1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to higher education; broadening the intervention for college attendance 
1.3 	grant program; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 
1.4 	136A.861, subdivisions 1, 3, 5, 6, 7.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 136A.861, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Grants. (a) The commissioner shall award grants to foster postsecondary 
1.8 	attendance and retention by providing outreach services to historically underserved students 
1.9 	in grades ~~six~~9 through 12 and historically underrepresented college students. Grants must 
1.10 	be awarded to programs that provide precollege or college services, including, but not 
1.11 	limited to:
1.12 	(1) academic and nonacademic counseling or advising;
1.13 	(2) mentoring;
1.14 	(3) fostering and improving parental involvement in planning for and facilitating a 
1.15 	college education;
1.16 	(4) services for students with English as a second language;
1.17 	(5) academic enrichment activities;
1.18 	(6) structured tutoring;
1.19 	(7) career awareness and exploration;
1.20 	(8) orientation to college life;
2.1 	(9) assistance with high school course selection and information about college admission 
2.2 	requirements; ~~and~~
2.3 	(10) financial aid counseling~~.~~;
2.4 	(11) academic instruction programs in core curricular areas of mathematics and language 
2.5 	arts;
2.6 	(12) supplemental instruction programs for college courses with high failure and 
2.7 	withdrawal rates; and
2.8 	(13) co-requisite college course models for delivery of academic support.
2.9 	~~(b) To the extent there are sufficient applications, the commissioner shall award an~~ 
2.10 	~~approximate equal amount of grants for program-eligible students who are from communities~~ 
2.11 	~~located outside the metropolitan area, as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2, as for~~ 
2.12 	~~students from communities within the metropolitan area. If necessary to achieve the~~ 
2.13 	~~approximately equal metropolitan area and nonmetropolitan area allocation, the commissioner~~ 
2.14 	~~may award a preference to a nonmetropolitan area application in the form of five points on~~ 
2.15 	~~a one hundred point application review scale.~~
2.16 	~~(c)~~ (b) Grants shall be awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations, 
2.17 	community-based organizations, or ~~others~~ other service providers deemed appropriate by 
2.18 	the commissioner.
2.19 	~~(d)~~ (c) Grants shall be awarded for one year and may be renewed for a second year with 
2.20 	documentation to the office of successful program outcomes.

2.21 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 136A.861, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
2.22 		Subd. 3.Application process. (a) The commissioner shall develop a grant application 
2.23 	process. The commissioner shall attempt to support projects in a manner that ensures that 
2.24 	eligible students throughout the state have access to program services.
2.25 	(b) The grant application must include, at a minimum, the following information:
2.26 	(1) a description of the characteristics of the students to be served reflective of the need 
2.27 	for services listed in subdivision 1;
2.28 	(2) a description of the services to be provided and a timeline for implementation of the 
2.29 	activities;
2.30 	(3) a description of how the services provided will foster postsecondary readiness and 
2.31 	attendance and support postsecondary retention and completion;
3.1 	(4) a description of how the services will be evaluated to determine whether the program 
3.2 	goals were met; and
3.3 	(5) other information as identified by the commissioner.
3.4 	Grant recipients must specify both program and student outcome goals, and performance 
3.5 	measures for each goal.

3.6 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 136A.861, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
3.7 		Subd. 5.~~Review~~ Advisory committee. The commissioner must establish and convene 
3.8 	~~a grant selection~~ an advisory committee to ~~review~~ assist the commissioner in reviewing
3.9 	applications and ~~award grants~~ advise the commissioner on grantees and grant amounts. The 
3.10 	members of the committee may include representatives of postsecondary institutions, school 
3.11 	districts, organizations providing precollege outreach services, and others deemed appropriate 
3.12 	by the commissioner.

3.13 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 136A.861, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
3.14 		Subd. 6.~~Program evaluation~~ Outcome report. Each grant recipient must annually 
3.15 	submit a report to the Office of Higher Education delineating its program and student 
3.16 	~~outcome~~ goals~~,~~ and activities implemented ~~to achieve the stated outcomes. The goals must~~ 
3.17 	~~be clearly stated and measurable. Grant recipients are required to collect, analyze, and report~~ 
3.18 	~~on participation and outcome data that enable the office to verify that the program goals~~ 
3.19 	~~were met. The office shall maintain:~~. The report's description of impacts must include, but 
3.20 	not be limited to, information on:
3.21 	(1) ~~information about successful precollege program and undergraduate student retention~~ 
3.22 	~~program activities for dissemination to individuals throughout the state interested in adopting~~ 
3.23 	~~or replicating successful program practices; and~~ number of students served;
3.24 	(2) ~~data on the success of the funded projects in increasing the high school graduation,~~ 
3.25 	~~college participation, and college graduation rates of students served by the grant recipients.~~ 
3.26 	~~The office may convene meetings of the grant recipients, as needed, to discuss issues~~ 
3.27 	~~pertaining to the implementation of precollege services and undergraduate retention programs.~~
3.28 	course taking and grade point average of participating students;
3.29 	(3) persistence and retention rates of participating students;
3.30 	(4) high school and postsecondary graduation rates of participating students; and
4.1 	(5) the number of students who required postsecondary academic remediation and number 
4.2 	of remedial courses for each of those students and in the aggregate.

4.3 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 136A.861, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
4.4 		Subd. 7.Report. By January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the office shall submit a 
4.5 	report to the committees in the legislature with jurisdiction over higher education finance 
4.6 	regarding the grant recipients and their activities. The report shall include information about 
4.7 	the students served, the organizations providing services, program activities, program goals 
4.8 	and outcomes, and program revenue sources and funding levels. The report must include 
4.9 	recommendations, if any, for legislation to improve program outcomes.

4.10 	Sec. 6. APPROPRIATION.
 4.11 	$....... in fiscal year 2018 and $....... in fiscal year 2019 are appropriated from the general 
4.12 	fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the purpose of Minnesota 
4.13 	Statutes, section 136A.861. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 
4.14 	2022.