1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; expanding the first-grade 
  1.3             preparedness program; appropriating money; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  1.5             subdivisions 2, 4, 5, 6, and by adding subdivisions; 
  1.6             repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  1.7             subdivisions 1, 3, 7, and 8. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFYING DISTRICT OPTION.] A school district 
  1.12  may receive offer a first-grade preparedness revenue for 
  1.13  qualifying school sites if, program consistent with 
  1.14  subdivision subdivisions 4 and 5, the school board approves a 
  1.15  resolution requiring the district to provide services to all 
  1.16  children located in a qualifying school site attendance area.  A 
  1.17  district offering a first-grade preparedness program must make 
  1.18  the program available to all eligible students located in the 
  1.19  district who are eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch.  A 
  1.20  school board may approve a resolution allowing only students 
  1.21  eligible to receive free or reduced-priced lunch to attend a 
  1.22  first-grade preparedness program.  The board may also charge a 
  1.23  fee according to subdivision 6a for students attending a 
  1.24  first-grade preparedness program who are not eligible for free 
  1.25  or reduced-priced lunch. 
  1.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  2.1   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.2      Subd. 4.  [PROGRAM.] A qualifying school site must develop 
  2.3   its first-grade preparedness program in collaboration with other 
  2.4   providers of school readiness and child development services.  A 
  2.5   school site must offer a full-day kindergarten program to 
  2.6   participating children who are five years of age or older for 
  2.7   the full school day every day, a program for participating 
  2.8   children who are four years old, or a combination of both.  The 
  2.9   program may offer as an option to families home visits and other 
  2.10  practices as appropriate, and may provide such services with the 
  2.11  consent of the parent or guardian.  Program providers must 
  2.12  ensure that the program supplements existing school readiness 
  2.13  and child development programs and complements the services 
  2.14  provided with compensatory revenue.  Where possible, individuals 
  2.15  receiving assistance under a family assistance plan can meet the 
  2.16  work activity requirement of the plan by participating in a 
  2.17  first-grade preparedness program as a volunteer. 
  2.18     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  2.19  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.20     Subd. 5.  [EXTENDED DAY REQUIREMENTS.] The board of a 
  2.21  qualifying school district must develop and approve a plan to 
  2.22  provide extended day services for all eligible students who 
  2.23  qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch and also to serve as 
  2.24  many additional children as possible.  To accept children whose 
  2.25  families participate in child care assistance programs under 
  2.26  section 119B.03 or 119B.05, and to meet the requirements of 
  2.27  section 245A.03, subdivision 2, the board must formally approve 
  2.28  the first-grade preparedness program.  All revenue received 
  2.29  under subdivision subdivisions 6 and 6a must be allocated to the 
  2.30  qualifying participating school sites within the district. 
  2.31     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, 
  2.32  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.33     Subd. 6.  [PREPAREDNESS REVENUE.] (a) A qualifying school 
  2.34  district participating in the first-grade preparedness program 
  2.35  is eligible for first-grade preparedness revenue equal to the 
  2.36  basic formula allowance for that year times the number of 
  3.1   children five years of age or older enrolled in a kindergarten 
  3.2   program at the site eligible to receive free or reduced-priced 
  3.3   lunch on October 1 of the previous year times .53. 
  3.4      (b) This revenue must supplement and not replace 
  3.5   compensatory revenue that the district uses for the same or 
  3.6   similar purposes under chapters 120B, 123A, 123B, 124D, 126C, 
  3.7   and 127A. 
  3.8      (c) A pupil enrolled in the first grade preparedness 
  3.9   program at a qualifying school site is eligible for 
  3.10  transportation under section 123B.88, subdivision 1.  
  3.11     (d) First grade preparedness revenue paid to a charter 
  3.12  school for which a school district is providing transportation 
  3.13  according to section 124D.10, subdivision 16, shall be decreased 
  3.14  by an amount equal to the product of $170 times the pupil units 
  3.15  calculated according to paragraph (a).  This amount shall be 
  3.16  paid to the school district for transportation costs.  
  3.17     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, is 
  3.18  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.19     Subd. 6a.  [FEES.] Notwithstanding section 123B.37, a 
  3.20  school board may adopt a policy to charge a fee for students 
  3.21  attending a first-grade preparedness program who are not 
  3.22  eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch.  The commissioner 
  3.23  shall establish and make available to participating districts a 
  3.24  recommended sliding-scale fee policy based on student need for 
  3.25  the first-grade preparedness program. 
  3.26     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, is 
  3.27  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.28     Subd. 9.  [TRANSITION SITES.] For fiscal years 2000 and 
  3.29  2001 only, a school site that participated in the first-grade 
  3.30  preparedness program in the 1998-1999 school year shall be 
  3.31  eligible to receive funding for all pupils attending a 
  3.32  first-grade preparedness program. 
  3.33     Sec. 7.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.34     $....... in fiscal year 2000 and $....... in fiscal year 
  3.35  2001 are appropriated from the general fund to the department of 
  3.36  children, families, and learning for the first-grade 
  4.1   preparedness program. 
  4.2      Sec. 8.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.3      Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 124D.081, subdivisions 1, 
  4.4   3, 7, and 8, are repealed. 
  4.5      Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.6      Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  4.7   enactment.