1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; amending state graduation 
  1.3             requirements; amending graduation rules; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 120A.41; and 
  1.5             120B.03, subdivision 2, and by adding subdivisions; 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 120B.02; 
  1.7             and 120B.30, subdivision 1; repealing Minnesota 
  1.8             Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03, subdivisions 1 and 3; 
  1.9             and 120B.04; Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0330, subpart 
  1.10            7, item B; 3501.0370, subparts 1, 2, and 4; 3501.0420, 
  1.11            subparts 1, item D, and 4; and 3501.0430. 
  1.12  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.13     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120A.41, is 
  1.14  amended to read: 
  1.15     120A.41 [LENGTH OF SCHOOL YEAR; DAYS OF INSTRUCTION.] 
  1.16     A school board's annual school calendar must include at 
  1.17  least three additional days of student instruction staff 
  1.18  development training related to implementing the profile of 
  1.19  learning beyond the number of days of student instruction the 
  1.20  board formally adopted as its school calendar at the beginning 
  1.21  of the 1996-1997 school year.  This section expires on July 1, 
  1.22  2001.  
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.24  120B.02, is amended to read: 
  1.25     120B.02 [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE; BASIC SKILLS 
  1.26  REQUIREMENTS; PROFILE OF LEARNING.] 
  1.27     (a) The legislature is committed to establishing a 
  1.28  rigorous, results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's 
  2.1   public school students.  To that end, the commissioner shall use 
  2.2   its rulemaking authority under section 127A.05, subdivision 4, 
  2.3   to adopt a statewide, results-oriented graduation rule to be 
  2.4   implemented starting with students beginning ninth grade in the 
  2.5   1996-1997 school year.  The commissioner shall not prescribe in 
  2.6   rule or otherwise the delivery system or form of instruction 
  2.7   that local sites must use to meet the requirements contained in 
  2.8   this rule. 
  2.9      (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the 
  2.10  commissioner shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  2.11  students.  The standards must contain the foundational skills in 
  2.12  the three core curricular areas of reading, writing, and 
  2.13  mathematics while meeting requirements for high school 
  2.14  graduation.  The standards must also provide an opportunity for 
  2.15  students to excel by meeting higher academic standards through a 
  2.16  profile of learning that uses curricular requirements to allow 
  2.17  students to expand their knowledge and skills beyond the 
  2.18  foundational skills.  All commissioner actions regarding the 
  2.19  rule must be premised on the following:  
  2.20     (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  2.21  students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.22     (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.23  consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  2.24     (3) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  2.25  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  2.26  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  2.27  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  2.28  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  2.29  understandable. 
  2.30     (c) For purposes of adopting the rule, the commissioner, in 
  2.31  consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  2.32  experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  2.33  educators, using the most current version of professional 
  2.34  standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  2.35  alternative approaches to assessment.  
  2.36     (d) The content of the graduation rule must differentiate 
  3.1   between minimum competencies reflected in the basic requirements 
  3.2   assessment and rigorous profile of learning standards.  When 
  3.3   fully implemented, the requirements for high school graduation 
  3.4   in Minnesota must include both basic requirements and the 
  3.5   required profile of learning.  The profile of learning must 
  3.6   measure student performance using performance-based assessments 
  3.7   compiled over time that integrate higher academic standards, 
  3.8   higher order thinking skills, and application of knowledge from 
  3.9   a variety of content areas.  The profile of learning shall 
  3.10  include a broad range of academic experience and accomplishment 
  3.11  necessary to achieve the goal of preparing students to function 
  3.12  effectively as purposeful thinkers, effective communicators, 
  3.13  self-directed learners, productive group participants, and 
  3.14  responsible citizens.  The commissioner shall develop and 
  3.15  disseminate designate to school districts a uniform method 
  3.16  software packages for reporting student performance on the 
  3.17  profile of learning.  The commissioner shall ensure that the 
  3.18  recordkeeping software is capable of transferring student 
  3.19  records between schools and school districts.  The profile of 
  3.20  learning shall contain the following learning areas: 
  3.21     (1) read, listen, and view; 
  3.22     (2) write and speak; 
  3.23     (3) mathematical concepts and applications; 
  3.24     (4) scientific concepts and applications; 
  3.25     (5) social studies; 
  3.26     (6) arts and literature; 
  3.27     (7) inquiry and research; 
  3.28     (8) physical education and lifetime fitness; 
  3.29     (9) economics and business; and 
  3.30     (10) world languages. 
