of an individual education program (IEP) team;
clarifying exclusion and expulsion procedures for pupils with a disability for
federal law conformity purposes; clarifying source of school reimbursement
revenue for interpreters or transliterators; defining child with disability; requiring federal and state special education law conformance for evaluating children to determine disability; requiring commissioner of education to adopt new rules; requiring school districts to have individualized education programs (IEP) for each child with a disability at the beginning of the school year; modifying alternative dispute resolution and due process hearings; providing school standards for restrictive procedures for children with disabilities, requiring restrictive procedures plan maintenance for public viewing and specifying minimum contents, defining terms, specifying limitations, prohibitions, staff training, records and a behavior supports requirement; modifying requirements for temporary placement and transportation of students in another district; extending the state interagency coordinating council expiration date; specifying certain district notification requirements and resident district participation requirements in the placement decision for students with a disability; modifying assistive technology device definition by excluding surgically implanted medical devices and replacements; modifying certain deaf and hard of hearing resource center advisory committee provisions; increasing the fiscal year cap on administrative costs for the department of human services to administer individual education plan health-related services; modifying the definition of essential personnel to exclude administrators and supervisors; appropriating money to the department of education for regular special education aid, aid for children with disabilities, teacher travel for home-based services, special education excess cost aid, court-placed special education revenue and special education out-of-state tuition; repealing method of special instruction, aversive and deprivation procedure definitions and rules and certain agency rules

ARTICLE 4 - FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY

Modifying debt service appropriations; removing commissioner of education approval and review and comment requirements for health and safety program revenue, five-year facility plan revenue and bond and levy authorization; prohibiting commissioner of education from issuing unfavorable review and comment for school facilities based on proposed school site acreage, authorizing school boards to decide to renovate an existing school or to build a new school facility; modifying school district requirements for commissioner review and comment for construction, expansion and remodeling; requiring school facility construction proposals to include pedestrian, bicycle, transit and park connections; requiring school board project summary publication of commissioner review and comment; qualifying intermediate school districts and charter schools for telecommunications/internet access equity aid and specifying requirements; appropriating money to the department of education for health and safety revenue, debt service equalization, alternative facilities bonding aid, equity in telecommunications access and deferred maintenance aid

ARTICLE 5 - LIBRARIES, NUTRITION AND ACCOUNTING

Requiring school districts to publish a summary and the district official web site address; modifying dates for school district clerks to report district expenses and other financial information; allowing districts to separately maintain separation and retirement benefit account amounts necessary to meet obligations for separation and retirement benefits; clarifying certain provisions relating to debt verification, elimination and certification of debt; modifying certain library responsibilities for the blind and physically handicapped relating to the Braille and talking book library; authorizing advisory committee for the Minnesota Braille and talking book library to conduct meetings by telephone and other electronic means; adjusting regional public library system maintenance of effort provisions, limitations; authorizing certain fund transfers for independent school districts #2853, Lac qui Parle Valley, #77, Mankato, #62, Ortonville, and #282, St. Anthony-New Brighton; appropriating money to the department of education for school lunch, school breakfast, kindergarten milk, summer school food service replacement aid, for library basic system support, multicounty, multitype, library systems, electronic library for Minnesota, and regional library telecommunications aid

ARTICLE 6 - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, PREVENTION, SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND LIFELONG LEARNING

Modifying appropriation distribution of money to agencies for Head start program, program exemption; modifying early childhood programs data submission requirements; modifying certain early childhood family education (ECFE) levy requirements; creating a quality rating and improvement system to ensure children have access to high quality early learning and care programs in a range of settings to meet the needs of children and families; modifying certain school readiness program provider requirements; removing a requirement for commissioner to maintain an acceptable list of community education youth service projects, annual report requirements for community education programs; modifying the amount of an adult basic education supplemental service grant to a single organization; removing a requirement for commissioner of public safety to provide information to school and community advisory teams; requiring department of human services in conjunction with department of education to develop an early learning study; appropriating money to department of education for school readiness, ECFE aid, health and developmental screening aid, Head Start program, educate parents partnership, kindergarten entrance assessment initiative and intervention program, prekindergarten finance allowances, community education aid, adults with disabilities program aid, hearing-impaired adults programs, school-age care revenue, adult basic education aid and GED tests; repealing the school and community advisory team

ARTICLE 7 - STATE AGENCIES

Authorizing commissioner of education to apply for and receive grants and gifts administered by state and nongovernmental agencies, specifying certain grants and gifts use requirements and reporting requirements; appropriating money to the department of education for the Minnesota children's museum, the Minnesota academy of science, the board of teaching, board of school administrators, for a hearing loss intervention coordinator and work languages coordinator, the Duluth children's museum, to the board of teaching for licensure by portfolio, to the Minnesota state academies for the deaf and the blind and to the Perpich center for arts education

ARTICLE 8 - PUPIL TRANSPORTATION

Defining multifunction school activity buses and modifying the type C school bus definition; requiring school bus seats to conform to federal regulations after a certain date; regulating tailpipe extension; increasing the weight of school bus type A-1 or multifunction school activity buses without a school bus endorsement and specifying maximum passenger number; requiring school districts, nonpublic schools or private contractors to provide school bus driver in-service training annually and requiring driver license verification by schools and contractors with the national driver register or department of public safety

ARTICLE 9 - FORECAST ADJUSTMENTS

Making changes to the fiscal year 2009 appropriations consistent with the February forecast; adjusting certain prior appropriations for general education including general education aid, enrollment options transportation, abatement revenue, consolidation transition, nonpublic education aid and nonpublic pupil transportation, for education excellence including charter school building lease aid, charter school startup cost aid, integration aid, interdistrict desegregation or integration transportation grants and tribal contract schools, for special education including aid for children with disabilities, travel from home-based services and court-ordered special education revenue, for facilities and technology including health and safety revenue, deferred maintenance aid and school technology and operating capital aid grants, for nutrition including school lunch aid and the traditional school breakfast aid and kindergarten milk, for early childhood education aid and health and developmental screening aid, for prevention including community education aid and adults with disabilities program aid and for self-sufficient and lifelong learning including adult basic education aid

ARTICLE 10 - TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

Making technical corrections to compulsory instruction education records and to general education revenue equity supplemental revenue
(Ch. 96, 2009)