Legislative Session number- 85

Bill Name: SF2095

3E Relating to education;

ARTICLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION

Modifying certain
school district levy recognition, general education revenue formula, learning
year program calendar options, area learning center (ALC) service requirements,
operating capital levy and aid, transportation sparsity revenue allowance,
equity revenue, district equity gap and index, equity levy and aid, transition
revenue, equity allowance, levy and aid, basic alternative teacher compensation
aid, alternative teacher compensation levy and aid, general education aid;
permitting district and charter school grade level acceleration instructional
programming; requiring charter schools and area learning centers to inform
students and parents of learning year option; requiring a consolidated tax rate
establishment and permitting district consolidated levy, limit; reducing general
education aid to cooperative member school districts failing to meet federal
special education maintenance of effort; authorizing safe schools levy for
intermediate school district member districts; charter school payments and
certain abatement and aid adjustments; requiring certain county auditor reports
to the commissioner of education; limiting new alternative compensation school
districts by the department of education; providing consolidated levy adjustment
school district eligibility; modifying the education improvement account;
specifying independent school district #801, Browns Valley, pupil units;
providing declining pupil unit aid for independent school districts #801, Browns
Valley #38, Red Lake; requiring a school finance study; authorizing independent
school districts #316, Greenway and #93, Carlton to levy for retired employee
health benefits; appropriating money to the department of education for general
education aid, referendum tax base replacement aid, enrollment options
transportation, abatement revenue, consolidation transition, nonpublic pupil
education aid and transportation, independent school district #690, Warroad,
Angle Inlet school, compensatory revenue pilot project, consolidated levy
adjustment, independent school districts #801, Browns Valley and #38, Red Lake
and for an education finance study; providing a revisor of statutes instruction;
repealing specific enrollment options in nonresident districts, operating
capital levy and aid, regional equity gap, equity region, levy and aid,
transition levy and aid, basic alternative teacher compensation aid and
alternative teacher compensation levy and aid

ARTICLE 2 - EDUCATION
EXCELLENCE

Requiring charter and nonpublic schools to transfer student records
to student school of residence, requiring inclusion of form disciplinary actions
in records transfer; modifying graduation requirements by allowing career and
technical education courses to fulfill science, mathematics or arts credits
requirements; adding international baccalaureate (IB) programs under raised
academic achievement programs; modifying highly qualified teacher definition for
purposes of the federal no child left behind act; setting basic alternative
teacher compensation aid, an alternative teacher compensation levy and
alternative teacher compensation aid; allowing school districts to use revenue
for teacher graduate study; allowing school boards to authorize and fund school
administrator local economic development association or civic organization
memberships; modifying district superintendent test instrument use requirement;
authorizing school districts to provide transportation to certain students
attending high need English language learner programs; limiting online learning
application rejection and authorized charter schools; eliminating a charter
school formation option; clarifying charter school real property leasing
restrictions, requiring closed charter school student records transfer;
providing for after school community learning programs and the Minnesota reading
corps program; increasing the career and technical levy; authorizing certain
school districts to apply for a waiver from the requirement to maintain racial
balance (diversity); requiring the commissioner of education to establish
American Indian (native American) scholarship award distribution procedures;
requiring parent and family involvement policy school board adoption and early
intervention for adequate yearly progress; modifying certain no child left
behind review reporting requirements and conditions for continued implementation
of the no child left behind act without interruption by commissioner of
education; providing for a Mandarin Chinese pilot program; appropriating money
to the department of education for charter school building lease and start up
aid, integration aid, magnet school grants, interdistrict desegregation or
integration transportation grants, American Indian (native Americans) success
for the future, scholarships, teacher preparation grants, tribal contract school
and early childhood programs at tribal schools, the statewide testing and
reporting system, examination fees, teacher training and support programs, first
grade preparedness, the youth works program, student organizations, the
educational planning and assessment system (EPAS) program, the college level
examination program (CLEP), best practices, the Mandarin Chinese program, the
Minnesota reading corps program, collaborative urban educator recruitment and
training programs, alternative teacher compensation aid, professional teaching
standards, statewide science, technology, engineering and math initiative, St.
Croix river education district, after school community learning grants and Libre
Academy Sober school; providing a revisor of statutes instruction; repealing
licensure exemption for limited English proficiency (LEP) or English as a second
language teachers

ARTICLE 3 - SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Modifying transportation aid
entitlement; changing the term base revenue to initial aid and removing a
commissioner of education option to adjust base revenue to reflect certain
expenditures; modifying definitions under access to transition system for
children with disabilities; making optional the nonpublic school pupils limited
English proficiency (LEP) program offering at public or nonpublic schools;
requiring equalization aid attributable to a student to be included in the
nonresident tuition rate determination for nonresident special instruction
students; authorizing districts to provide extended school year services to
certain children with disabilities; requiring state travel aid payment for
community based services to children with disabilities; clarifying program aid
and approval eligibility; requiring school district annual special education
litigation costs reporting; modifying special education base revenue, state
total special education, school district special education, initial excess cost
and state total special education excess cost aids and out of state tuition;
including equalization aid in the alternative attendance program general and
special education aids determination; setting current special education aid,
excess cost aid and transition for disabled students and transition program
disabled revenue entitlement; restricting application for an extension of the
uniform special education tuition billing calculations exemption; appropriating
money to the department of education regular special education, aid for children
with disabilities, travel for home based services, special education excess
costs, transition for disabled students, court placed special education revenue
and special education out of state tuition; repealing coordinating interagency
services, special education summer school, adjusted transition disable base
revenue, state total transition program disabled revenue, school district
transition disabled revenue and aid and adjusted special education base
revenue