  3.31     (e) The commissioner shall periodically review and report 
  3.32  on the assessment process and student achievement with the 
  3.33  expectation of raising the standards and expanding high school 
  3.34  graduation requirements. 
  3.35     (f) The commissioner shall report in writing to the 
  3.36  legislature annually by January 15 on its progress in developing 
  4.1   and implementing the graduation requirements according to the 
  4.2   requirements of this subdivision and section 120B.10 until such 
  4.3   time as all the graduation requirements are 
  4.4   implemented Beginning August 15, 2000, the commissioner shall 
  4.5   make available to the public, including in electronic format for 
  4.6   the Internet, a report of the content standards required at each 
  4.7   school site, the required content standards for graduation for 
  4.8   each school site, and number of individual student waivers 
  4.9   approved by the district according to section 120B.03, 
  4.10  subdivision 4, paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), based on 
  4.11  information provided by each district. 
  4.12     (g) Districts shall not be required to adopt specific 
  4.13  provisions of any federal education program, including the Goals 
  4.14  2000 program and federal School-to-Work. 
  4.15     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  4.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  4.17     Subd. 1a.  [SCHOOL SITE DETERMINATION OF REQUIRED CONTENT 
  4.18  STANDARDS.] (a) Notwithstanding any rule or law to the contrary, 
  4.19  by July 15 of each year, each school district shall notify the 
  4.20  commissioner of the content standards required at each site as 
  4.21  determined in paragraphs (b) and (c). 
  4.22     (b) Each public high school site, by a majority vote of the 
  4.23  licensed teachers and administrators at the site and by a 
  4.24  majority vote of the school board, or for a charter school by a 
  4.25  majority vote of the licensed teachers and administrators and 
  4.26  with approval of the school's sponsor, shall determine the 
  4.27  number of content standards that the site has determined it is 
  4.28  ready to make required for students for graduation. 
  4.29     (c) Each school site educating students in any grades 
  4.30  kindergarten through grade 8, by a majority vote of the licensed 
  4.31  teachers and administrators at the site and by a majority vote 
  4.32  of the school board, or for a charter school by a majority vote 
  4.33  of the licensed teachers and administrators and with approval of 
  4.34  the school's sponsor, shall determine the number of content 
  4.35  standards that the site has determined it is ready to make 
  4.36  required for students at the preparatory levels. 
  5.1      (d) If the board and a site are not able to reach an 
  5.2   agreement on the required content standards for students as 
  5.3   determined in paragraph (b) or (c), students at the site shall 
  5.4   be required to complete the content standards as required by 
  5.5   state law and rules. 
  5.6      (e) Along with the reporting requirement in paragraph (a), 
  5.7   a district shall report to the commissioner the time frame that 
  5.8   each site will follow to meet the number of content standards 
  5.9   required of students according to state law and rules. 
  5.10     (f) Each district shall continue to fully implement the 
  5.11  profile of learning as required by all applicable laws and rules 
  5.12  and must continue to provide learning opportunities for all 
  5.13  students in all preparatory and all high school content 
  5.14  standards. 
  5.15     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  5.16  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  5.17     Subd. 1b.  [TRANSCRIPT DATA.] For the 1998-1999 school year 
  5.18  and later, a student's transcript shall account for work done in 
  5.19  each of the content standards, including content standards that 
  5.20  are not fully implemented in the district.  For high school 
  5.21  content standards completed before the 2000-2001 school year, a 
  5.22  student may request that the transcript show a score of 
  5.23  "complete" or "incomplete" instead of the numeric score recorded 
  5.24  in an earlier school year. 
