SF 1143

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

A bill for an act
relating to education finance; creating a unified technology funding stream;
developing a school district technology plan; establishing a task force;
authorizing technology grants; appropriating money.

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

Section 1. TECHNOLOGY GRANTS; TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.

Subdivision 1.

Task force established.

A school technology task force is
established.

Subd. 2.

Task force goals.

The goals of the school technology task force include:

(1) developing minimum standards for technology infrastructure and capacity;

(2) creating standards for local and state online student assessments;

(3) creating standards for electronic student records;

(4) developing school interoperability frameworks;

(5) developing policies and procedures that ensure instructional resource availability
to help students successfully achieve education excellence and state standards;

(6) developing databases that are accessible to and within each district and on the
Internet;

(7) developing policies, procedures, and systems that stimulate and promote teacher
and student curriculum and learning collaboration;

(8) developing uniform technology standards;

(9) establishing adequate Internet and bandwidth capacity; and

(10) analyzing the Department of Education's data collection procedures under each
of the department's major data reporting systems, and developing recommendations for
streamlining the reporting of school district data and eliminating duplication.

Subd. 3.

Task force members.

The commissioner of education shall appoint the
members of the task force from each of the following:

(1) one member from the Department of Education who shall serve as chair;

(2) one member from the Office of Enterprise Technology;

(3) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by Education Minnesota;

(4) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the Minnesota School Boards Association;

(5) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the Association of Metropolitan School Districts;

(6) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the Minnesota Rural Education Association;

(7) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the Schools for Equity in Education;

(8) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the service cooperatives;

(9) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators;

(10) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by Minnesota Educational Media Organization;

(11) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commission by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities; and

(12) one member from a list of school technology experts submitted to the
commissioner by the president of the University of Minnesota.

The commissioner of education shall provide necessary materials and assistance to
the task force.

Subd. 4.

Task force recommendations.

The task force must submit a report to the
education committees of the legislature by January 15, 2008, describing the minimum
technology standards that it has established. The commissioner of education must use
these recommendations and standards when awarding grants under section 2.

Subd. 5.

Expiration.

This section expires after the submission of the report
required in subdivision 4.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 2. SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.

Subdivision 1.

Establishment; eligibility.

A school technology grant program
is established to assist school districts, consortiums of school districts, and charter
schools to achieve the technology standards established under section 1. School districts,
consortium of districts, and charter schools eligible to participate under this section must
submit to the commissioner an approved district technology plan that describes how the
district, consortium of districts, or charter school will meet the goals and standards of the
task force. The commissioner shall develop a competitive grant process to determine
recipients. Districts, consortiums of districts, and charter schools must propose how the
grant funds will be used to support the goals described in section 1, subdivision 2, to
achieve the following components in rank order by:

(1) obtaining minimum statewide standards of technology infrastructure and
capacity;

(2) incorporating student technology content standards within the district curriculum
and the professional development necessary for effective instruction of those standards;

(3) developing data-driven decision-making models in the classroom, school, and
district; and

(4) developing innovation in student learning and teacher professional development.

Subd. 2.

Application and review process; funding priority.

A district,
consortium of districts, or a charter school eligible under subdivision 1 may apply to the
commissioner, in the form and manner the commissioner determines, for competitive
funding to achieve technology standards set by the commissioner. The application must
identify, through a commonly used technology audit process that determines the district's,
consortium of districts', or charter school's current technology capabilities, the disparity
between the district's, consortium of districts', or charter school's current technology
infrastructure and capacity and the minimum statewide standards that are established by
the commissioner. The application must detail the specific efforts the applicant intends
to undertake to achieve the components, consistent with subdivision 1, and a proposed
budget detailing the district's, consortium of districts', or charter school's current and
proposed expenditures. The proposed budget must demonstrate that the applicant's
efforts will support the components in subdivision 1 in rank order. Expenditures for
administration must not exceed five percent of the proposed budget. The commissioner
may require an applicant to provide additional information. When reviewing applications,
the commissioner must determine whether the applicant satisfied all the requirements
in this subdivision and subdivision 1. The commissioner must give first priority in
awarding grants to a district, consortium of districts, or charter schools showing the
greatest disparity between their current technology infrastructure and capabilities and
the minimum statewide technology standards. The commissioner may give subsequent
priority to an otherwise qualified applicant that demonstrates:

(1) previous attempts through district referenda or other funding mechanisms to
increase its technology infrastructure and capacity;

(2) an effective plan to focus on closing the disparity between the district's,
consortium of districts', or charter school's current technology infrastructure and
capabilities and the minimum statewide technology standards established by the
commissioner;

(3) previous efforts to participate in online field testing of statewide assessments; or

(4) an effective ability to actively involve local business and community
organizations in efforts to stimulate and promote teacher and student curriculum and
learning collaboration.

Subd. 3.

Application review; grant awards.

The commissioner shall award grants
to applicant school districts, consortiums of districts, and charter schools that meet the
requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2. The commissioner may award grants as funding
allows and, to the extent feasible, must distribute the grant awards on an equitable
geographical basis. The commissioner must base the amount of the grant award on the
number of students in the participating district or charter school. District expenditures of
the grant proceeds must be consistent with budget information the grantee periodically
submits to the commissioner. School districts, consortiums of school districts, and charter
schools that submit an application and receive funding under this section must use the
funding, consistent with the components in subdivision 1, as stated in the application. The
commissioner may spend up to one percent of the appropriation for administering the
program.

