HF 999

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; eliminating the profile of 
  1.3             learning requirement of the graduation rule; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 121.11, subdivision 
  1.5             7c, as amended; and 121.1115, subdivision 2. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 121.11, 
  1.8   subdivision 7c, as amended in Laws 1997, chapter 1, section 1, 
  1.9   is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 7c.  [RESULTS-ORIENTED GRADUATION RULE.] (a) The 
  1.11  legislature is committed to establishing a rigorous, 
  1.12  results-oriented graduation rule for Minnesota's public school 
  1.13  students.  To that end, the state board shall use its rulemaking 
  1.14  authority under subdivision 7b to adopt a statewide, 
  1.15  results-oriented graduation rule to be implemented starting with 
  1.16  students beginning ninth grade in the 1996-1997 school year.  
  1.17  The board shall not prescribe in rule or otherwise the delivery 
  1.18  system or form of instruction that local sites must use to meet 
  1.19  the requirements contained in this rule. 
  1.20     (b) To successfully accomplish paragraph (a), the state 
  1.21  board shall set in rule high academic standards for all 
  1.22  students.  The standards must contain the foundational skills in 
  1.23  the three core curricular areas of reading, writing, and 
  1.24  mathematics while meeting requirements for high school 
  1.25  graduation.  The standards must also provide an opportunity for 
  2.1   students to excel by meeting higher academic standards through a 
  2.2   profile of learning that uses curricular requirements to allow 
  2.3   students to expand their knowledge and skills beyond the 
  2.4   foundational skills.  All state board actions regarding the rule 
  2.5   must be premised on the following:  
  2.6      (1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for 
  2.7   students, teachers, and schools; 
  2.8      (2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence 
  2.9   consideration of school district autonomy; and 
  2.10     (3) (2) the department of children, families, and learning, 
  2.11  with the assistance of school districts, must make available 
  2.12  information about all state initiatives related to the rule to 
  2.13  students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a 
  2.14  timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily 
  2.15  understandable. 
  2.16     (c) For purposes of adopting the rule, the state board, in 
  2.17  consultation with the department, recognized psychometric 
  2.18  experts in assessment, and other interested and knowledgeable 
  2.19  educators, using the most current version of professional 
  2.20  standards for educational testing, shall evaluate the 
  2.21  alternative approaches to assessment.  
  2.22     (d) The content of the graduation rule must differentiate 
  2.23  between minimum competencies reflected in the basic requirements 
  2.24  assessment and rigorous profile of learning standards.  When 
  2.25  fully implemented, the requirements for high school graduation 
  2.26  in Minnesota must include both basic requirements and the 
  2.27  required profile of learning.  The profile of learning must 
  2.28  measure student performance using performance-based assessments 
  2.29  compiled over time that integrate higher academic standards, 
  2.30  higher order thinking skills, and application of knowledge from 
  2.31  a variety of content areas.  The profile of learning shall 
  2.32  include a broad range of academic experience and accomplishment 
  2.33  necessary to achieve the goal of preparing students to function 
  2.34  effectively as purposeful thinkers, effective communicators, 
  2.35  self-directed learners, productive group participants, and 
  2.36  responsible citizens. 
  3.1      (e) The state board shall periodically review and report on 
  3.2   the assessment process and student achievement with the 
  3.3   expectation of raising the standards and expanding high school 
  3.4   graduation requirements. 
  3.5      (f) (e) The state board shall report in writing to the 
  3.6   legislature annually by January 15 on its progress in developing 
  3.7   and implementing the graduation requirements according to the 
  3.8   requirements of this subdivision and section 123.97 until such 
  3.9   time as all the graduation requirements are implemented. 
  3.10     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 121.1115, 
  3.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 2.  [STATISTICAL ADJUSTMENTS.] In developing policies 
  3.13  and assessment processes to hold schools and school districts 
  3.14  accountable for high levels of academic standards, including the 
  3.15  profile of learning, the commissioner shall aggregate student 
  3.16  data over time to report student performance levels measured at 
  3.17  the school district, regional, or statewide level.  When 
  3.18  collecting and reporting the data, the commissioner shall:  (1) 
  3.19  acknowledge the impact of significant demographic factors such 
  3.20  as residential instability, the number of single parent 
  3.21  families, parents' level of education, and parents' income level 
  3.22  on school outcomes; and (2) organize and report the data so that 
  3.23  state and local policymakers can understand the educational 
  3.24  implications of changes in districts' demographic profiles over 
  3.25  time.  Any report the commissioner disseminates containing 
  3.26  summary data on student performance must integrate student 
  3.27  performance and the demographic factors that strongly correlate 
  3.28  with that performance.