1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education finance; making permanent the authority for certain students 
1.3 	with interrupted formal education to participate in an early middle college program 
1.4 	for one additional year;amending Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 
1.5 	124D.68, subdivision 2.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 124D.68, subdivision 2, is 
1.8 	amended to read:
1.9 		Subd. 2.Eligible pupils. (a) A pupil under the age of 21 or who meets the requirements 
1.10 	of section 120A.20, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), is eligible to participate in the graduation 
1.11 	incentives program, if the pupil:
1.12 	(1) performs substantially below the performance level for pupils of the same age in a 
1.13 	locally determined achievement test;
1.14 	(2) is behind in satisfactorily completing coursework or obtaining credits for graduation;
1.15 	(3) is pregnant or is a parent;
1.16 	(4) has been assessed as chemically dependent;
1.17 	(5) has been excluded or expelled according to sections 121A.40 to 121A.56;
1.18 	(6) has been referred by a school district for enrollment in an eligible program or a 
1.19 	program pursuant to section 124D.69;
1.20 	(7) is a victim of physical or sexual abuse;
1.21 	(8) has experienced mental health problems;
2.1 	(9) has experienced homelessness sometime within six months before requesting a 
2.2 	transfer to an eligible program;
2.3 	(10) speaks English as a second language or is an English learner; or
2.4 	(11) has withdrawn from school or has been chronically truant; or
2.5 	(12) is being treated in a hospital in the seven-county metropolitan area for cancer or 
2.6 	other life threatening illness or is the sibling of an eligible pupil who is being currently 
2.7 	treated, and resides with the pupil's family at least 60 miles beyond the outside boundary 
2.8 	of the seven-county metropolitan area.
2.9 	(b) ~~For fiscal years 2017 and 2018 only,~~ A pupil otherwise qualifying under paragraph 
2.10 	(a) who is at least 21 years of age and not yet 22 years of age, is an English learner with an 
2.11 	interrupted formal education according to section 124D.59, subdivision 2a, and was in an 
2.12 	early middle college program during the previous school year is eligible to participate in 
2.13 	the graduation incentives program under section 124D.68 and in concurrent enrollment 
2.14 	courses offered under section 124D.09, subdivision 10, and is funded in the same manner 
2.15 	as other pupils under this section.

2.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2018.