1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; revising charter school leave 
  1.3             provisions; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.4             124D.10, subdivision 20. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 124D.10, 
  1.7   subdivision 20, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 20.  [LEAVE TO TEACH IN A CHARTER SCHOOL.] If a 
  1.9   teacher employed by a district makes a written request for an 
  1.10  extended leave of absence to teach at a charter school, the 
  1.11  district must grant the leave.  The district must grant a leave 
  1.12  ~~for any number of~~ not to exceed five years ~~requested by the~~ 
  1.13  ~~teacher, and must~~.  Any request to extend the leave ~~at the~~ 
  1.14  ~~teacher's request~~ shall be granted only at the discretion of the 
  1.15  school board.  The district may require that the request for a 
  1.16  leave or extension of leave be made up to 90 days before the 
  1.17  teacher would otherwise have to report for duty.  Except as 
  1.18  otherwise provided in this subdivision and except for section 
  1.19  122A.46, subdivision 7, the leave is governed by section 
  1.20  122A.46, including, but not limited to, reinstatement, notice of 
  1.21  intention to return, seniority, salary, and insurance. 
  1.22     During a leave, the teacher may continue to aggregate 
  1.23  benefits and credits in the teachers' retirement association 
  1.24  account by paying both the employer and employee contributions 
  1.25  based upon the annual salary of the teacher for the last full 
  2.1   pay period before the leave began.  The retirement association 
  2.2   may impose reasonable requirements to efficiently administer 
  2.3   this subdivision.  
  2.4      <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective the day 
  2.5   following final enactment and applies to approvals of leaves or 
  2.6   approvals of extensions of leaves made after that date.  
  2.7   Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 122A.46, 
  2.8   subdivision 2, a school district, upon request, must grant a 
  2.9   one-year extension for the 2003-2004 school year to a teacher on 
  2.10  a leave of absence to teach at a charter school under this 
  2.11  subdivision who has taught five or more years as of the 
  2.12  2003-2004 school year.