1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; further clarifying key elements of Minnesota's career 
1.3 	pathways and technical education system; enlisting P-20 partnership support in 
1.4 	this work;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 122A.60, subdivisions 
1.5 	1a, 2, 3; 127A.70, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, 
1.6 	sections 120B.11, subdivisions 1, 1a; 120B.115; 120B.125.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 120B.11, subdivision 1, is 
1.9 	amended to read:
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. For the purposes of this section and section 120B.10, 
1.11 	the following terms have the meanings given them.
1.12 	(a) "Instruction" means methods of providing learning experiences that enable 
1.13 	a student to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements
1.14 	 including applied and experiential learning and contextualized projects, among other 
1.15 	learning opportunities.
1.16 	(b) "Curriculum" means district or school adopted programs and, written plans, and 
1.17 	competency-based curricula for providing students with learning experiences that lead to 
1.18 	expected knowledge and skills and career and college readiness.
1.19 	(c) "World's best workforce" means striving to: meet school readiness goals; have 
1.20 	all third grade students achieve grade-level literacy; provide students with applied and 
1.21 	experiential learning and contextualized projects, among other learning opportunities;
1.22 	 close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and 
1.23 	between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students 
1.24 	attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and have all 
1.25 	students graduate from high school.

2.1 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2015-2016 school year and 
2.2 	later.

2.3 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 120B.11, subdivision 1a, is 
2.4 	amended to read:
2.5 		Subd. 1a.Performance measures. Measures to determine school district and 
2.6 	school site progress in striving to create the world's best workforce must include at least:
2.7 	(1) student performance on the National Association Assessment of Education 
2.8 	Progress where applicable;
2.9 	(2) the size of the academic achievement gap by student subgroup;
2.10 	(3) student performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments;
2.11 	(4) high school graduation rates; and
2.12 	(5) career and college readiness under section 120B.30, subdivision 1; and
2.13 	(6) summary information about the effectiveness of applied and experiential learning 
2.14 	and contextualized projects, among other learning opportunities.

2.15 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2015-2016 school year and 
2.16 	later.

2.17 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 120B.115, is amended to read:
2.18 	120B.115 REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
2.19 	(a) Regional centers of excellence are established to assist and support school 
2.20 	boards, school districts, school sites, and charter schools in implementing research-based 
2.21 	interventions and practices to increase the students' achievement within a region. 
2.22 	The centers must develop partnerships with local and regional service cooperatives, 
2.23 	postsecondary institutions, integrated school districts, the department, children's mental 
2.24 	health providers, or other local or regional entities interested in providing a cohesive 
2.25 	and consistent regional delivery system that serves all schools equitably. Centers must 
2.26 	assist school districts, school sites, and charter schools in developing similar partnerships. 
2.27 	Center support may include assisting school districts, school sites, and charter schools 
2.28 	with common principles of effective practice, including:
2.29 	(1) defining measurable education goals under section 120B.11, subdivision 2, and 
2.30 	for secondary and postsecondary career pathways and technical education programs, 
2.31 	offering applied and contextualized learning, competency-based curricula, and other 
2.32 	nontraditional learning opportunities;
2.33 	(2) implementing evidence-based practices;
3.1 	(3) engaging in data-driven decision-making;
3.2 	(4) providing multilayered levels of support;
3.3 	(5) supporting culturally responsive teaching and learning aligning state and local 
3.4 	academic standards and career and college readiness benchmarks; and
3.5 	(6) engaging parents, families, youth, and local community members in programs 
3.6 	and activities at the school district, school site, or charter school.
3.7 	Centers must work with school site leadership teams to build capacity to implement 
3.8 	programs that close the achievement gap, increase students' progress and growth toward 
3.9 	career and college readiness, and increase student graduation rates.
3.10 	(b) The department must assist the regional centers of excellence to meet staff, 
3.11 	facilities, and technical needs, provide the centers with programmatic support, and work 
3.12 	with the centers to establish a coherent statewide system of regional support, including 
3.13 	consulting, training, and technical support, to help school boards, school districts, school 
3.14 	sites, and charter schools effectively and efficiently implement the world's best workforce 
3.15 	goals under section 120B.11 and other state and federal education initiatives, including 
3.16 	secondary and postsecondary career pathways and technical education.

