SF 2094

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying staff development program; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2006, sections 122A.60; 122A.61, subdivision 1.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 122A.60, is amended to read:

122A.60 STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

Subdivision 1.

Staff development committee.

A school board must use the revenue
authorized in section 122A.61 for in-service education for programs under section
120B.22, subdivision 2, or for staff development and teaching training plans under this
section. The board must establish an advisory staff development committee to develop the
plan, assist site professional development teams in developing a site plan consistent with
the goals of the plan, and evaluate staff development efforts at the site level. A majority
of the advisory committee and the site professional development team must be teachers
representing various grade levels, subject areas, and special education. The advisory
committee must also include nonteaching staff, parents, and administrators.

Subd. 1a.

Effective staff development activities.

(a) Staff development activities
must be aligned with the district and school site staff development plans, based on student
achievement data, focused on student learning goals, and used in the classroom setting.
Activities must:

(1) focus on the school classroom and research-based scientifically based research
strategies that improve student learning;

(2) provide opportunities for teachers to practice and improve their instructional
skills over time and receive instructional-based observations using objective
standards-based assessments to assist in the professional growth process;

(3) provide regular opportunities for teachers to use student data as part of their
daily work to increase student achievement;

(4) enhance teacher content knowledge and instructional skills;

(5) align with state and local academic standards;

(6) provide job embedded or integrated professional development opportunities
during teacher contact day to build professional relationships, foster collaboration among
principals and staff who provide instruction to identify instructional strategies to meet
student learning goals, plan for instruction, practice new teaching strategies, review
the results of implementing strategies, and provide opportunities for teacher-to-teacher
coaching and mentoring; and

(7) align with the plan of the district or site for those participating in an alternative
teacher professional pay system under section 122A.414.

Staff development activities may also include curriculum development and curriculum
training programs, and activities that provide teachers and other members of site-based
teams training to enhance team performance. The school district also may implement other
staff development activities required by law and activities associated with professional
teacher compensation models.

(b) Release time provided for teachers to supervise students on field trips and school
activities, or independent tasks not associated with enhancing the teacher's knowledge
and instructional skills, such as preparing report cards, calculating grades, or organizing
classroom materials, may not be counted as staff development time that is financed with
staff development reserved revenue under section 122A.61.

Subd. 2.

Contents of the plan.

The plan must be based on student achievement data
and include the student learning goals, staff development outcomes under subdivision 3,
the means to achieve the outcomes, staff development activities under subdivision 1a, and
procedures for evaluating progress at each school site toward meeting education outcomes.

Subd. 3.

Staff development outcomes.

The advisory staff development committee
must adopt a staff development plan for increasing teacher effectiveness and improving
student achievement. The plan must be consistent with education outcomes that the
school board determines. The plan must include ongoing staff development activities that
contribute toward continuous improvement in achievement of the following goals:

(1) improve student achievement of state and local education standards in all areas
of the curriculum by using best practices methods and scientifically based research;

(2) effectively meet the needs of a diverse student population, including at-risk
children, children with disabilities, and gifted children, within the regular classroom
and other settings;

(3) provide an inclusive curriculum for a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse
student population that is consistent with the state education diversity rule and the district's
education diversity plan;

(4) improve staff collaboration and develop mentoring and peer coaching programs
for teachers new to the school or district that includes teachers in their first five years of
teaching;

(5) effectively teach and model violence prevention policy and curriculum that
address early intervention alternatives, issues of harassment, and teach nonviolent
alternatives for conflict resolution; and

(6) provide teachers and other members of site-based management teams with
appropriate management and financial management skills.

Subd. 4.

Staff development report.

(a) By October 15 1 of each year, the district
and site staff development committees shall write and submit a report of staff development
activities and expenditures for the previous year, in the form and manner determined by
the commissioner. The report, signed by the district superintendent and staff development
chair, must include assessment and evaluation data indicating progress toward district and
site staff development goals based on teaching and learning outcomes, including the
percentage of teachers and other staff involved in instruction who participate in effective
staff development activities under subdivision 3.

(b) The report must break down expenditures for:

(1) curriculum development and curriculum training programs; and

(2) staff development training models, workshops, and conferences, and the cost of
releasing teachers or providing substitute teachers for staff development purposes.

The report also must indicate whether the expenditures were incurred at the district
level or the school site level, and whether the school site expenditures were made possible
by grants to school sites that demonstrate exemplary use of allocated staff development
revenue. These expenditures must be reported using the uniform financial and accounting
and reporting standards.

(c) The commissioner shall report the staff development progress and expenditure
data to the house of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over
education by February 15 each year.

Subd. 5

Appeal.

If the district and teachers cannot agree regarding implementation
of this section or section 122A.61, the district or exclusive representative of the teachers
may appeal to the commissioner to resolve the dispute. The commissioner must reach
a resolution within 60 days of receiving notice of the appeal. The commissioner shall
establish the form and manner of an appeal.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 122A.61, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Staff development revenue.

A district is required to reserve
an amount equal to at least two percent of the basic revenue under section 126C.10,
subdivision 2, for in-service education for programs under section 120B.22, subdivision
2, for with the primary purpose of creating and implementing district and school site
staff development plans, including. Funds shall be used to support plans for challenging
instructional activities and experiences under section 122A.60, and for curriculum
development and programs, other in-service education, teachers' workshops, teacher
conferences, the cost of substitute teachers staff development purposes,. The district may
also use funds for preservice and in-service education for special education professionals
and paraprofessionals, and other related costs for staff development efforts. A district
may annually waive the requirement to reserve their basic revenue under this section if
a majority vote of the licensed teachers in the district and a majority vote of the school
board agree to a resolution to waive the requirement. A district in statutory operating debt
is exempt from reserving basic revenue according to this section. Districts may expend
an additional amount of unreserved revenue for staff development based on their needs.
With the exception of amounts reserved for staff development from revenues allocated
directly to school sites, the board must initially allocate 50 percent of the reserved
revenue to each school site in the district on a per teacher basis, which must be retained
by the school site until used. The board may retain 25 percent to be used for district
wide staff development efforts. The remaining 25 percent of the revenue must be used
to make grants to school sites for best practices methods. A grant may be used for any
purpose authorized under section 120B.22, subdivision 2, or 122A.60, or for the costs of
curriculum development and programs, other in-service education, teachers' workshops,
teacher conferences, substitute teachers for staff development purposes, and other staff
development efforts, and determined by the site professional development team. The site
professional development team must demonstrate to the school board the extent to which
staff at the site have met the outcomes of the program. The board may withhold a portion
of initial allocation of revenue if the staff development outcomes are not being met.

Sec. 3. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.

The revisor of statutes shall renumber Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.60,
subdivision 1a, as subdivision 3a, and make necessary cross-reference changes consistent
with the renumbering.