1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education finance; increasing funding for the early learning 
1.3 	scholarship program; prioritizing early learning scholarship applications; 
1.4 	appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 124D.165, by 
1.5 	adding a subdivision.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 124D.165, is amended by adding a 
1.8 	subdivision to read:
1.9 		Subd. 2a.Prioritization of scholarship awards. (a) The commissioner shall 
1.10 	prioritize applications according to this subdivision and may establish a range of 
1.11 	scholarship amounts taking into account the child's level of need and geographic location.
1.12 	(b) The commissioner shall prioritize scholarship amounts to recipients based on the 
1.13 	following characteristics:
1.14 	(1) whether the child's family lives in a neighborhood transformation zone;
1.15 	(2) the severity of poverty facing the family;
1.16 	(3) the level of poverty and concentration of poverty among racial and ethnic groups 
1.17 	for the census tract where the family lives;
1.18 	(4) the level of teen pregnancies in the area where the family lives;
1.19 	(5) the achievement gap facing families in the area where the family lives;
1.20 	(6) the number of single family households in the census tract where the family lives;
1.21 	(7) the number of inmates in Minnesota's prisons convicted of a level 1 offense, as 
1.22 	defined by the National Crime Information Center, with home addresses in the census tract 
1.23 	or other region as determined by the commissioner;
1.24 	(8) the number of teenage mothers living in the census tract or other region as 
1.25 	determined by the commissioner; and
2.1 	(9) other risk families as determined by the commissioner.

2.2 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for scholarships awarded on or 
2.3 	after July 1, 2015.

2.4 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; EARLY LEARNING SCHOLARSHIPS.
 2.5 	(a) $....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from the 
2.6 	general fund to the commissioner of education for early learning scholarships.
2.7 	(b) The amounts in paragraph (a) are in addition to the base budget and any other 
2.8 	appropriations for early learning scholarships.