3.17 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 120B.125, is amended to read:
3.18 	120B.125 PLANNING FOR STUDENTS' SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION 
3.19 	TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT; INVOLUNTARY 
3.20 	CAREER TRACKING PROHIBITED PERSONAL LEARNING PLANS.
3.21 	(a) Consistent with sections 120B.128, 120B.13, 120B.131, 120B.132, 120B.14, 
3.22 	120B.15, 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), 125A.08, and other related sections, 
3.23 	school districts, beginning in by the 2013-2014 2014-2015 school year, must assist all 
3.24 	students by no later than grade 9 to explore their educational, college, and career interests, 
3.25 	aptitudes, and aspirations and develop a plan for achieving kindergarten through grade 
3.26 	12 career and college readiness and a smooth and successful transition to postsecondary 
3.27 	education or employment. All students' plans must be designed to:
3.28 	(1) provide a comprehensive academic and competency-based plan for completing
3.29 	 to prepare for and complete a college and career-ready curriculum premised on by
3.30 	 meeting state and local academic standards and developing 21st century career and 
3.31 	employment-related skills such as team work, collaboration, and good work habits;
3.32 	(2) emphasize academic rigor and high expectations;
3.33 	(3) help students identify interests, aptitudes, aspirations, and personal learning 
3.34 	styles that may affect their career and college-ready goals and postsecondary education 
3.35 	and employment choices;
4.1 	(4) set age- and grade-appropriate career and college-ready goals and create the 
4.2 	timelines and identify effective means for achieving those goals;
4.3 	(4) (5) help students gain access to postsecondary education and career options;
4.4 	(5) (6) integrate strong academic content into career-focused courses and applied 
4.5 	and experiential learning opportunities and integrate relevant career-focused courses and 
4.6 	applied and experiential learning opportunities into strong academic content;
4.7 	(6) (7) help students and families identify and gain access to appropriate counseling 
4.8 	and other supports and assistance that enable students to complete required coursework, 
4.9 	prepare for postsecondary education and careers, and obtain information about 
4.10 	postsecondary education costs and eligibility for financial aid and scholarship;
4.11 	(7) (8) help students and families identify collaborative partnerships of kindergarten 
4.12 	through grade 12 schools, postsecondary institutions, economic development agencies, 
4.13 	and local and regional employers that support students' middle and high school students 
4.14 	through their transition to postsecondary education and employment and provide students 
4.15 	with applied and experiential learning opportunities; and
4.16 	(8) (9) be reviewed and revised at least annually by the student, the student's parent 
4.17 	or guardian, and the school or district to ensure that the student's course-taking schedule 
4.18 	keeps the student making adequate age- and grade-appropriate progress to meet state and 
4.19 	local academic standards and high school graduation requirements and with a reasonable 
4.20 	chance to succeed with employment or postsecondary education without the need to first 
4.21 	complete remedial course work.
4.22 	(b) A school district may develop grade-level curricula or provide instruction that 
4.23 	introduces students to various careers, but must not require any curriculum, instruction, 
4.24 	or employment-related activity that obligates an elementary or secondary student to 
4.25 	involuntarily select or pursue a career, career interest, employment goals, or related job 
4.26 	training.