  5.25     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, 
  5.26  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  5.27     Subd. 2.  [PERFORMANCE PACKAGES ASSESSMENTS.] Teachers are 
  5.28  not required to use a state model performance package.  Teachers 
  5.29  are encouraged to develop and use a performance package that 
  5.30  equals or exceeds the difficulty of the state model performance 
  5.31  package Districts shall choose the methods used to assess 
  5.32  student achievement of a content standard.  The performance 
  5.33  assessment method selected by the district must have a scoring 
  5.34  system that is comparable to state assessments.  A district may 
  5.35  use more than one assessment to meet the requirements of a 
  5.36  content standard.  The commissioner shall not mandate in rule or 
  6.1   otherwise the assessments that local sites must use to meet the 
  6.2   requirements contained in this section. 
  6.3      Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  6.4   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.5      Subd. 4.  [RIGOROUS COURSE OF STUDY; WAIVER.] (a) With the 
  6.6   recommendation of the student's teacher or college instructor, 
  6.7   and upon the application of a student, with the approval of the 
  6.8   student's parent or guardian, a school district may determine 
  6.9   that a content standard has been fulfilled when a school board 
  6.10  determines that: 
  6.11     (1) the student is participating in a course of study as 
  6.12  rigorous or more rigorous than required by the site or the state 
  6.13  graduation rule; and 
  6.14     (2) achieving the content standard to be waived would have 
  6.15  the effect of precluding the student's opportunity to 
  6.16  participate in the rigorous course of study. 
  6.17     (b) A board may waive any content standard for a student or 
  6.18  group of students who entered ninth grade prior to the 2000-2001 
  6.19  school year when the board determines that the standard could 
  6.20  not have been met due to graduation standards implementation 
  6.21  circumstances beyond the control of the student.  
  6.22     (c) A board may waive any content standard for a student 
  6.23  who transfers from outside the district into the district, or 
  6.24  who transfers between school sites within the district, when the 
  6.25  board determines that the requirements from the previous site 
  6.26  that the student attended are different than those at the site 
  6.27  to which the student is transferring and that the student will 
  6.28  not have an opportunity to fulfill the requirements of the site 
  6.29  to which the student is transferring. 
  6.30     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  6.31  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.32     Subd. 5.  [COMPLETION OF A CONTENT STANDARD.] Districts may 
  6.33  establish more than one content standard in a single course.  
  6.34  Districts may develop a system allowing students to meet a 
  6.35  content standard through different subject areas.  Districts may 
  6.36  determine at what grade levels a content standard may be 
  7.1   completed. 
  7.2      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  7.3   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  7.4      Subd. 6.  [RECORDS.] A district shall maintain records of 
  7.5   the following at each site to be submitted for audit at the 
  7.6   request of the commissioner: 
  7.7      (1) examples of local assessments used to assess student 
  7.8   completion of a content standard; 
  7.9      (2) aggregate data on student completion of each high 
  7.10  school content standard; 
  7.11     (3) aggregate data on each year's high school graduates, 
  7.12  including the number of high school content standards completed, 
  7.13  and the number of each score earned on each standard; 
  7.14     (4) examples of some student work in each of the high 
  7.15  school content standards; and 
  7.16     (5) number of available standards, number of required 
  7.17  standards, and the number of standards completed by students. 
  7.18     Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  7.19  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  7.20     Subd. 7.  [SCORING.] Students participating in group 
  7.21  projects shall be scored individually based on their 
  7.22  contribution to the project.  The grade level of a student shall 
  7.23  not prohibit a student from receiving a state exemplar score 
  7.24  upon completion of a content standard.  Teachers may assign a 
  7.25  score of "0" to student work on an assessment. 
  7.26     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  7.27  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  7.28     Subd. 8.  [HIGH STANDARDS TOOL LIBRARY.] (a) The 
  7.29  commissioner shall maintain a high standards tool library that 
  7.30  will offer, to teachers in each of the content standards at all 
  7.31  grade levels, examples of assessment tools to assess students' 
  7.32  achievement of standards, examples of lesson plans, best 
  7.33  practices methods, research on proven methods, and examples of 
  7.34  exemplar work aligned to the content standards. 
  7.35     (b) By June 30, 2000, the commissioner shall have 
  7.36  established a variety of tools described in paragraph (a).  The 
  8.1   tool library must be interactive and allow for teachers to 
  8.2   submit a variety of tools.  In addition to commissioner-approved 
  8.3   tools, the commissioner shall reserve a portion of the tool 
  8.4   library for tools submitted by teachers that have not been 
  8.5   reviewed by the commissioner. 
