1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing a student services personnel team staffing 
1.3 	grant; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. TITLE.
 1.6 	This act may be cited as the "Student Services Personnel Team Assurance Act."

1.7 	Sec. 2. STUDENT SERVICES PERSONNEL TEAM STAFFING GRANTS.
 1.8 		Subdivision 1.Grant program established. A grant program is established to assist 
1.9 	school districts with caseloads above the established and recognized recommendations 
1.10 	or guidelines of the student service personnel professions in licensed school counseling, 
1.11 	school psychology, school nursing, school social work, and chemical dependency 
1.12 	counseling. Grants must be used to create or maintain student service personnel teams 
1.13 	to address the academic, career, personal, social, and early-onset mental health needs of 
1.14 	the students within that district.
1.15 		Subd. 2.Definitions. "Student services personnel team" means a licensed school 
1.16 	counselor, school psychologist, school nurse, school social worker, and chemical 
1.17 	dependency counselor licensed by the Board of Teaching to provide such services.
1.18 		Subd. 3.Application. The commissioner of education shall develop the form 
1.19 	and method for applying for the grants. The commissioner shall develop criteria for 
1.20 	determining the allocation of the grants. This criteria must include priority funding 
1.21 	directed to school districts in which student service personnel teams either (1) do not exist, 
1.22 	(2) need missing or additional positions of a specific student service personnel team to 
1.23 	complete the team, (3) are not normally funded or reimbursed by other sources, or (4) have 
2.1 	caseloads among specific team members in excess of 50 percent of the established and 
2.2 	recognized recommendations or guidelines of the profession.
2.3 		Subd. 4.Grant awards. To qualify for a grant, each student services personnel 
2.4 	team member must serve within the scope and practice of the established and recognized 
2.5 	capacity of their respective professions and as defined by the Board of Teaching. Grants 
2.6 	for the student services personnel team shall be used to lower the caseloads for specific 
2.7 	team member areas in order to more effectively provide direct services to kindergarten 
2.8 	through grade 12 students. Grant funding under this section must be matched by new 
2.9 	funding for the student services personnel team from the school district. The school 
2.10 	district must provide the additional funding for a two-year period or repay the grant to the 
2.11 	Department of Education.
2.12 		Subd. 5.Reports. School districts that receive grant funds shall report to the 
2.13 	commissioner of education no later than July 31 of each year regarding the impact of the 
2.14 	student services personnel team on the academic, career, personal, social, and early-onset 
2.15 	mental health needs of the students served by the team during the previous academic year. 
2.16 	The Department of Education shall develop the criteria necessary for the reports.

2.17 	Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION.
 2.18 		Subdivision 1.Department of Education. The sums indicated in this section are 
2.19 	appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years 
2.20 	designated.
2.21 		Subd. 2.Student services grants. For student services personnel team staffing 
2.22 	grants under section 2:

2.23		$
	20,000,000
	.....
	2014
	
2.24		$
	20,000,000
	.....
	2015
	
2.25 	Any balance in the first year does not cancel, but is available in the second year.