Subd. 4.

Annual reports.

Each school district, consortium of school districts, and
charter school that receives a grant under this section must demonstrate and measure the
extent to which the district, consortium of districts, or charter school achieved the goals
set forth in the grant application and consistent with section 1, subdivision 2. This report
is due at the end of the grant period and must be submitted to the commissioner in the
form and manner the commissioner determines. The commissioner must make summary
data about this program available to the education policy and finance committees of the
legislature by February 15, 2010. Each school district, consortium of school districts,
and charter school that receives a grant under this section annually must report to the
commissioner, consistent with the uniform financial accounting and reporting standards,
its actual expenditures for school technology funding. The report must demonstrate that
the school district, consortium of school districts, or charter school has maintained its
effort from other sources for technology and capacity compared with the previous fiscal
year, and the district, consortium of districts, or charter school has expended all grant
funds, consistent with its approved budget.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Sec. 3. ONLINE LEARNING EXPANSION GRANTS.

Subdivision 1.

Outcomes.

The general framework outcomes for expanding online
learning in education are:

(1) provide grant funding to encourage expansion and access to online learning
courses and opportunities for Minnesota students;

(2) expand academic opportunities, increase graduation rates, increase college
eligibility and preparedness, and provide online resources for remediation;

(3) increase the number of students successfully completing online courses; and

(4) develop innovative online courses or programming.

Subd. 2.

Establishment; eligibility.

To promote the outcomes of subdivision
1, a program is established to expand online learning courses and programs to school
districts, charter schools, consortiums of school districts, intermediate school districts,
service cooperatives, or higher education institutions. The commissioner shall develop
a competitive grant process for the purpose of determining recipients. Districts, charter
schools, consortiums of school districts, intermediate school districts, service cooperatives,
or higher education institutions must propose to use the grant funds that support the
outcomes of subdivision 1 in a manner that develops or expands online courses or
programs in one or more of the following areas:

(1) dual high school or postsecondary education credit;

(2) science, technology, engineering, and math fields;

(3) preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate; and

(4) remediation efforts.

Subd. 3.

Application and review process; funding priority.

Districts, charter
schools, consortiums of school districts, service cooperatives, intermediate school
districts, or higher education institutions that are eligible under subdivision 2 may
apply to the commissioner, in the form and manner the commissioner determines, for
competitive funding to achieve the grant goals. The application must detail the specific
efforts the applicant intends to undertake to achieve the components, consistent with
subdivisions 1 and 2, and propose the budget detailing the district's, charter school's,
consortiums of school districts', intermediate districts', service cooperative's, or higher
education institution's current and proposed expenditures. The proposed budget must
demonstrate that the applicant's efforts will support the components of subdivisions 1 and
2. Expenditures for administration must not exceed five percent of the proposed budget.
The commissioner may require an applicant to provide additional information. When
reviewing applications, the commissioner must determine whether the applicant satisfied
all the requirements in this subdivision and subdivisions 1 and 2.

Subd. 4.

Application review; grant awards.

The commissioner shall award grants
to eligible applicants that meet the requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2.

The commissioner shall award grants as funding allows and, to the extent feasible,
must distribute the grant awards on an equitable geographical basis. The commissioner
must base the amount of the grant award on the number of students in the participating
district charter school, consortium of school districts, intermediate school, or higher
education institutions. Expenditures of the grant proceeds must be consistent with budget
information the grantee periodically submits to the commissioner. School districts and
charter schools that submit an application and receive funding under this section must
use the funding, consistent with the components in subdivisions 1 and 2 as stated in the
application. The commissioner may spend up to one percent of the appropriation for
administering the program.

Subd. 5.

Annual reports.

Each applicant that receives a grant under this section
must demonstrate and measure the extent to which the applicant achieved the outcomes set
forth in the grant application and consistent with subdivisions 1 and 2. This report is due
at the end of the grant period and must be submitted to the commissioner in the form and
manner the commissioner determines. The commissioner must make summary data about
this program available to the education policy and finance committees of the legislature by
February 15, 2010. Each applicant that receives a grant under this section must annually
report to the commissioner, consistent with the uniform financial accounting and reporting
standards, its actual expenditures for online learning courses.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective for revenue for fiscal years 2008
and 2009.

Sec. 4. APPROPRIATIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Department of Education.

The sums indicated in this section are
appropriated from the general fund to the Department of Education for the fiscal years
designated.

Subd. 2.

School technology grants.

For school technology grants under section 2:

$

50,000,000

.....

2009

This is a onetime appropriation.

Subd. 3.

Online learning grants.

For online learning grants under section 3:

	$	2,500,000	.....	2008
	$	2,500,000	.....	2009

This is a onetime appropriation.

Subd. 4.

Per pupil technology.

(a) For per pupil technology funding consistent
with commissioner of education approved district technology plans:

$

50,000,000

.....

2008

(b) The commissioner must calculate a per pupil technology allowance by dividing
the appropriation in paragraph (a) by the total number of adjusted marginal cost pupil units
for fiscal year 2008 and award each district an amount equal to that allowance times each
district's adjusted marginal cost pupil units for that year.

(c) This is a onetime appropriation.

Subd. 5.

Task force expenses.

For expenses of the task force established in section
1:

$

20,000

.....

2008