1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for the Minnesota 
  1.3             Common Schools of Excellence; appropriating money; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.03, 
  1.5             subdivision 19; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 124A. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [124A.50] [CITATION.] 
  1.9      Sections 1 to 9 may be cited as the "Minnesota Common 
  1.10  Schools of Excellence Act." 
  1.11     Sec. 2.  [124A.51] [PURPOSE.] 
  1.12     The purposes of the Minnesota Common Schools of Excellence 
  1.13  Act are the following: 
  1.14     (1) to ensure that the fundamental right to an education 
  1.15  under the state Constitution is met for all children; 
  1.16     (2) to provide all parents with the freedom to choose the 
  1.17  educational setting most effective for their children; 
  1.18     (3) to encourage socioeconomic integration through choice 
  1.19  and increased access; 
  1.20     (4) to make alternative learning environments available to 
  1.21  pupils who do not perform satisfactorily in traditional schools; 
  1.22     (5) to increase the role families play in the education of 
  1.23  their children; and 
  1.24     (6) to reestablish confidence in the educational process by 
  1.25  generating greater family commitment to the school of choice and 
  1.26  creating responsive and professional relationships between 
  2.1   educators and parents. 
  2.2      Sec. 3.  [124A.52] [MINNESOTA COMMON SCHOOLS OF 
  2.3   EXCELLENCE.] 
  2.4      Subdivision 1.  [ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.] A school is eligible to 
  2.5   participate if it meets the following requirements: 
  2.6      (1) the school conforms to the provisions of chapter 363; 
  2.7      (2) has, or can demonstrate that it will have in the school 
  2.8   year following certification, a student population where the 
  2.9   number of children attending eligible for free and reduced lunch 
  2.10  is at least 25 percent of the total students attending.  A 
  2.11  school will be considered to have met this requirement if actual 
  2.12  attendance measured after the end of the school year is within 
  2.13  2.5 percentage points of this goal; 
  2.14     (3) operates a specific curriculum and student assessment 
  2.15  system that fully implements the basic graduation standards and 
  2.16  the complete profiles of learning standards as defined by the 
  2.17  state board of education.  The board, in consultation with the 
  2.18  chairs of the education funding divisions of the house and 
  2.19  senate, shall establish guidelines to determine if this criteria 
  2.20  has been met; 
  2.21     (4) the school provides a personalized learning plan for 
  2.22  each eligible student; and 
  2.23     (5) the school makes an application through its legal 
  2.24  governing board to the board of the district in which it is 
  2.25  located prior to December 1, requesting approval as an eligible 
  2.26  school for the next school year.  The application must 
  2.27  demonstrate that the school meets the requirements of clauses 
  2.28  (1) to (5). 
  2.29     Subd. 2.  [EMPLOYEES.] Faculty of eligible schools are 
  2.30  covered under chapter 179A. 
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBLE FEES AND CHARGES.] Except as provided 
  2.32  in this subdivision, an eligible school must not charge an 
  2.33  eligible student more than the basic certificate amount.  An 
  2.34  eligible school may charge for additional educationally related 
  2.35  services for children demonstrating a need for such services.  
  2.36  The services must compensate for achievement difficulties of the 
  3.1   child.  In the case of a child with an individualized education 
  3.2   plan, a parent or guardian may apply to the department for an 
  3.3   increase in the certificate amount to cover the cost of these 
  3.4   services not otherwise covered. 
  3.5      Sec. 4.  [124A.53] [APPLICATIONS AND ACCEPTANCE.] 
  3.6      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICATION FORMS.] Every public school, 
  3.7   each eligible nonpublic school, and the state board of education 
  3.8   must make available application forms for participation in the 
  3.9   common school preservation program. 
  3.10     Subd. 2.  [SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.] The parent or 
  3.11  guardian of an eligible pupil shall submit a single application 
  3.12  to an eligible school for enrollment the following fall.  The 
  3.13  parent or guardian shall also indicate whether the pupil has 
  3.14  siblings who are applying for participation in the program and 
  3.15  whether, for the purposes of subdivision 4, paragraph (b), the 
  3.16  pupil and siblings should be treated as a single applicant or 
  3.17  individually. 
  3.18     Subd. 3.  [ADMISSION OF PUPILS.] A school shall determine 
  3.19  admission of a pupil in the following manner. 
