1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; recruiting, educating, and licensing underrepresented 
1.3 	student populations to teach in elementary and secondary schools and to work 
1.4 	with young children; providing a tax credit for expenses related to completing a 
1.5 	teacher preparation program; providing grants; appropriating money;amending 
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 122A.09, subdivision 4; proposing coding for 
1.7 	new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 122A; 290.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 122A.09, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
1.10 		Subd. 4.License and rules. (a) The board must adopt rules to license public school 
1.11 	teachers and interns subject to chapter 14.
1.12 	(b) The board must adopt rules requiring a person to pass a skills examination in 
1.13 	reading, writing, and mathematics or attain either a composite score composed of the 
1.14 	average of the scores in English and writing, reading, and mathematics on the ACT 
1.15 	Plus Writing recommended by the board, or an equivalent composite score composed 
1.16 	of the average of the scores in critical reading, mathematics, and writing on the SAT 
1.17 	recommended by the board, as a requirement for initial teacher licensure, except that the 
1.18 	board may issue up to two temporary, one-year teaching licenses to an otherwise qualified 
1.19 	candidate who has not yet passed the skills exam or attained the requisite composite score 
1.20 	on the ACT Plus Writing or SAT. Such rules must require college and universities offering 
1.21 	a board-approved teacher preparation program to provide remedial assistance to persons 
1.22 	who did not achieve a qualifying score on the skills examination or attain the requisite 
1.23 	composite score on the ACT Plus Writing or SAT, including those for whom English is 
1.24 	a second language. The requirement to pass a reading, writing, and mathematics skills 
1.25 	examination or attain the requisite composite score on the ACT Plus Writing or SAT does 
2.1 	not apply to nonnative English speakers, as verified by qualified Minnesota school district 
2.2 	personnel or Minnesota higher education faculty, who, after meeting the content and 
2.3 	pedagogy requirements under this subdivision, apply for a teaching license to provide direct 
2.4 	instruction in their native language or world language instruction under section 120B.022, 
2.5 	subdivision 1. A teacher candidate's official ACT Plus Writing or SAT composite score 
2.6 	report to the board must not be more than ten years old at the time of licensure.
2.7 	(c) The board must adopt rules to approve teacher preparation programs. The board, 
2.8 	upon the request of a postsecondary student preparing for teacher licensure or a licensed 
2.9 	graduate of a teacher preparation program, shall assist in resolving a dispute between the 
2.10 	person and a postsecondary institution providing a teacher preparation program when the 
2.11 	dispute involves an institution's recommendation for licensure affecting the person or the 
2.12 	person's credentials. At the board's discretion, assistance may include the application 
2.13 	of chapter 14.
2.14 	(d) The board must provide the leadership and adopt rules for the redesign of teacher 
2.15 	education programs to implement a research based, results-oriented curriculum that 
2.16 	focuses on the skills teachers need in order to be effective. The board shall implement new 
2.17 	systems of teacher preparation program evaluation to assure program effectiveness based 
2.18 	on proficiency of graduates in demonstrating attainment of program outcomes. Teacher 
2.19 	preparation programs including alternative teacher preparation programs under section 
2.20 	122A.245, among other programs, must include a content-specific, board-approved, 
2.21 	performance-based assessment that measures teacher candidates in three areas: planning 
2.22 	for instruction and assessment; engaging students and supporting learning; and assessing 
2.23 	student learning. The board's redesign rules must include creating flexible, specialized 
2.24 	teaching licenses, credentials, and other endorsement forms to increase students' 
2.25 	participation in language immersion programs, world language instruction, career 
2.26 	development opportunities, work-based learning, early college courses and careers, career 
2.27 	and technical programs, Montessori schools, and project and place-based learning, among 
2.28 	other career and college ready learning offerings.
2.29 	(e) The board must adopt rules requiring candidates for initial licenses to pass an 
2.30 	examination of general pedagogical knowledge and examinations of licensure-specific 
2.31 	teaching skills. The rules shall be effective by September 1, 2001. The rules under this 
2.32 	paragraph also must require candidates for initial licenses to teach prekindergarten or 
2.33 	elementary students to pass, as part of the examination of licensure-specific teaching 
2.34 	skills, test items assessing the candidates' knowledge, skill, and ability in comprehensive, 
2.35 	scientifically based reading instruction under section 122A.06, subdivision 4, and their 
2.36 	knowledge and understanding of the foundations of reading development, the development 
3.1 	of reading comprehension, and reading assessment and instruction, and their ability to 
3.2 	integrate that knowledge and understanding.