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

4.28 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.60, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
4.29 		Subd. 1a.Effective staff development activities. (a) Staff development activities 
4.30 	must:
4.31 	(1) focus on the school classroom and research-based strategies that improve student 
4.32 	learning;
4.33 	(2) provide opportunities for teachers to practice and improve their instructional 
4.34 	skills over time;
5.1 	(3) provide opportunities for teachers to use student data as part of their daily work 
5.2 	to increase student achievement;
5.3 	(4) enhance teacher content knowledge and instructional skills, including to 
5.4 	accommodate the delivery of digital and blended learning and curriculum and engage 
5.5 	students with technology;
5.6 	(5) align with state and local academic standards with regular academic and 
5.7 	competency-based curricula;
5.8 	(6) provide opportunities to build professional relationships, foster collaboration 
5.9 	among principals and staff who provide instruction, and provide opportunities for 
5.10 	teacher-to-teacher mentoring; and
5.11 	(7) align with the plan of the district or site for an alternative teacher professional 
5.12 	pay system; and
5.13 	(8) provide opportunities for staff to learn about current workforce trends and the 
5.14 	connections between workforce trends and postsecondary education and training options, 
5.15 	including career and technical education options.
5.16 	Staff development activities may include curriculum development and curriculum training 
5.17 	programs, and activities that provide teachers and other members of site-based teams 
5.18 	training to enhance team performance. The school district also may implement other 
5.19 	staff development activities required by law and activities associated with professional 
5.20 	teacher compensation models.
5.21 	(b) Release time provided for teachers to supervise students on field trips and school 
5.22 	activities, or independent tasks not associated with enhancing the teacher's knowledge 
5.23 	and instructional skills, such as preparing report cards, calculating grades, or organizing 
5.24 	classroom materials, may not be counted as staff development time that is financed with 
5.25 	staff development reserved revenue under section 122A.61.

5.26 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.60, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
5.27 		Subd. 2.Contents of plan. The plan must include the staff development outcomes 
5.28 	under subdivision 3, the means to achieve the outcomes, and procedures for evaluating 
5.29 	progress at each school site toward meeting education outcomes, consistent with 
5.30 	relicensure requirements under section 122A.18, subdivision 4. The plan also must:
5.31 	(1) support stable and productive professional communities achieved through 
5.32 	ongoing and schoolwide progress and growth in teaching practice;
5.33 	(2) emphasize coaching, professional learning communities, classroom action 
5.34 	research, and other job-embedded models;
6.1 	(3) maintain a strong subject matter focus premised on students' learning goals, 
6.2 	consistent with section 120B.125;
6.3 	(4) ensure specialized preparation and learning about issues related to teaching 
6.4 	English learners and students with special needs; and
6.5 	(5) reinforce national and state standards of effective teaching practice.

6.6 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 122A.60, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
6.7 		Subd. 3.Staff development outcomes. The advisory staff development committee 
6.8 	must adopt a staff development plan for improving student achievement. The plan must 
6.9 	be consistent with education outcomes that the school board determines. The plan 
6.10 	must include ongoing staff development activities that contribute toward continuous 
6.11 	improvement in achievement of the following goals:
6.12 	(1) improve student achievement of state and local education standards in all areas of 
6.13 	the curriculum, including areas of regular academic and applied and experiential learning,
6.14 	 by using best practices methods;
6.15 	(2) effectively meet the needs of a diverse student population, including at-risk 
6.16 	children, children with disabilities, and gifted children, within the regular classroom, 
6.17 	applied and experiential learning settings, and other settings;
6.18 	(3) provide an inclusive curriculum for a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse 
6.19 	student population that is consistent with the state education diversity rule and the district's 
6.20 	education diversity plan;
6.21 	(4) improve staff collaboration and develop mentoring and peer coaching programs 
6.22 	for teachers new to the school or district;
6.23 	(5) effectively teach and model violence prevention policy and curriculum that 
6.24 	address early intervention alternatives, issues of harassment, and teach nonviolent 
6.25 	alternatives for conflict resolution;
6.26 	(6) effectively deliver digital and blended learning and curriculum and engage 
6.27 	students with technology; and
6.28 	(7) provide teachers and other members of site-based management teams with 
6.29 	appropriate management and financial management skills.