  8.6      Sec. 11.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 120B.03, is 
  8.7   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  8.8      Subd. 9.  [EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION PANEL.] The 
  8.9   commissioner shall establish an academic panel to examine, 
  8.10  evaluate, and sustain the rigor of the content standards 
  8.11  contained in the Minnesota graduation rule.  The commissioner 
  8.12  shall consider regional representation when selecting members 
  8.13  for the panel.  The panel shall be composed of: 
  8.14     (1) two teachers selected by education Minnesota, one of 
  8.15  which shall have been a teacher of the year, and one with 
  8.16  national board certification; 
  8.17     (2) deans of the colleges of education from the University 
  8.18  of Minnesota, a Minnesota state college, and a Minnesota private 
  8.19  college; 
  8.20     (3) a director of curriculum and instruction; and 
  8.21     (4) an assessment practitioner.  
  8.22     In the process of examining, evaluating, and sustaining the 
  8.23  rigor of the state standards, the panel shall consult with 
  8.24  recognized national and international education experts on 
  8.25  academic standards.  The panel shall receive and analyze the 
  8.26  report from the external review of the profile of learning 
  8.27  standards, procedures, and assessments now underway through a 
  8.28  contract with the department of children, families, and 
  8.29  learning.  The panel will make recommendations for refining the 
  8.30  profile of learning by December 15, 2000, to the education 
  8.31  committees of the legislature and the commissioner.  Beginning 
  8.32  July 1, 2001, and on every even-numbered year thereafter, the 
  8.33  panel shall submit its evaluation of the rigor of the state 
  8.34  standards and make recommendations to the commissioner and to 
  8.35  the education committees of the legislature. 
  8.36     Sec. 12.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  9.1   120B.30, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  9.2      Subdivision 1.  [STATEWIDE TESTING.] (a) The commissioner, 
  9.3   with advice from experts with appropriate technical 
  9.4   qualifications and experience and stakeholders, shall include in 
  9.5   the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be 
  9.6   tested, a single statewide norm-referenced or 
  9.7   criterion-referenced test, or a combination of a norm-referenced 
  9.8   and a criterion-referenced test, which shall be highly 
  9.9   correlated with the state's graduation standards and 
  9.10  administered annually to all students in the third, fifth, and 
  9.11  eighth grades.  The commissioner shall establish one or more 
  9.12  months during which schools shall administer the tests to 
  9.13  students each school year.  Only Minnesota basic skills tests in 
  9.14  reading, mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' 
  9.15  testing requirements for a passing state 
  9.16  notation.  Notwithstanding Minnesota Rules, part 3501.0050, 
  9.17  subpart 2, at the written request of a parent or guardian, and 
  9.18  with the recommendation of the student's teacher, a district may 
  9.19  offer the test of basic requirements in reading, math, or 
  9.20  writing to an individual student beginning in grade 5.  The 
  9.21  student must take the same test on the same date as administered 
  9.22  to students in eighth grade or higher.  
  9.23     Third and fifth grade test results shall be available to 
  9.24  districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and 
  9.25  district instruction and curriculum, and for establishing 
  9.26  educational accountability.  The commissioner shall disseminate 
  9.27  to the public the third and fifth grade test results upon 
  9.28  receiving those results. 
  9.29     (b) In addition, at the secondary level, districts shall 
  9.30  assess student performance in all required learning areas and 
  9.31  selected required standards within each area of the profile of 
  9.32  learning.  The testing instruments and testing process shall be 
  9.33  determined by the commissioner.  The results shall be aggregated 
  9.34  at the site and district level.  The testing shall be 
  9.35  administered beginning in the 1999-2000 school year and 
  9.36  thereafter. 