3.3 	(f) The board must adopt rules requiring teacher educators to work directly with 
3.4 	elementary or secondary school teachers in elementary or secondary schools to obtain 
3.5 	periodic exposure to the elementary or secondary teaching environment.
3.6 	(g) The board must grant licenses to interns and to candidates for initial licenses 
3.7 	based on appropriate professional competencies that are aligned with the board's licensing 
3.8 	system and students' diverse learning needs. All teacher candidates must have preparation 
3.9 	in English language development and content instruction for English learners in order to be 
3.10 	able to effectively instruct the English learners in their classrooms. The board must include 
3.11 	these licenses in a statewide differentiated licensing system that creates new leadership 
3.12 	roles for successful experienced teachers premised on a collaborative professional culture 
3.13 	dedicated to meeting students' diverse learning needs in the 21st century, recognizes the 
3.14 	importance of cultural and linguistic competencies, including the ability to teach and 
3.15 	communicate in culturally competent and aware ways, and formalizes mentoring and 
3.16 	induction for newly licensed teachers provided through a teacher support framework.
3.17 	(h) The board must design and implement an assessment system which requires a 
3.18 	candidate for an initial license and first continuing license to demonstrate the abilities 
3.19 	necessary to perform selected, representative teaching tasks at appropriate levels.
3.20 	(i) The board must receive recommendations from local committees as established 
3.21 	by the board for the renewal of teaching licenses. The board must require licensed teachers 
3.22 	who are renewing a continuing license to include in the renewal requirements further 
3.23 	preparation in English language development and specially designed content instruction 
3.24 	in English for English learners.
3.25 	(j) The board must grant life licenses to those who qualify according to requirements 
3.26 	established by the board, and suspend or revoke licenses pursuant to sections 122A.20 and 
3.27 	214.10. The board must not establish any expiration date for application for life licenses.
3.28 	(k) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
3.29 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation in 
3.30 	the areas of using positive behavior interventions and in accommodating, modifying, and 
3.31 	adapting curricula, materials, and strategies to appropriately meet the needs of individual 
3.32 	students and ensure adequate progress toward the state's graduation rule.
3.33 	(l) In adopting rules to license public school teachers who provide health-related 
3.34 	services for disabled children, the board shall adopt rules consistent with license or 
3.35 	registration requirements of the commissioner of health and the health-related boards who 
3.36 	license personnel who perform similar services outside of the school.
4.1 	(m) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
4.2 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further reading 
4.3 	preparation, consistent with section 122A.06, subdivision 4. The rules do not take effect 
4.4 	until they are approved by law. Teachers who do not provide direct instruction including, at 
4.5 	least, counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, school social workers, audiovisual 
4.6 	directors and coordinators, and recreation personnel are exempt from this section.
4.7 	(n) The board must adopt rules that require all licensed teachers who are renewing 
4.8 	their continuing license to include in their renewal requirements further preparation, 
4.9 	first, in understanding the key warning signs of early-onset mental illness in children 
4.10 	and adolescents and then, during subsequent licensure renewal periods, preparation may 
4.11 	include providing a more in-depth understanding of students' mental illness trauma, 
4.12 	accommodations for students' mental illness, parents' role in addressing students' mental 
4.13 	illness, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, autism, the requirements of section 125A.0942 
4.14 	governing restrictive procedures, and de-escalation methods, among other similar topics.
4.15 	(o) The Board of Teaching, in collaboration with postsecondary teacher preparation 
4.16 	programs and institutions preparing underrepresented students and the Chicano Latino 
4.17 	Affairs Council, the Council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans, the Council on Black 
4.18 	Minnesotans, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Minnesota State Council on 
4.19 	Disability, the Somali American Parent Association, the commissioner of the Minnesota 
4.20 	Department of Human Rights or the commissioner's designee, the Minnesota Humanities 
4.21 	Center, and the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, must create 
4.22 	partnerships to help recruit, educate, and license students underrepresented as teachers in 
4.23 	K-12 schools and as providers in early childhood education programs. These partnerships, 
4.24 	among other initiatives, must regularly review the content, instructional practices, and 
4.25 	student support services of board-approved teacher preparation programs as they affect 
4.26 	underrepresented student populations and disseminate the substance of the reviews to 
4.27 	interested education stakeholders.

