1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; providing for statewide uniform 
  1.3             student assessments; appropriating money; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 126. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [126.685] [STATEWIDE UNIFORM STUDENT 
  1.7   ASSESSMENT.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [ASSESSMENT.] In fiscal year 1996 and 
  1.9   thereafter, under the direction of the commissioner of 
  1.10  education, each district shall uniformly assess the reading, 
  1.11  writing, and mathematics skills of students in the district.  
  1.12  The assessment must provide information on the level of student 
  1.13  achievement that can be compared across all school districts in 
  1.14  the state.  The commissioner shall: 
  1.15     (1) select one or more nationally-normed, standardized 
  1.16  tests to be used for the assessment; 
  1.17     (2) select three grades to be assessed, including one 
  1.18  elementary and one secondary; 
  1.19     (3) determine whether all students or a sample of students 
  1.20  in the selected grades shall be assessed; 
  1.21     (4) determine the types of modifications that districts may 
  1.22  make when administering the test to students with a disability 
  1.23  and students of limited English proficiency; 
  1.24     (5) determine how assessment results should be reported for 
  1.25  students with a disability and students of limited English 
  2.1   proficiency; 
  2.2      (6) determine whether results should be reported by race; 
  2.3   and 
  2.4      (7) determine when the test is to be administered, no later 
  2.5   than November 1, 1995. 
  2.6      Subd. 2.  [REPORTING RESULTS.] Each school district must 
  2.7   report the results of the assessment conducted under this 
  2.8   section, aggregated to the school district level, to the 
  2.9   department of education by December 1 of each fiscal year.  Each 
  2.10  school district must publish summaries of the district 
  2.11  assessment results, state assessment results, and the 
  2.12  appropriate national norms for each test in the official 
  2.13  newspaper of the district by January 15 of the fiscal year. 
  2.14     Sec. 2.  [REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE.] 
  2.15     The commissioner must report the results of the 1995 
  2.16  assessment conducted under section 1 to the education committees 
  2.17  of the legislature by January 15, 1996. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.19     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1996 from the 
  2.20  general fund to the department of education for assessment under 
  2.21  section 1. 
  2.22     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.23     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  2.24  enactment.