6.30 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 127A.70, is amended by adding a subdivision 
6.31 	to read:
6.32 		Subd. 2a.Career pathways and technical education; key elements; stakeholder 
6.33 	collaboration. (a) The partnership must work with representatives of the Department 
6.34 	of Education, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, the Board 
7.1 	of Teaching, the Board of School Administrators, local and regional employers, local 
7.2 	school boards, adult basic education program providers, postsecondary institutions, 
7.3 	parents, other interested and affected education stakeholders, and other major statewide 
7.4 	educational groups and constituencies to help the legislature identify specific policy, 
7.5 	administrative, and statutory changes needed under sections 120B.11, 120B.125, 122A.09, 
7.6 	122A.14, 122A.18, and 122A.60, among other statutory provisions, to effect and if 
7.7 	appropriate revise, a comprehensive, effective, and publicly accountable P-20 education 
7.8 	system premised on developing, implementing, and realizing students' individual career 
7.9 	and college readiness plans and goals. The partnership must help stakeholders under 
7.10 	this paragraph to collaborate in:
7.11 	(1) providing students regular and frequent access to multiple qualified individuals 
7.12 	within the school and local and regional community who have access to reliable and 
7.13 	accurate information, resources, and technology the students need to successfully pursue 
7.14 	career and technical education, other postsecondary education, or work-based training 
7.15 	options;
7.16 	(2) regularly engaging students in planning and continually reviewing their own 
7.17 	career and college readiness plans and goals and in pursuing academic and applied and 
7.18 	experiential learning that helps them realize their goals; and
7.19 	(3) identifying and applying valid and reliable measures of student progress and 
7.20 	program efficacy that, among other requirements, can accommodate students' prior 
7.21 	education-related experiences and applied and experiential learning that students acquire 
7.22 	via contextualized projects and other recognized learning opportunities.
7.23 	(b) The partnership must help the commissioner of education and representatives 
7.24 	of secondary and postsecondary institutions and programs to collaborate in organizing 
7.25 	and implementing a framework of the foundational knowledge and skills and career 
7.26 	fields, clusters, and pathways for students enrolled in a secondary school, postsecondary 
7.27 	institution, or work-based program. The key elements of these programs of study for 
7.28 	students pursuing postsecondary workforce training or other education must include:
7.29 	(1) competency-based curricula aligned with industry expectations and skill 
7.30 	standards;
7.31 	(2) sequential course offerings that gradually build students' skills, enabling students 
7.32 	to graduate from high school and complete postsecondary programs;
7.33 	(3) flexible and segmented course and program formats to accommodate students' 
7.34 	interests and needs;
7.35 	(4) course portability to allow students to seamlessly progress in the students' 
7.36 	education and career; and
8.1 	(5) sufficient and sufficiently strong P-20 connections to facilitate students' 
8.2 	uninterrupted skill building, provide students with career opportunities, and align 
8.3 	academic credentials with opportunities for advancement in high-skill, high-wage, and 
8.4 	high-demand occupations.
8.5 	(c) The partnership must help stakeholders under this paragraph examine 
8.6 	possibilities for redesigning teacher and school administrator licensure requirements, and 
8.7 	make recommendations to the Board of Teaching and the Board of School Administrators, 
8.8 	respectively, to create specialized licenses, credentials, and other endorsement forms 
8.9 	to increase students' participation in language immersion programs, world language 
8.10 	instruction, career development opportunities, work-based learning, early college courses 
8.11 	and careers, career and technical education programs, Montessori schools, and project and 
8.12 	place-based learning, among other career and college-ready opportunities. Consistent with 
8.13 	the possibilities for redesigning educators' licenses, the stakeholders also must examine 
8.14 	how to restructure staff development and training opportunities under sections 120B.125 
8.15 	and 122A.60 to realize the goals of this subdivision.
8.16 	(d) The partnership must facilitate collaboration between the Department 
8.17 	of Education, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, and 
8.18 	postsecondary institutions and systems to create a mobile, Web-based hub for students and 
8.19 	their families that centralizes existing resources on careers and employment trends and the 
8.20 	educational pathways required to attain such careers and employment.

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