4.28 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

4.29 	Sec. 2. [122A.185] TEACHER TRAINING GRANTS FOR 
4.30 	UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED AS 
4.31 	DISTRICT PARAPROFESSIONALS.
4.32 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. A teacher training grant program is established to 
4.33 	provide grants to underrepresented populations currently employed in a school district as 
4.34 	a paraprofessional or other nonlicensed employee to help offset the employee's cost of 
4.35 	becoming a licensed teacher or early childhood educator.
5.1 		Subd. 2.Eligibility; application. (a) A school district, intermediate school district, 
5.2 	cooperative school district, or special education district may apply to the commissioner of 
5.3 	education for a grant to help underrepresented student populations currently employed by 
5.4 	the district as a paraprofessional or other nonlicensed employee and enrolled in a Board of 
5.5 	Teaching approved teacher preparation program with funding to help offset the employee's 
5.6 	teacher preparation costs if the commissioner determines that the district:
5.7 	(1) established appropriate goals for diversifying its workforce; and
5.8 	(2) employs at least one paraprofessional or other nonlicensed employee making 
5.9 	satisfactory progress in a Board of Teaching approved teacher preparation program or 
5.10 	completing other coursework needed to meet teacher licensure requirements.
5.11 	(b) An interested district under paragraph (a), after verifying its employee's status 
5.12 	as an enrolled student making satisfactory progress, must apply to the commissioner in 
5.13 	the form and manner determined by the commissioner. The application must include 
5.14 	the number of affected employees in the district, the licenses the employees anticipate 
5.15 	receiving upon completion, the name and address of the postsecondary institution 
5.16 	providing the instruction, the period of time the employees need to complete the 
5.17 	preparation program or course, and the tuition cost. The commissioner may require a 
5.18 	district to provide additional information.
5.19 		Subd. 3.Grant criteria and amount. (a) The commissioner must consider the 
5.20 	following criteria in awarding grants under this section and may consider other posted 
5.21 	criteria established by the commissioner in consultation with the Board of Teaching:
5.22 	(1) the aggregate need for underrepresented populations employed as licensed 
5.23 	teachers in the district, region, and state;
5.24 	(2) the educational benefits to elementary and secondary students enrolled in the 
5.25 	district;
5.26 	(3) the per-employee cost of the preparation program or course; and
5.27 	(4) additional employment opportunities and benefits for employees who receive 
5.28 	a teaching license.
5.29 	(b) The commissioner, after consulting with those districts awarded a grant, must 
5.30 	make payments to the postsecondary institution enrolling the district's eligible employees 
5.31 	in order to offset the employee's program or course costs. The grant amount must not 
5.32 	exceed the employee's actual program or course costs minus any federal Pell grant or state 
5.33 	grant amount the employee is eligible to receive.
5.34 		Subd. 4.Employment terms. Notwithstanding other law to the contrary, a district 
5.35 	awarded a grant under this section, upon the request of an eligible employee, must 
5.36 	provide the employee with a paid leave of absence to enable the employee to complete 
6.1 	the employee's student teaching requirement. Employees under this section currently 
6.2 	serving as a school readiness or preschool teacher are deemed to have completed their 
6.3 	student teaching requirement.
6.4 		Subd. 5.Report. The commissioner of education, each year beginning February 
6.5 	1, 2017, must report to the chairs of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over 
6.6 	workforce policy, education, and finance. The report must, at a minimum, include:
6.7 	(1) research and analysis on the costs, return on investment, and benefits of the  
6.8 	grants for employees, employers, teacher preparation institutions, and the state;
6.9 	(2) the number of employees who began a teacher preparation program;
6.10 	(3) the number of underrepresented students who began a teacher preparation 
6.11 	program and the number who received initial licensure; and
6.12 	(4) recommendations, if any, for amending the grant program.

6.13 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2015.

6.14 	Sec. 3. [290.0693] TEACHER TRAINING INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT.
6.15 		Subdivision 1.Credit allowed. An individual employed by a Minnesota school 
6.16 	district, intermediate school district, special education district, or cooperative is allowed 
6.17 	a credit against the tax required by this chapter in an amount equal to ... percent of the 
6.18 	amount paid for expenses related to completing coursework for a teacher preparation 
6.19 	program in a Minnesota college or university if that individual is seeking initial licensure 
6.20 	as a teacher. For purposes of this section, "expenses related to the completion of 
6.21 	coursework for a teacher preparation program" means:
6.22 	(1) tuition for instruction or enrollment in an accredited postsecondary institution 
6.23 	in the state of Minnesota;
6.24 	(2) expenses for textbooks, including books and other instructional materials 
6.25 	assigned or utilized by the individual in completing his or her coursework; and
6.26 	(3) a maximum expense of $....... for personal computer hardware, regardless of 
6.27 	whether the computer is required by the individual's postsecondary institution.
6.28 		Subd. 2.Limitations. (a) For a claimant with income not greater than $33,500, the 
6.29 	maximum credit allowed is $....... The maximum credit for individuals is $1 for each $10 
6.30 	of household income over $33,500, but in no case is the credit less than zero.
6.31 	For purposes of this section, "income" has the meaning given in section 290.067, 
6.32 	subdivision 2a. In the case of a married claimant, a credit is not allowed unless a joint 
6.33 	income tax return is filed.
7.1 	(b) For a nonresident or part-year resident, the credit determined under subdivision 1 
7.2 	and the maximum credit amount in paragraph (a) must be allocated using the percentage 
7.3 	calculated in section 290.06, subdivision 2c, paragraph (e).
7.4 		Subd. 3.Credit to be refundable. If the amount of credit that the claimant is 
7.5 	eligible to receive under this section exceeds the claimant's tax liability under this chapter, 
7.6 	the commissioner shall refund the excess to the claimant.
7.7 		Subd. 4.Appropriation. An amount sufficient to pay the refunds required by this 
7.8 	section is appropriated to the commissioner from the general fund.

7.9 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxable years beginning 
7.10 	December 31, 2016.

7.11 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
 7.12 	$....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from 
7.13 	the general fund to the commissioner of education for teacher training grants for 
7.14 	underrepresented populations currently serving as paraprofessionals or other nonlicensed 
7.15 	employees in a school district under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.185. Any funds 
7.16 	unexpended in fiscal year 2016 do not cancel but carry forward into the next fiscal year.