1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to military affairs; encouraging school counselors to receive training in 
1.3 	armed forces career options; encouraging school counselors to inform students of 
1.4 	armed forces career options; encouraging school districts to grant military recruiters 
1.5 	access to secondary students;amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 121A.39; 
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 120B.125; 122A.187, subdivision 
1.7 	3.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 120B.125, is amended to read:
1.10 	120B.125 PLANNING FOR STUDENTS' SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO 
1.11 	POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT; PERSONAL LEARNING 
1.12 	PLANS.
1.13 	(a) Consistent with sections 120B.13, 120B.131, 120B.132, 120B.14, 120B.15, 120B.30, 
1.14 	subdivision 1, paragraph (c), 125A.08, and other related sections, school districts, beginning 
1.15 	in the 2013-2014 school year, must assist all students by no later than grade 9 to explore 
1.16 	their educational, college, and career interests, aptitudes, and aspirations and develop a plan 
1.17 	for a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary education or employment. All 
1.18 	students' plans must:
1.19 	(1) provide a comprehensive plan to prepare for and complete a career and college ready 
1.20 	curriculum by meeting state and local academic standards and developing career and 
1.21 	employment-related skills such as team work, collaboration, creativity, communication, 
1.22 	critical thinking, and good work habits;
1.23 	(2) emphasize academic rigor and high expectations and inform the student, and the 
1.24 	student's parent or guardian if the student is a minor, of the student's achievement level 
2.1 	score on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments that are administered during high 
2.2 	school;
2.3 	(3) help students identify interests, aptitudes, aspirations, and personal learning styles 
2.4 	that may affect their career and college ready goals and postsecondary education and 
2.5 	employment choices;
2.6 	(4) set appropriate career and college ready goals with timelines that identify effective 
2.7 	means for achieving those goals;
2.8 	(5) help students access education and career options, including armed forces career 
2.9 	options;
2.10 	(6) integrate strong academic content into career-focused courses and applied and 
2.11 	experiential learning opportunities and integrate relevant career-focused courses and applied 
2.12 	and experiential learning opportunities into strong academic content;
2.13 	(7) help identify and access appropriate counseling and other supports and assistance 
2.14 	that enable students to complete required coursework, prepare for postsecondary education 
2.15 	and careers, and obtain information about postsecondary education costs and eligibility for 
2.16 	financial aid and scholarship;
2.17 	(8) help identify collaborative partnerships among prekindergarten through grade 12 
2.18 	schools, postsecondary institutions, economic development agencies, and local and regional 
2.19 	employers that support students' transition to postsecondary education and employment and 
2.20 	provide students with applied and experiential learning opportunities; and
2.21 	(9) be reviewed and revised at least annually by the student, the student's parent or 
2.22 	guardian, and the school or district to ensure that the student's course-taking schedule keeps 
2.23 	the student making adequate progress to meet state and local academic standards and high 
2.24 	school graduation requirements and with a reasonable chance to succeed with employment 
2.25 	or postsecondary education without the need to first complete remedial course work.
2.26 	(b) A school district may develop grade-level curricula or provide instruction that 
2.27 	introduces students to various careers, but must not require any curriculum, instruction, or 
2.28 	employment-related activity that obligates an elementary or secondary student to involuntarily 
2.29 	select or pursue a career, career interest, employment goals, or related job training.
2.30 	(c) Educators must possess the knowledge and skills to effectively teach all English 
2.31 	learners in their classrooms. School districts must provide appropriate curriculum, targeted 
2.32 	materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and sufficient resources 
2.33 	to enable English learners to become career and college ready.
3.1 	(d) When assisting students in developing a plan for a smooth and successful transition 
3.2 	to postsecondary education and employment, districts must recognize the unique possibilities 
3.3 	of each student and ensure that the contents of each student's plan reflect the student's unique 
3.4 	talents, skills, and abilities as the student grows, develops, and learns.
3.5 	(e) If a student with a disability has an individualized education program (IEP) or 
3.6 	standardized written plan that meets the plan components of this section, the IEP satisfies 
3.7 	the requirement and no additional transition plan is needed.
3.8 	(f) Students who do not meet or exceed Minnesota academic standards, as measured by 
3.9 	the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments that are administered during high school, shall 
3.10 	be informed that admission to a public school is free and available to any resident under 21 
3.11 	years of age or who meets the requirements of section 120A.20, subdivision 1, paragraph 
3.12 	(c). A student's plan under this section shall continue while the student is enrolled.
3.13 	(g) A school district must provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school 
3.14 	students as the district provides to institutions of higher education or to prospective employers 
3.15 	of students.
3.16 	(h) School districts are encouraged to sponsor an armed forces career opportunity day 
3.17 	each school year prior to the third Thursday of November. A school district that sponsors 
3.18 	an armed forces career opportunity day shall extend invitations to recruiters from each 
3.19 	branch of the United States armed forces and allow the recruiters to make presentations to 
3.20 	all interested secondary school students.

3.21 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 121A.39, is amended to read:
3.22 	121A.39 SCHOOL COUNSELORS.
3.23 	(a) A school district is strongly encouraged to have an adequate student-to-counselor 
3.24 	ratio for its students beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.
3.25 	(b) A school counselor shall assist a student in meeting the requirements for high school 
3.26 	graduation, college and career exploration, and selection, college affordability planning, 
3.27 	and successful transitions into postsecondary education or training. As part of college and 
3.28 	career exploration, a counselor is encouraged to present and explain the career opportunities 
3.29 	and benefits offered by the United States armed forces and share information provided to 
3.30 	the counselor by armed forces recruiters. In discussing military service with a student or a 
3.31 	student's parent, a school counselor is encouraged to provide the student or parent information 
3.32 	concerning the military enlistment test.

4.1 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.187, subdivision 3, is amended 
4.2 	to read:
4.3 		Subd. 3.Professional growth. (a) Applicants for license renewal for a Tier 3 or Tier 4 
4.4 	license under sections 122A.183 and 122A.184, respectively, who have been employed as 
4.5 	a teacher during the renewal period of the expiring license, as a condition of license renewal, 
4.6 	must present to their local continuing education and relicensure committee or other local 
4.7 	relicensure committee evidence of work that demonstrates professional reflection and growth 
4.8 	in best teaching practices, including among other things, cultural competence in accordance 
4.9 	with section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph (q), and practices in meeting the varied 
4.10 	needs of English learners, from young children to adults under section 124D.59, subdivisions 
4.11 	2 and 2a. A teacher may satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by submitting the teacher's 
4.12 	most recent summative evaluation or improvement plan under section 122A.40, subdivision 
4.13 	8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5. Counselors, school social workers, and teachers who do not 
4.14 	provide direct instruction but who provide academic, college, and career planning and 
4.15 	support to students, may satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by submitting evidence 
4.16 	of training on armed forces career options.
4.17 	(b) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must ensure that its teacher 
4.18 	relicensing requirements include paragraph (a).