Legislative Session number- 85

Bill Name: SF1306

Relating to education; expanding the required academic standards to include a
world language; requiring school districts to implement world language
graduation requirements for students graduating in the 2014-2015 school year or
later; modifying elective standards; modifying benchmarks and graduation
requirements; requiring the board of teaching to review and approve qualified
alternative preparation programs leading to licensure as a world language
teacher; establishing an advisory task force on developing students world
language proficiency to consider and recommend to the legislature a process for
designing and implementing a comprehensive statewide program to ensure a high
level of world language proficiency, sunset; establishing a pilot program to
develop and implement Mandarin Chinese programs and to enhance existing
successful Mandarin Chinese programs for school districts, specifying certain
application requirements, specifying certain duties of the commissioner of
education relating to application review, grant awards and evaluation; requiring
the commissioner, in consultation with postsecondary institutions and the state
board of school administrators, to develop and implement week long intensive
training session for public school district administrators; requiring the
Minnesota office of higher education to make recommendations to the legislature
on developing and implementing world language initiatives in postsecondary
settings; requiring the commissioner of education to establish within the
department full time language and international education positions; requiring
the commissioner to develop and recommend to the legislature by a certain date
the standards and process for awarding bilingual and multilingual certificates;
requiring the commissioner to establish a Mandarin Chinese information and
resource center; appropriating money to the commissioner of education for the
pilot program developing and expanding Mandarin Chinese program, school
administrators training, department world language positions, Mandarin Chinese
information and resource center, alternative teacher preparation scholarships,
programs for world language teachers, teacher training, lending library,
Mandarin Chinese leadership team, grants to develop innovative materials, public
relations, Minnesota state colleges and universities for world language teacher
preparation grants and Minnesota office of higher education for certain
scholarships
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