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HF 2291

1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Bill Text Versions

Engrossments
Introduction Posted on 03/21/2007
1st Engrossment Posted on 04/30/2008

Current Version - 1st Engrossment

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A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying provisions governing appeals of graduation test
scores; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 120B.36, as amended.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 120B.36, as amended by Laws 2007
chapter 14, article 2, section 11, is amended to read:


120B.36 SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY; APPEALS PROCESS.

Subdivision 1.

School performance report cards.

(a) The commissioner shall use
objective criteria based on levels of student performance to report at least student academic
performance, school safety, two separate student-to-teacher ratios that clearly indicate
the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and 122A.15 for purposes of
determining these ratios, and staff characteristics, with a value-added component added no
later than the 2008-2009 school year. The report must indicate a school's adequate yearly
progress status, and must not set any designations applicable to high- and low-performing
schools due solely to adequate yearly progress status.

(b) The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department
Web site school performance report cards.

(c) The commissioner must make available the first performance report cards by
November 2003, and during the beginning of each school year thereafter.

(d) A school or district may appeal its adequate yearly progressnew text begin or othernew text end statusnew text begin
determination
new text end in writing to the commissioner within 30 days of receiving the notice of its
statusdeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin determination. The commissioner must give the affected school or school district
notice and the opportunity for a hearing before an appeals advisory committee within 30
days after the commissioner receives the written appeal. The commissioner must notify
the school or district of the date, time, and place of the hearing at least 21 days before
the hearing date. Within 30 days after the hearing, the appeals advisory committee must
submit a written recommendation to the commissioner regarding whether to grant or
deny the appeal and include the reasons for its recommendation. The commissioner must
finally decide an appeal based on an objective evaluation and must make and transmit to
the school or district the commissioner's evaluation and final decision within 15 days of
receiving the advisory committee recommendation. The commissioner, after consulting
with the appeals advisory committee, may postpone the hearing date under special
circumstances. The appeals advisory committee is composed of five members:
new text end

new text begin (1) a representative of a statewide professional teachers organization selected by the
organization;
new text end

new text begin (2) a representative of a statewide organization of school administrators selected
by the organization;
new text end

new text begin (3) a representative of a statewide parent and teachers organization selected by the
organization;
new text end

new text begin (4) a representative of a statewide commerce organization having a significant
interest in kindergarten through grade 12 education selected by the organization; and
new text end

new text begin (5) a representative of a statewide school boards association selected by the
organization.
new text end

new text begin Membership terms and removal of members are governed by section 15.059, except
that the terms are three years. The commissioner may reimburse members for expenses
under section 15.059 only if federal funding is available for this purpose. The appeals
advisory committee does not expire.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner must seek the advice of the appeals advisory committee before
deciding an appeal.
new text end The commissioner's decision to uphold or deny an appeal is final.

(e) School performance report cards data are nonpublic data under section 13.02,
subdivision 9
, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in
paragraph (d) concludes. The department shall annually post school performance report
cards to its public Web site no later than September 1.

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin GRAD test appeals. new text end

new text begin (a) Consistent with this subdivision, the
commissioner must collaborate with high school teachers, high school administrators,
parents of high school students, school district assessment directors, higher education
faculty with expertise in kindergarten through grade 12 education and assessment, and
other interested experts and stakeholders to establish a timely, transparent, and data-based
appeals process that allows school districts, at their discretion, to grant a diploma to high
school seniors in the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011 school years who do not
receive a passing score on the state reading or mathematics GRAD test.
new text end

new text begin (b) A high school student in the 2008-2009, 2009-2010, or 2010-2011 school
year who does not receive a passing score on the state reading or mathematics GRAD
test by April of the student's senior year may appeal to the chief administrator of the
high school where the student is enrolled, in the form and manner the commissioner
determines, requesting that the school district grant the student a high school diploma
without passing the reading or mathematics GRAD test. The high school administrator,
in collaboration with teachers and other school staff selected by the administrator,
must formally decide whether or not to grant the student a high school diploma based
on multiple, well-understood measures of student learning that measurement experts
have determined to be valid and reliable and that are available to the educators deciding
whether or not to grant the student's request. School district officials must use the data
that form the bases of the student appeals under this subdivision, where appropriate, to
revise district curriculum to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to learn and
provide appropriate academic intervention and remediation to students who fail to pass the
state's reading or mathematics GRAD test.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner must evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the appeals
process and recommend to the legislature by February 1, 2011, whether or not to continue
the appeals process under this subdivision. If the commissioner recommends continuing
this process, the commissioner also must recommend student performance levels for the
state reading and mathematics GRAD tests and the appropriate indicators for school
districts to consider in deciding whether or not to grant a diploma to high school seniors
who do not receive a passing score on the state reading or mathematics GRAD test.
new text end

Subd. 2.

Adequate yearly progress data.

All data the department receives, collects,
or creates for purposes of determining adequate yearly progress designations under
Public Law 107-110, section 1116, are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision
9
, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in subdivision 1,
paragraph (d), concludes. Districts must provide parents sufficiently detailed summary
data to permit parents to appeal under Public Law 107-110, section 1116(b)(2). The
department shall annually post adequate yearly progress data to its public Web site no
later than September 1.

Sec. 2. new text begin DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REPORT.
new text end

new text begin The Department of Education must submit a report to the education committees
of the legislature by January 15, 2009, analyzing existing stand-alone school district
reporting requirements and recommend the elimination of any district reports that are
duplicative of other data already collected by the department.
new text end