Modifying provisions relating to general education, education excellence,
special programs, libraries, state agencies, and self-sufficiency and lifelong
learning

ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION

Authorizing school boards to form business entities for the sole purpose of
producing and operating a wind energy conversion system for the benefit of the district; modifying dates for school district clerks to report district expenses and other financial information; modifying certain dates for audited financial data conversion by the commissioner; clarifying certain provisions relating to debt verification, elimination and certification of debt and changing the date for the commissioner to notify the legislature of school districts failing to limit expenditures and in statutory operating debt

ARTICLE 2 - EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

Designating ice hockey as the official sport of the state; authorizing a parent or guardian to allow an individual to participate in school conferences and receive student data, providing a consent form, defining individual; increasing the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18 years of age beginning in the 2011-2012 school year; modifying certain compulsory attendance requirements for children under seven; modifying reporting requirements for home school parents instructing children between the
ages of seven and 16; modifying certain educational expectations for high school graduation, requiring students to successfully pass state graduation exams; adding physical education as a required academic standard and graduation requirement, permitting a waiver; aligning the timelines for the revised math standards and state academic standards in science and language arts with the statewide assessments; modifying certain statewide testing and reporting system provisions, requiring schools selected for stand alone state field testing or other national sampling by the department to participate as requested, requiring schools and school districts to administer statewide assessments for evaluating proficiency in the context of the state grade level academic standards; expecting students to be present and participate in school safety drills; requiring school districts to post the school wellness policy on the district Web site; clarifying board of teaching composition requirements; requiring the board of teaching to require teacher preparation programs to include historical and cultural competencies relating to state American Indian tribes, communities and contributions; requiring universities preparing candidates for administrative licensure to provide opportunities for the candidates to acquire competency in administering gifted and talented services, specifying certain board of school administrators review and approval requirements; specifying board of teaching review and approval requirements for gifted and talented preparation programs; requiring the administrators
academy to provide opportunities to school administrators to acquire competency in administering gifted and talented services; allowing a school district to hold a hearing and invite public comment when proposed to temporarily close a school or to lease the school to another entity to be used as a school for a certain period of time; requiring a postsecondary institution enrolling a secondary student in a course through the post secondary enrollment options program for postsecondary credit to notify the student about payment; modifying the online learning program (online learning option act) school district reporting requirements and review criteria; specifying certain online learning provider course and clarifying online learning standards; extending the sunset for the online learning advisory council and the charter school advisory council; modifying certain charter school formation requirements; imposing state aid reductions for certain conflict of interest violations for charter schools; modifying charter school contract requirements; modifying charter school audit report content requirements; modifying charter school exemptions from statutes
and rules and specifying certain federal, state and local health and safety
requirements; modifying the time period for a teacher employed by a school
district to request a leave or extension of leave to teach at a charter school;
modifying certain termination of charter school contract requirements;
clarifying charter school related party lease cost requirements and defining
certain terms; updating the eligibility for the building lease levy for desegregation districts; establishing a P-20 (P20) education partnership to create a seamless system of education to maximize student achievements from early childhood through postsecondary education and promotes the efficient use of financial and human resources, specifying certain powers and duties, requiring annual report to the legislature; modifying the
definition of habitual truant; encouraging school districts experiencing
disparities in academic achievement among groups of students defined by race, ethnicity and income to develop a plan to significantly improve academic achievement using concrete measures to eliminate differences in academic performance, specifying certain plan content requirements, requiring plan submittal to the commissioner by a certain date, creating an advisory task force on improving students academic achievement to review plans submitted to the commissioner and submit a proposal for improving student academic achievement to the legislature by a certain date, sunset provision; establishing an advisory task force on improving teacher quality and identifying institutional structures and strategies for effectively integrating secondary and postsecondary academic and career education, requiring a report to the legislature, sunset provision; providing for the retroactive revival and reenactment of the charter school advisory council; repealing certain compulsory education requirements

ARTICLE 3 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Extending the time for school district notification to parents of enrollment of a child in the limited English proficiency (LEP) program; specifying
notification responsibilities for special instruction and services for a child
placed in another district for a day care and treatment program, requiring a
nonresident district to notify the resident district of an emergency placement of a child without disabilities within a certain number of days, authorizing a resident district to establish certain reasonable restrictions on transportation subject to a court or agency order; eliminating the fiscal year cap on administrative costs for the department of human services to administer individual education plan health-related services; repealing certain provisions relating to aversive and deprivation procedures, placing special education students in a state institution on a temporary basis, tuition billing requirements for nonresident students, transportation aid agreements, the definition of assistive technology device and certain rulemaking authority

ARTICLE 4 - LIBRARIES

Modifying certain department of education library responsibilities for the blind and physically handicapped relating to the Braille and talking book library; authorizing the advisory committee for the Minnesota Braille and talking book library to conduct meetings by telephone and other electronic means under certain conditions

ARTICLE 5 - STATE AGENCIES

Requiring the commissioner of education to create an American Indian education committee to advise the commissioner on administering certain programs, specifying certain duties and membership requirements, prohibiting committee member expense reimbursement, sunset provision

ARTICLE 6 - SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND LIFELONG LEARNING

Requiring school districts offering community education programs to complete and file an annual program report to the department; modifying certain grant limitation requirements to a single organization for adult basic education supplemental service grants
(rt)