SF 2795

1st Engrossment - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 07/23/2018 03:05pm

A bill for an act
relating to military affairs; encouraging school counselors to receive training in
armed forces career options; encouraging school counselors to inform students of
armed forces career options; encouraging school districts to grant military recruiters
access to secondary students; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 121A.39;
Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 120B.125; 122A.187, subdivision
3.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 120B.125, is amended to read:

120B.125 PLANNING FOR STUDENTS' SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT; PERSONAL LEARNING
PLANS.

(a) Consistent with sections 120B.13, 120B.131, 120B.132, 120B.14, 120B.15, 120B.30,
subdivision 1, paragraph (c), 125A.08, and other related sections, school districts, beginning
in the 2013-2014 school year, must assist all students by no later than grade 9 to explore
their educational, college, and career interests, aptitudes, and aspirations and develop a plan
for a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary education or employment. All
students' plans must:

(1) provide a comprehensive plan to prepare for and complete a career and college ready
curriculum by meeting state and local academic standards and developing career and
employment-related skills such as team work, collaboration, creativity, communication,
critical thinking, and good work habits;

(2) emphasize academic rigor and high expectations and inform the student, and the
student's parent or guardian if the student is a minor, of the student's achievement level
score on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments that are administered during high
school;

(3) help students identify interests, aptitudes, aspirations, and personal learning styles
that may affect their career and college ready goals and postsecondary education and
employment choices;

(4) set appropriate career and college ready goals with timelines that identify effective
means for achieving those goals;

(5) help students access education and career options new text begin , including armed forces career
options new text end ;

(6) integrate strong academic content into career-focused courses and applied and
experiential learning opportunities and integrate relevant career-focused courses and applied
and experiential learning opportunities into strong academic content;

(7) help identify and access appropriate counseling and other supports and assistance
that enable students to complete required coursework, prepare for postsecondary education
and careers, and obtain information about postsecondary education costs and eligibility for
financial aid and scholarship;

(8) help identify collaborative partnerships among prekindergarten through grade 12
schools, postsecondary institutions, economic development agencies, and local and regional
employers that support students' transition to postsecondary education and employment and
provide students with applied and experiential learning opportunities; and

(9) be reviewed and revised at least annually by the student, the student's parent or
guardian, and the school or district to ensure that the student's course-taking schedule keeps
the student making adequate progress to meet state and local academic standards and high
school graduation requirements and with a reasonable chance to succeed with employment
or postsecondary education without the need to first complete remedial course work.

(b) A school district may develop grade-level curricula or provide instruction that
introduces students to various careers, but must not require any curriculum, instruction, or
employment-related activity that obligates an elementary or secondary student to involuntarily
select or pursue a career, career interest, employment goals, or related job training.

(c) Educators must possess the knowledge and skills to effectively teach all English
learners in their classrooms. School districts must provide appropriate curriculum, targeted
materials, professional development opportunities for educators, and sufficient resources
to enable English learners to become career and college ready.

(d) When assisting students in developing a plan for a smooth and successful transition
to postsecondary education and employment, districts must recognize the unique possibilities
of each student and ensure that the contents of each student's plan reflect the student's unique
talents, skills, and abilities as the student grows, develops, and learns.

(e) If a student with a disability has an individualized education program (IEP) or
standardized written plan that meets the plan components of this section, the IEP satisfies
the requirement and no additional transition plan is needed.

(f) Students who do not meet or exceed Minnesota academic standards, as measured by
the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments that are administered during high school, shall
be informed that admission to a public school is free and available to any resident under 21
years of age or who meets the requirements of section 120A.20, subdivision 1, paragraph
(c). A student's plan under this section shall continue while the student is enrolled.

new text begin (g) A school district must provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school
students as the district provides to institutions of higher education or to prospective employers
of students.
new text end

new text begin (h) School districts are encouraged to sponsor an armed forces career opportunity day
each school year prior to the third Thursday of November. A school district that sponsors
an armed forces career opportunity day shall extend invitations to recruiters from each
branch of the United States armed forces and allow the recruiters to make presentations to
all interested secondary school students.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 121A.39, is amended to read:

121A.39 SCHOOL COUNSELORS.

(a) A school district is strongly encouraged to have an adequate student-to-counselor
ratio for its students beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and later.

(b) A school counselor shall assist a student in meeting the requirements for high school
graduation, college and career exploration, and selection, college affordability planning,
and successful transitions into postsecondary education or training. new text begin As part of college and
career exploration, a counselor is encouraged to present and explain the career opportunities
and benefits offered by the United States armed forces and share information provided to
the counselor by armed forces recruiters. In discussing military service with a student or a
student's parent, a school counselor is encouraged to provide the student or parent information
concerning the military enlistment test.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 122A.187, subdivision 3, is amended
to read:

Subd. 3.

Professional growth.

(a) Applicants for license renewal for a Tier 3 or Tier 4
license under sections 122A.183 and 122A.184, respectively, who have been employed as
a teacher during the renewal period of the expiring license, as a condition of license renewal,
must present to their local continuing education and relicensure committee or other local
relicensure committee evidence of work that demonstrates professional reflection and growth
in best teaching practices, including among other things, cultural competence in accordance
with section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph (q), and practices in meeting the varied
needs of English learners, from young children to adults under section 124D.59, subdivisions
2 and 2a. A teacher may satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by submitting the teacher's
most recent summative evaluation or improvement plan under section 122A.40, subdivision
8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5. new text begin Counselors, school social workers, and teachers who do not
provide direct instruction but who provide academic, college, and career planning and
support to students, may satisfy the requirements of this paragraph by submitting evidence
of training on armed forces career options.
new text end

(b) The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must ensure that its teacher
relicensing requirements include paragraph (a).