  3.20     (a) A school shall admit a pupil if the pupil is attending 
  3.21  the school to which application is made at the time of making 
  3.22  the application or a sibling of the pupil has attended the 
  3.23  school to which application is made.  If the number of eligible 
  3.24  pupils is covered by this clause exceeds the number of spaces 
  3.25  available, priority shall be given to pupils currently attending 
  3.26  the school. 
  3.27     (b) If spaces are available after admitting pupils 
  3.28  described in paragraph (a), the school shall accept pupils for 
  3.29  admission up to the maximum number of spaces available. 
  3.30     Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the admissions 
  3.31  criteria established by a nonpublic school. 
  3.32     Subd. 4.  [NOTIFICATIONS.] The school shall notify each 
  3.33  applicant whether the pupil has been accepted for or denied 
  3.34  admission.  The parent or guardian shall notify the school 
  3.35  whether the pupil will attend the school.  After receiving the 
  3.36  notices from parents and guardians, if there are unfilled 
  4.1   spaces, the school may accept additional pupils for admission. 
  4.2      Sec. 5.  [124A.54] [COMMON SCHOOL CERTIFICATE.] 
  4.3      (a) A student attending a qualifying school is eligible for 
  4.4   a common school certificate according to this section.  Each 
  4.5   student shall receive a certificate equal to:  (1) the basic 
  4.6   amount of $6,000, plus (2) $6,000 times the percentage developed 
  4.7   according to paragraph (b). 
  4.8      (b) The percentage for paragraph (a) is equal to:  (1) 
  4.9   three, times (2) the ratio of family income defined for the 
  4.10  purpose of free and reduced lunch to twice the maximum income 
  4.11  eligible for free lunch, times (3) 1 minus the ratio of the 
  4.12  actual grade of attendance of the child to 12. 
  4.13     A pupil for whom payment is made under this section may not 
  4.14  be counted under section 123.938, 123.935, 124.17, or 124A.034.  
  4.15  The department shall develop a system to redeem the certificates 
  4.16  for eligible schools.  The amounts in paragraph (a) shall be 
  4.17  increased annually by the percentage change in the United States 
  4.18  Consumer Price Index. 
  4.19     Sec. 6.  [124A.56] [IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES.] 
  4.20     The state board of education shall adopt guidelines 
  4.21  necessary to implement the Common School Preservation Act of 
  4.22  1997.  The guidelines must be adopted with the advice of the 
  4.23  chairs of the appropriate education funding divisions in the 
  4.24  house and senate.  The guidelines must include provisions for 
  4.25  the data required of schools for eligibility; the dates required 
  4.26  for application and admission and grounds for exceptions to the 
  4.27  dates; substantial hardship situations; midyear pupil transfers; 
  4.28  the dates for transfer of certificates to parents or guardians 
  4.29  under section 5; and the pupil application form. 
  4.30     Sec. 7.  [124A.57] [COMMON SCHOOL AID APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.31     $75,000,000 is annually appropriated from the general fund 
  4.32  to the commissioner of children, families, and learning for the 
  4.33  redemption of common school certificates under Minnesota 
  4.34  Statutes, section 124A.54.  Any unexpended amount each year 
  4.35  shall not cancel and shall not be included in the reallocation 
  4.36  under Minnesota Statutes, section 124.14, subdivision 7, but 
  5.1   shall be placed in a separate account in the general fund to be 
  5.2   used for the purposes of section 124A.54. 
  5.3      Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.03, 
  5.4   subdivision 19, is amended to read: 
  5.5      Subd. 19.  [TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT.] "Terms and 
  5.6   conditions of employment" means the hours of employment, the 
  5.7   compensation therefor including fringe benefits except 
  5.8   retirement contributions or benefits other than employer payment 
  5.9   of, or contributions to, premiums for group insurance coverage 
  5.10  of retired employees or severance pay, and the employer's 
  5.11  personnel policies affecting the working conditions of the 
  5.12  employees.  In the case of professional employees for schools 
  5.13  not operating under sections 1 to 7, the term does not mean 
  5.14  educational policies of a school district.  "Terms and 
  5.15  conditions of employment" is subject to section 179A.07.  
  5.16     Sec. 9.  [INFORMATION SYSTEM.] 
  5.17     $150,000 is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal 
  5.18  year 1998 to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  5.19  learning.  The commissioner shall develop and implement an 
  5.20  information system that provides to interested parents data on 
  5.21  the performance of individual schools eligible under this act. 
  5.22     Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.23     Sections 1 to 9 are effective July 1, 1997.  The December 1 
  5.24  deadline in section 3, subdivision 1, clause (5), is waived for 
  5.25  the 1997-1998 school year.