1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to children; establishing the TEACH program; 
  1.3             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 119B. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [119B.221] [TEACHER EDUCATION AND COMPENSATION 
  1.7   HELPS; MINNESOTA EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER RETENTION PROGRAMS.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The commissioner shall 
  1.9   establish a teacher education and compensation helps program 
  1.10  (TEACH) to provide tuition scholarships and education incentives 
  1.11  and an early childhood teacher retention program to provide 
  1.12  retention incentives to early care and education providers.  The 
  1.13  commissioner shall transfer funds provided under this section 
  1.14  through a grant to a nonprofit organization licensed to 
  1.15  administer the TEACH early childhood program.  The commissioner 
  1.16  shall approve application procedures, eligibility criteria, 
  1.17  terms, and other conditions necessary to administer the program. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [PROGRAM COMPONENTS.] (a) The nonprofit 
  1.19  organization shall distribute funds for: 
  1.20     (1) tuition scholarships up to $2,000 per year for courses 
  1.21  leading to the nationally recognized child development associate 
  1.22  credential or college-level courses leading to the University of 
  1.23  Minnesota competency-based training assessment credential, or 
  1.24  similar credentials recognized by the department or a 
  1.25  certificate, associate degree, or bachelor's degree in early 
  2.1   childhood development and school-age care; and 
  2.2      (2) education incentives of a minimum of $100 to 
  2.3   participants in the tuition scholarship program if they complete 
  2.4   a year of working in the early care and education field. 
  2.5      (b) Applicants for the scholarship must be either employed 
  2.6   by a licensed early childhood or child care program and working 
  2.7   directly with children, a licensed family child care provider, 
  2.8   or an employee in a school-age or early childhood and family 
  2.9   education program operated under the auspices of a 
  2.10  license-exempt public program.  Priority must be given to lower 
  2.11  wage earners.  Scholarship recipients must contribute five 
  2.12  percent of the total scholarship and must be sponsored by their 
  2.13  employer, who must also contribute five percent of the total 
  2.14  scholarship.  Scholarship recipients who are self-employed must 
  2.15  contribute five percent of the total scholarship only.  
  2.16     (c) The organization shall also distribute funds for 
  2.17  teacher retention incentives of $600 to $3,500 annually to be 
  2.18  paid biannually.  Applicants for the retention incentives must 
  2.19  be either employed by a licensed early childhood or child care 
  2.20  program and working directly with children, a licensed family 
  2.21  child care provider, or an employee in a school-age or early 
  2.22  childhood and family education program operated under the 
  2.23  auspices of a license-exempt public program.  Priority must be 
  2.24  given to lower wage earners.  The amount of the retention 
  2.25  incentive must be based on the applicant's level of education 
  2.26  when the applicant applies for the incentive.  A provider is 
  2.27  eligible for the retention incentive if the provider: 
  2.28     (1) has worked in the field for at least one year and has 
  2.29  been working at the same location for at least one year at the 
  2.30  time of application; and 
  2.31     (2) is earning an hourly wage that is less than the hourly 
  2.32  wage equivalent of elementary school teachers in the local 
  2.33  school district. 
  2.34     The commissioner shall annually adjust the scholarship and 
  2.35  retention incentive amounts by the rate of inflation as measured 
  2.36  by the national Consumer Price Index. 
  3.1      Subd. 3.  [ADVISORY COMMITTEE.] The TEACH early childhood 
  3.2   and Minnesota early childhood teacher retention programs must 
  3.3   have an advisory board composed of five members from early 
  3.4   childhood and school-age care professional associations; three 
  3.5   members from professional associations that represent the 
  3.6   cultural diversity of communities; one member from the child 
  3.7   care resource and referral program; one member of the business 
  3.8   community working in the human resources field; two parents 
  3.9   using child care; one representative each from a Head Start 
  3.10  program and an early childhood and family education program; one 
  3.11  licensed child care center teacher; one licensed child care 
  3.12  center director; one licensed family child care provider; one 
  3.13  kindergarten through third grade teacher; two representatives 
  3.14  from Minnesota's higher education system; and two at-large 
  3.15  representatives.  
  3.16     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.17     Subdivision 1.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND 
  3.18  LEARNING.] The sums indicated in this section are appropriated 
  3.19  from the children's account in the general fund to the 
  3.20  department of children, families, and learning. 
  3.21     Subd. 2.  [TEACHER EDUCATION AND COMPENSATION HELPS; 
  3.22  MINNESOTA EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER RETENTION PROGRAMS.] For the 
  3.23  teacher education and compensation helps and the Minnesota early 
  3.24  childhood teacher retention programs in section 1, $2,000,000 is 
  3.25  appropriated in fiscal year 2003 and shall become part of the 
  3.26  base level funding for fiscal year 2004.