1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for residential 
  1.3             academies; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [RESIDENTIAL ACADEMIES PROGRAM.] 
  1.6      (a) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  1.7   may award grants to public or private organizations or a 
  1.8   collaboration of organizations for start-up costs for 
  1.9   residential academies for students in grades 7 to 12 who express 
  1.10  a desire to attend a residential academy, have demonstrated an 
  1.11  interest in academic achievement and a likelihood of academic 
  1.12  success, and who: 
  1.13     (1) perform or are at risk of performing below the academic 
  1.14  performance level for pupils of the same age; 
  1.15     (2) are at least one year behind in satisfactorily 
  1.16  completing coursework or obtaining credits for graduation; or 
  1.17     (3) have experienced homelessness or an unstable home 
  1.18  environment. 
  1.19     (b) The residential academy must provide a secondary 
  1.20  education program for the resident students to: 
  1.21     (1) increase school attendance; 
  1.22     (2) increase academic achievement; 
  1.23     (3) enable the students to earn a high school diploma; and 
  1.24     (4) improve transition to post-secondary education. 
  2.1      The academy may collaborate with a school district or 
  2.2   charter school to provide the secondary education program. 
  2.3      (c) The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
  2.4   shall prescribe the form and manner of applications.  The 
  2.5   commissioner shall consider the academy's location, 
  2.6   collaborative effort among various organizations, family and 
  2.7   community involvement, provision of social services, 
  2.8   after-school enrichment, and provision of instruction throughout 
  2.9   the entire year in awarding grants.  The commissioner shall 
  2.10  evaluate the residential academies' program and report to the 
  2.11  education committees of the legislature by February 15, 2000. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.13     $12,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 1999 from the 
  2.14  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  2.15  learning for the purposes of section 1.  Of this amount, up to 
  2.16  $75,000 is for the commissioner to evaluate and report on the 
  2.17  residential academies program and up to $25,000 is for the 
  2.18  administration of the program.