HF 2065

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; creating a Native Language
Eminence Credentialing Task Force.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin EMINENCE CREDENTIALING.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Goal. new text end

new text begin It is the goal of the state to
support the teaching and revitalization of the Dakota and
Anishinaabe languages, which are contingent to the geographical
area included in the state of Minnesota. The Native Language
Eminence Credentialing Task Force is created to achieve this
goal.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Membership. new text end

new text begin The Native Language Eminence
Credentialing Task Force consists of the following members:
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new text begin (1) the commissioner of education;
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new text begin (2) one member appointed by each federally recognized
Indian tribe in the state;
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new text begin (3) one member appointed by each institution of higher
education organized by any federally recognized Indian tribe in
the state;
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new text begin (4) one member representing the University of Minnesota
Department of American Indian Studies appointed by the
university provost;
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new text begin (5) the chair of the state Indian Affairs Council;
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new text begin (6) four members of the legislature: two members appointed
under the rules of the senate and two members appointed under
the rules of the house of representatives; and
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new text begin (7) three native speakers of the Anishinaabe language and
three native speakers of the Dakota language, all appointed by
the Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Administration. new text end

new text begin (a) The Native Language
Eminence Credentialing Task Force is governed by Minnesota
Statutes, section 15.059.
new text end

new text begin (b) The task force shall elect a chair from its
membership. The commissioner of education shall provide staff
and administrative support for the task force.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Duties. new text end

new text begin The task force shall review and
recommend changes to the eminence credentials for teachers of
the Dakota and Anishinaabe languages in order to increase the
number of fluent "fist speakers" who can teach the language and
the number of teachers of the Dakota and Anishinaabe languages
by considering and addressing the following:
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new text begin (1) consistency of evaluation of the level of fluency;
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new text begin (2) means of evaluating skills in speaking the languages
and teaching of the languages;
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new text begin (3) means of evaluating level of fluency by oral
examination;
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new text begin (4) a rating system that will include separate ratings for
fluency of the spoken languages and writing and reading skills
in the languages, and specifying which dialect of the
Anishinaabe and Dakota languages is being spoken;
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new text begin (5) a strategy for letters of support that acknowledges
tribal law and sovereignty and that honors the knowledge of
fluent speakers in the Anishinaabe and Dakota languages;
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new text begin (6) a strategy to ensure accessible testing of language
fluency, including speaking, reading, and writing; and
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new text begin (7) establishment of an appropriate fee for administering
the fluency tests.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin The task force shall submit a report to
the legislature by January 15, 2006, to fulfill the duties of
the task force.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Expiration. new text end

new text begin The task force expires upon
submission of the report on January 15, 2006.
new text end