HF 3313

2nd Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 05/24/2016 03:22pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; creating a Student Discipline Working Group to review the
substance, application, and effect of Minnesota's Pupil Fair Dismissal Act and
make recommendations to the legislature.

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

Section 1. new text begin STUDENT DISCIPLINE WORKING GROUP.
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new text begin (a) A Student Discipline Working Group is created to review the substance,
application, and effect of Minnesota's Pupil Fair Dismissal Act under Minnesota Statutes,
sections 121A.40 to 121A.56, and related student discipline provisions in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 121A, and submit written recommendations to the legislature by
February 1, 2017, on improving disciplinary policies, practices, and procedures as they
affect students and school officials and the effects on student outcomes.
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new text begin (b) Consistent with paragraph (a), the working group must analyze:
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new text begin (1) available summary data on elementary and secondary students' removal from
class, suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, and other disciplinary measures, disaggregated
by categories of race, ethnicity, poverty, disabilities, homelessness, English language
proficiency, gender, age, and foster care status;
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new text begin (2) the meaning and effect of "willful" in establishing grounds for dismissal under
Minnesota Statutes, section 121A.45;
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new text begin (3) the impact of positive behavioral interventions and supports and restorative
practices on student behavior, student outcomes, and the school climate, including student
engagement and connection, among other school climate measures;
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new text begin (4) due process rights of students facing dismissal, including changes needed to
ensure students' due process rights are fully observed and protected;
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new text begin (5) students' need for and access to professional support service providers such
as school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, and mental health
professionals;
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new text begin (6) the presence of school resource officers in school buildings, their role in affecting
student discipline, and their impact on teacher safety and student outcomes;
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new text begin (7) policies for retaining and destroying student disciplinary data; and
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new text begin (8) other related school discipline matters that are of concern to working group
members.
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new text begin (c) By June 1, 2016, the executive director of each of the following organizations
shall appoint one representative to serve as a member of the working group: the Minnesota
School Boards Association; the Minnesota Association of School Administrators;
Education Minnesota; the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training; the
Minnesota Disability Law Center; the National Alliance of Mental Illness Minnesota;
the Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER) Center; the Minnesota
Association of Secondary School Principals; the Minnesota Elementary School Principals'
Association; the Association of Metropolitan School Districts; the Minnesota Rural
Education Association; the Minnesota School Counselors Association; the Minnesota
School Psychologists Association; the School Nurse Organization of Minnesota; the St.
Paul Special Education Advisory Council; the Solutions Not Suspensions Coalition;
the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership; MinnCAN; Students for Education
Reform; the Minnesota Youth Council; Educators 4 Excellence; the African American
Leadership Forum; American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center; the Minnesota
Association of Charter School Authorizers; the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council; and the
Minnesota School Social Workers Association. Six legislators shall be appointed by June
1, 2016, and serve as members of the working group: three duly elected and currently
serving senators, two appointed by the senate majority leader and one appointed by the
senate minority leader; and three duly elected and currently serving members of the house
of representatives, two appointed by the speaker of the house and one appointed by the
house minority leader. Only duly elected and currently serving members of the senate or
house of representatives may be working group members. If a vacancy occurs, the leader
of the caucus in the senate or house of representatives to which the vacating member
belonged must fill the vacancy. Working group members must seek advice from experts
and stakeholders in developing their recommendations.
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new text begin (d) The commissioner of education, or the commissioner's designee, must convene
the first meeting of the working group. The working group must select a chair or cochairs
from among its members at the first meeting. The working group must meet periodically.
The commissioner must provide technical and administrative assistance to the working
group upon request. Working group members are not eligible to receive expenses or per
diem payments for serving on the working group.
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new text begin (e) The working group expires February 2, 2017.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
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