1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a moratorium on 
  1.3             the profile of learning pending a repeal when certain 
  1.4             conditions are satisfied; reviewing the state's 
  1.5             educational standards and assessments and implementing 
  1.6             recommendations; addressing districts' technology 
  1.7             needs related to recordkeeping, communications, and 
  1.8             accountability; integrating scoring criteria into a 
  1.9             student's course grade; improving curriculum, 
  1.10            teachers' instructional practices, and alternative 
  1.11            assessments; repealing Minnesota Rules, part 
  1.12            3501.0370, subpart 4. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  [MORATORIUM; MORATORIUM REPEAL.] 
  1.15     (a) Minnesota Statutes, sections 120B.02 and 120B.03, and 
  1.16  other law and rules governing the state's profile of learning, 
  1.17  including preparatory content standards and state high school 
  1.18  graduation standards related to the profile of learning, do not 
  1.19  apply to students entering kindergarten through grade 12. 
  1.20     (b) Paragraph (a) shall remain in effect until: 
  1.21     (1) the commissioner certifies to the legislature that, 
  1.22  under section 2, the recommendations in the commissioner's plan 
  1.23  have been fully implemented and districts' technology needs for 
  1.24  reporting have been fully met; and 
  1.25     (2) after the legislature receives the certification, a law 
  1.26  is enacted specifically repealing paragraph (a). 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  [REPORT; IMPLEMENTATION PLAN; TECHNOLOGY NEEDS; 
  1.28  CERTIFICATION.] 
  1.29     Subdivision 1.  [REPORT ON CONTRACTOR RECOMMENDATIONS; 
  2.1   IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.] After a nationally recognized independent 
  2.2   organization under contract conducts an external review of the 
  2.3   state's standards and related procedures, policies, assessments, 
  2.4   and the department of children, families, and learning's 
  2.5   implementation plan consistent with section 3, the commissioner 
  2.6   must analyze the contractor's recommendations and report to the 
  2.7   legislature by December 15, 2000.  The report must contain the 
  2.8   commissioner's analysis of the contractor's recommendations and 
  2.9   a plan the commissioner develops in response to those 
  2.10  recommendations for implementing the recommendations the 
  2.11  commissioner considers appropriate.  The plan must indicate how 
  2.12  the commissioner proposes to alter graduation standards under 
  2.13  the profile of learning to meet the educational needs of all 
  2.14  students, including students with specific needs related to 
  2.15  special education, English as a second language and limited 
  2.16  English proficiency, advanced placement and international 
  2.17  baccalaureate programs, post-secondary enrollment options 
  2.18  programs, area learning center programs, and students' 
  2.19  transfers, among other student needs. 
  2.20     Subd. 2.  [TECHNOLOGY NEEDS.] The commissioner must work 
  2.21  with school districts to ensure that all districts have 
  2.22  sufficient ongoing access to computers and needed software at 
  2.23  minimal cost, and staff training and support to permit: 
  2.24     (1) efficient daily classroom recordkeeping; 
  2.25     (2) consistent communications between schools and between 
  2.26  school districts; and 
  2.27     (3) compatible local and state accountability reporting. 
  2.28     Subd. 3.  [ANNUAL REPORTS.] The commissioner annually by 
  2.29  December 15 must report to the legislature on the progress made 
  2.30  in implementing the commissioner's plan under subdivision 1 and 
  2.31  meeting districts' technology needs for reporting under 
  2.32  subdivision 2.  The commissioner must continue to present an 
  2.33  annual progress report until the conditions under section 1, 
  2.34  paragraph (b), are met. 
  2.35     Sec. 3.  [CONTENT OF EXTERNAL REVIEW.] 
  2.36     (a) The contractor under section 2 must examine and report 
  3.1   on the quality of the state's standards and assessments as an 
  3.2   integrated educational system. 
  3.3      (b) The contractor's report must include: 
  3.4      (1) an analysis of the link between the state's standards 
  3.5   and assessments intended to hold schools accountable for 
  3.6   educational achievement; 
  3.7      (2) meaningful comparisons and specific recommendations for 
  3.8   revision by benchmarking the state's standards and assessments 
  3.9   against the best existing models; and 
  3.10     (3) diagnostic information, including the strengths and 
  3.11  weaknesses of the state's academic standards. 
  3.12     (c) For benchmarking purposes, the contractor must indicate:
  3.13     (1) whether the standards are clear, specific, and 
  3.14  measurable, and whether they are easily understood by teachers, 
  3.15  parents, and students; 
  3.16     (2) how Minnesota's standards in English, mathematics, 
  3.17  science, and social studies compare to highly regarded 
  3.18  standards; what important elements found in the highly regarded 
  3.19  standards are not found in Minnesota's standards; and what is 
  3.20  most important for students to learn; 
  3.21     (3) how well state assessments measure the standards, 
  3.22  whether the assessments measure the most important standards 
  3.23  and, if they do not, which standards are not adequately 
  3.24  measured; 
  3.25     (4) whether the state assessments are challenging, or more 
  3.26  demanding or less demanding than the standards imply, and 
  3.27  whether the assessments are set at an appropriate level of 
  3.28  difficulty for a particular grade level; and 
  3.29     (5) how proficiency is defined on the state's assessments, 
  3.30  whether this definition is comparable to the definition of 
  3.31  proficiency, and what changes can strengthen the quality and 
  3.32  alignment of the state's standards and assessments. 
  3.33     Sec. 4.  [GRADING.] 
  3.34     The assessment of student achievement under the profile of 
  3.35  learning must align with the district's grading system and must 
  3.36  be included as part of the student's letter grade for a subject 
  4.1   or course. 
  4.2      Sec. 5.  [CURRICULUM; INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES FOR TEACHERS; 
  4.3   ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENTS.] 
  4.4      To fully implement standards and assessments, districts 
  4.5   must work to improve: 
  4.6      (1) the scope and sequence of curriculum, especially in 
  4.7   language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies at all 
  4.8   instruction levels; 
  4.9      (2) research-based instructional skills of teachers and 
  4.10  other district staff who work with students; and 
  4.11     (3) alternative assessments of student achievement. 
  4.12     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.13     Minnesota Rules, part 3501.0370, subpart 4, is repealed. 
  4.14     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.15     Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  4.16  enactment.