ARTICLE 4 - FACILITIES AND TECHNOLOGY

"Cooperative Facilities Grant
Act"; renaming the cooperative secondary facilities grant act the cooperative
facilities grant act; expanding eligibility for the program; increasing the cap
for grants; appropriating money to the commissioner of education for grants and
authorizing the issuance of state bonds for the cooperative facilities grant
program; modifying the definition of eligible debt service revenue; modifying
debt service appropriation, health and safety revenue, energy conservation
measures information under review and comment for school district construction
requirements and the ice arena levy; limiting school district capital project
levies time duration; requiring school district review and comment information
to include energy conservation measures; extending the general obligation bond
sunset for special school district #1, Minneapolis; excluding certain school
district levies included in the debt service levy from tax exemption treatment
under job opportunity building zone (JOBZ) property treatment; requiring school
districts to certify to county auditors district proposed property tax levy;
authorizing and providing for independent school district #625, St. Paul, with
voter approval to issue general obligation bonds to provide funding for the
acquisition or betterment of school facilities, requiring tax levy for debt
service; authorizing an exception to the building lease levy requirements for
independent school district #16, Spring Lake Park for administrative purposes;
authorizing independent school district #2311, Clearbrook-Gonvick to use health
and safety revenue to demolish the Gonvick school building; authorizing
independent school district #463, Eden Valley Watkins to levy for the costs of
environmental remediation loan, to receive environmental remediation loan
revenue and requiring department reduction of district general education aid;
appropriating money to the department of education for health and safety
revenue, debt service equalization, alternative facilities bonding aid, deferred
maintenance aid, equity in telecommunications access, security reimbursement
aid, Eden Valley-Watkins loan and Rocori school district

ARTICLE 5 - NUTRITION
AND ACCOUNTING

Modifying certain reporting requirements; requiring school
districts to eliminate certain reserve account established in district general
funds prior to a certain date; increasing school lunch aid computation;
requiring the commissioner of education to do a study on the true cost of
operating a school district in different regions and to make school district
formula adjustments for adjusted net tax capacity, equalizing factors, tax rates
and maximum effort exceptions; authorizing certain fund transfers for
independent school districts #181, Brainerd, #852, Campbell-Tintah, #81,
Comfrey, #698 Floodwood, #361, International Falls, #2895, Jackson County
Central, #2884, Red Rock Central and #177, Windom and #738, Holdingford;
appropriating money to the department of education for school lunch aid,
traditional school breakfast and kindergarten milk and summer school food
service replacement aid; repealing structurally balanced school district
budgets

ARTICLE 6 - LIBRARIES

Appropriating money to the department of
education for basic system support, multicounty, multitype library systems,
electronic library for Minnesota and regional library telecommunications
aid

ARTICLE 7 - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Specifying a head start allocation
full use deadline; requiring school districts to inform parents of the right to
decline early childhood developmental screening under condition of signed
parental statement; increasing early childhood developmental screening aid;
allowing nonresident participation in early childhood family education (ECFE)
programs, adding parenting skills and certain structured learning activities to
curriculum, requiring biennial plan and annual data submission and prohibiting
districts from certifying ECFE levies without biennial plan and annual data
submission; increasing school district revenue for ECFE programs; permitting
ECFE revenue use for equipment purchasing and ECFE levy eligible districts with
collaborative agreements to levy for home visiting; requiring school readiness
programs to include learning experiences for children and families promoting
early literacy skills; appropriating money to the department of education for
school readiness, ECFE aid, health and developmental screening aid, head start
program, educate parents partnership and kindergarten readiness assessment
initiative and intervention program

ARTICLE 8 - PREVENTION

Appropriating
money to the department of education for community education aid, adults with
disabilities program aid, hearing impaired adults and school age care
aid

ARTICLE 9 - SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND LIFELONG LEARNING

Modifying the adult
basic education program aid limit; increasing the general education development
(GED) test fee; appropriating money to the department of education for adult
basic education aid, GED tests and adult literacy grants for recent immigrants,
to the department of health for lead hazard reduction; repealing the adult basic
education guarantee

ARTICLE 10 - STATE AGENCIES

Requiring the commissioner of
education to submit an annual report to the legislature on district special
education cross subsidies; modifying marriage license application depository
requirements; authorizing commissioner of education career and technical
education and statewide graduation tests rulemaking; providing for a certain
state employee compensation increase; appropriating money to the department of
education, the Minnesota state academies for the deaf and blind and the Perpich
center for arts education

ARTICLE 11 - EDUCATION FORECAST ADJUSTMENTS

A.
GENERAL EDUCATION; modifying funding for general education, enrollment options
transportation, abatement revenue, consolidation transition, nonpublic pupil
education aid and transportation

B. EDUCATION EXCELLENCE; modifying funding for
charter school building lease and startup aid, integration aid, interdistrict
desegregation or integration transportation grants and tribal contract
schools

C. SPECIAL EDUCATION; modifying funding for aid for children with
disabilities and travel for home based services

D. FACILITIES; modifying
funding for health and safety revenue and debt service equalization

E.
NUTRITION; modifying funding for traditional school breakfast and kindergarten
milk

F. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION; modifying funding for school readiness,
early childhood family education (ECFE) aid, health and developmental screening
aid, early childhood Part C

G. PREVENTION; modifying funding for community
education aid and school age care revenue

H. SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND LIFELONG
LEARNING; modifying funding for adult basic education aid

ARTICLE 12 -
TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

Making technical and conforming amendments
to statutory provisions relating to education and libraries; repealing secondary
vocational cooperative revenue eligibility
(rt)