1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education finance; providing full funding for school district 
1.3 	telecommunications funding; renaming the program the K-12 broadband equity 
1.4 	aid program; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 
1.5 	125B.26, subdivisions 4, 5.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 125B.26, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
1.8 		Subd. 4.District aid. ~~For fiscal year 2006 and later,~~ A district, charter school, or 
1.9 	intermediate school district's ~~Internet access~~ K-12 broadband equity aid equals the district, 
1.10 	charter school, or intermediate school district's approved cost for the previous fiscal year 
1.11 	according to subdivision 1 exceeding $16 times the district's adjusted pupil units for the 
1.12 	previous fiscal year or no reduction if the district is part of an organized telecommunications 
1.13 	access cluster. K-12 broadband equity aid must be distributed to the telecommunications 
1.14 	access cluster for districts, charter schools, or intermediate school districts that are members 
1.15 	of the cluster or to individual districts, charter schools, or intermediate school districts not 
1.16 	part of a telecommunications access cluster.

1.17 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 125B.26, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
1.18 		Subd. 5.Telecommunications/Internet access services for nonpublic schools. (a) 
1.19 	Districts shall provide each year upon formal request by or on behalf of a nonpublic school, 
1.20 	not including home schools, located in that district or area, ongoing or recurring 
1.21 	telecommunications access services to the nonpublic school either through existing district 
1.22 	providers or through separate providers.
2.1 	(b) The amount of district aid for telecommunications access services for each nonpublic 
2.2 	school under this subdivision equals the lesser of:
2.3 	(1) 90 percent of the nonpublic school's approved cost for the previous fiscal year 
2.4 	according to subdivision 1 exceeding $10 ~~for fiscal year 2006 and later~~ times the number 
2.5 	of weighted pupils enrolled at the nonpublic school as of October 1 of the previous school 
2.6 	year; or
2.7 	(2) the product of the district's aid per pupil unit according to subdivision 4 times the 
2.8 	number of weighted pupils enrolled at the nonpublic school as of October 1 of the previous 
2.9 	school year.
2.10 	(c) For purposes of this subdivision, nonpublic school pupils shall be weighted by grade 
2.11 	level using the weighting factors defined in section 126C.05, subdivision 1.
2.12 	(d) Each year, a district providing services under paragraph (a) may claim up to five 
2.13 	percent of the aid determined in paragraph (b) for costs of administering this subdivision. 
2.14 	No district may expend an amount for these telecommunications access services which 
2.15 	exceeds the amount allocated under this subdivision. The nonpublic school is responsible 
2.16 	for the Internet access costs not covered by this section.
2.17 	(e) At the request of a nonpublic school, districts may allocate the amount determined 
2.18 	in paragraph (b) directly to the nonpublic school to pay for or offset the nonpublic school's 
2.19 	costs for telecommunications access services; however, the amount allocated directly to the 
2.20 	nonpublic school may not exceed the actual amount of the school's ongoing or recurring 
2.21 	telecommunications access costs.

2.22 	Sec. 3. APPROPRIATIONS; K-12 BROADBAND EQUITY AID.
 2.23 	$9,450,000 in fiscal year 2018 and $9,650,000 in fiscal year 2019 are appropriated from 
2.24 	the general fund to the commissioner of education for K-12 broadband equity aid under 
2.25 	Minnesota Statutes, section 125B.26.
2.26 	Any balance in the first year does not cancel but is available in the second year.