1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; removing certain restrictions 
  1.3             on distribution of staff development revenue; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 122A.60, 
  1.5             subdivisions 1, 3; 122A.61, subdivision 1. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.60, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [STAFF DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.] A school 
  1.10  board must use the revenue authorized in section 122A.61 for 
  1.11  in-service education for programs under section 120B.22, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, or for staff development plans under this 
  1.13  section.  The board ~~must~~ may establish an advisory staff 
  1.14  development committee to ~~develop~~ assist in the development of a 
  1.15  staff development plan for approval by the board, to assist site 
  1.16  professional development teams in developing ~~a~~ site ~~plan~~ plans 
  1.17  consistent with the goals of the staff development plan approved 
  1.18  by the board, and to evaluate staff development efforts at the 
  1.19  site level.  A majority of the advisory committee and the site 
  1.20  professional development team ~~must~~ should be teachers 
  1.21  representing various grade levels, subject areas, and special 
  1.22  education.  The advisory committee must also include nonteaching 
  1.23  staff, parents, and administrators.  Districts must report staff 
  1.24  development results and expenditures to the commissioner in the 
  1.25  form and manner determined by the commissioner.  The expenditure 
  2.1   report must include expenditures by the board for district level 
  2.2   activities and expenditures made by the staff.  The report must 
  2.3   provide a breakdown of expenditures for (1) curriculum 
  2.4   development and programs, (2) in-service education, workshops, 
  2.5   and conferences, and (3) the cost of teachers or substitute 
  2.6   teachers for staff development purposes.  Within each of these 
  2.7   categories, the report must also indicate whether the 
  2.8   expenditures were incurred at the district level or the school 
  2.9   site level, and whether the school site expenditures were made 
  2.10  possible by the grants to school sites that demonstrate 
  2.11  exemplary use of allocated staff development revenue.  These 
  2.12  expenditures are to be reported using the UFARS system.  The 
  2.13  commissioner shall report the staff development expenditure data 
  2.14  to the education committees of the legislature by February 15 
  2.15  each year.  
  2.16     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.60, 
  2.18  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 3.  [STAFF DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES.] The board, after 
  2.20  review of the recommendations of the advisory staff development 
  2.21  committee, if any, must adopt a staff development plan for 
  2.22  improving student achievement.  The plan must be consistent with 
  2.23  education outcomes that the school board determines.  The plan 
  2.24  must include ongoing staff development activities that 
  2.25  contribute toward continuous improvement in achievement of the 
  2.26  following goals: 
  2.27     (1) improve student achievement of state and local 
  2.28  education standards in all areas of the curriculum by using best 
  2.29  practices methods; 
  2.30     (2) effectively meet the needs of a diverse student 
  2.31  population, including at-risk children, children with 
  2.32  disabilities, and gifted children, within the regular classroom 
  2.33  and other settings; 
  2.34     (3) provide an inclusive curriculum for a racially, 
  2.35  ethnically, and culturally diverse student population that is 
  2.36  consistent with the state education diversity rule and the 
  3.1   district's education diversity plan; 
  3.2      (4) improve staff collaboration and develop mentoring and 
  3.3   peer coaching programs for teachers new to the school or 
  3.4   district; 
  3.5      (5) effectively teach and model violence prevention policy 
  3.6   and curriculum that address early intervention alternatives, 
  3.7   issues of harassment, and teach nonviolent alternatives for 
  3.8   conflict resolution; and 
  3.9      (6) provide teachers and other members of site-based 
  3.10  management teams with appropriate management and financial 
  3.11  management skills. 
  3.12     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003. 
  3.13     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.61, 
  3.14  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.15     Subdivision 1.  [STAFF DEVELOPMENT REVENUE.] A district is 
  3.16  required to reserve an amount equal to at least two percent of 
  3.17  the basic revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 2, for 
  3.18  in-service education for programs under section 120B.22, 
  3.19  subdivision 2, for staff development plans, including plans for 
  3.20  challenging instructional activities and experiences under 
  3.21  section 122A.60, and for curriculum development and programs, 
  3.22  other in-service education, teachers' workshops, teacher 
  3.23  conferences, the cost of substitute teachers staff development 
  3.24  purposes, preservice and in-service education for special 
  3.25  education professionals and paraprofessionals, and other related 
  3.26  costs for staff development efforts.  A district may annually 
  3.27  waive the requirement to reserve ~~their~~ its basic revenue under 
  3.28  this section if a majority vote of the licensed teachers in the 
  3.29  district and a majority vote of the school board agree to a 
  3.30  resolution to waive the requirement.  A district in statutory 
  3.31  operating debt is exempt from reserving basic revenue according 
  3.32  to this section.  Districts may expend an additional amount of 
  3.33  unreserved revenue for staff development based on their needs.  
  3.34  ~~With the exception of amounts reserved for staff development~~ 
  3.35  ~~from revenues allocated directly to school sites, the board must~~ 
  3.36  ~~initially allocate 50 percent of the reserved revenue to each~~ 
  4.1   ~~school site in the district on a per teacher basis, which must~~ 
  4.2   ~~be retained by the school site until used.  The board may retain~~ 
  4.3   ~~25 percent to be used for district wide staff development~~ 
  4.4   ~~efforts.  The remaining 25 percent of the revenue must be used~~ 
  4.5   ~~to make grants to school sites for best practices methods.  A~~ 
  4.6   ~~grant~~ The revenue appropriated by the school board may be used 
  4.7   for any purpose authorized under section 120B.22, subdivision 2, 
  4.8   122A.60, or for the costs of curriculum development and 
  4.9   programs, other in-service education, teachers' workshops, 
  4.10  teacher conferences, substitute teachers for staff development 
  4.11  purposes, and other staff development efforts~~, and determined by~~ 
  4.12  ~~the site professional development team~~.  ~~The~~ A site professional 
  4.13  development team must demonstrate to the school board the extent 
  4.14  to which staff at the site have met the outcomes of the 
  4.15  program.  The board may withhold ~~a portion of initial allocation~~ 
  4.16  ~~of~~ the revenue if the board determines that the staff 
  4.17  development outcomes are not being met. 
  4.18     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2003.