 10.1      (c) The comprehensive assessment system shall include an 
 10.2   evaluation of school site and school district performance levels 
 10.3   during the 1997-1998 school year and thereafter using an 
 10.4   established performance baseline developed from students' test 
 10.5   scores under this section that records, at a minimum, students' 
 10.6   unweighted mean test scores in each tested subject, a second 
 10.7   performance baseline that reports, at a minimum, the same 
 10.8   unweighted mean test scores of only those students enrolled in 
 10.9   the school by January 1 of the previous school year, and a third 
 10.10  performance baseline that reports the same unweighted test 
 10.11  scores of all students except those students receiving limited 
 10.12  English proficiency instruction.  The evaluation also shall 
 10.13  record separately, in proximity to the performance baselines, 
 10.14  the percentages of students who are eligible to receive a free 
 10.15  or reduced price school meal, demonstrate limited English 
 10.16  proficiency, or are eligible to receive special education 
 10.17  services. 
 10.18     (d) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements 
 10.19  under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), the commissioner shall 
 10.20  include the following components in the statewide educational 
 10.21  accountability and public reporting system: 
 10.22     (1) uniform statewide testing of all third, fifth, eighth, 
 10.23  and post-eighth grade students with exemptions, only with parent 
 10.24  or guardian approval, from the testing requirement only for 
 10.25  those very few students for whom the student's individual 
 10.26  education plan team under sections 125A.05 and 125A.06, 
 10.27  determines that the student is incapable of taking a statewide 
 10.28  test, or a limited English proficiency student under section 
 10.29  124D.59, subdivision 2, if the student has been in the United 
 10.30  States for fewer than 12 months and for whom special language 
 10.31  barriers exist, such as the student's native language does not 
 10.32  have a written form or the district does not have access to 
 10.33  appropriate interpreter services for the student's native 
 10.34  language; 
 10.35     (2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and 
 10.36  compared across school districts and across time on a statewide 
 11.1   basis; 
 11.2      (3) students' scores on the American College Test; 
 11.3      (4) participation in the National Assessment of Educational 
 11.4   Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against 
 11.5   the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other 
 11.6   countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor 
 11.7   achievement; and 
 11.8      (5) basic skills and advanced competencies connecting 
 11.9   teaching and learning to high academic standards, assessment, 
 11.10  and transitions to citizenship and employment. 
 11.11     (e) Districts must report exemptions under paragraph (d), 
 11.12  clause (1), to the commissioner consistent with a format 
 11.13  provided by the commissioner. 
 11.14     Sec. 13.  [THREE-DAY BEST PRACTICES SEMINARS.] 
 11.15     The commissioner of children, families, and learning, in 
 11.16  consultation with education Minnesota, shall provide voluntary 
 11.17  three-day best practices seminars during the summer of 2000.  
 11.18  The seminars shall provide intensive professional development 
 11.19  for public school teachers on best practices associated with the 
 11.20  content standards contained in the Minnesota graduation rule. 
 11.21     Sec. 14.  [BEST PRACTICES NETWORK.] 
 11.22     By June 30, 2000, the commissioner of children, families, 
 11.23  and learning shall establish a best practices network for each 
 11.24  of the learning areas of the Minnesota graduation standards. 
 11.25     Sec. 15.  [GRADUATION RULE AMENDMENTS.] 
 11.26     Beginning no later than July 1, 2000, the commissioner 
 11.27  shall amend Minnesota Rules, chapter 3501, for state graduation 
 11.28  requirements using the expedited process under Minnesota 
 11.29  Statutes 1998, section 14.389.  In addition to technical 
 11.30  changes, corrections, clarifications, and similarly needed 
 11.31  revisions, the commissioner shall amend Minnesota Rules, part 
 11.32  3501.0370, subpart 3, to add to the scoring criteria the option 
 11.33  of a score of "0" for student work on an assessment or standard. 
 11.34     Sec. 16.  [REPEALER.] 
 11.35     Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 120B.03, subdivisions 1 
 11.36  and 3; and 120B.04, are repealed. 
 12.1      Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0330, subpart 7, item B; 
 12.2   3501.0370, subparts 1, 2, and 4; and 3501.0420, subpart 1, item 
 12.3   D, are repealed. 
 12.4      Minnesota Rules, parts 3501.0420, subpart 4; and 3501.0430, 
 12.5   are repealed. 
 12.6      Sec. 17.  [EFFECTIVE DATES.] 
 12.7      Section 1 is effective July 1, 2000.  Sections 2 to 16 are 
 12.8   effective the day following final enactment.