2006 Minnesota Statutes

120B.132 RAISED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; ADVANCED PLACEMENT
PROGRAMS.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment; eligibility. A program is established to raise kindergarten
through grade 12 academic achievement through increased student participation in preadvanced
placement and advanced placement programs. Schools and charter schools eligible to participate
under this section:
(1) must have a three-year plan approved by the local school board to create a new or expand
an existing program to implement the college board advanced placement courses and exams or
preadvanced placement courses; and
(2) must propose to further raise students' academic achievement by:
(i) increasing the availability of and all students' access to advanced placement;
(ii) expanding the breadth of advanced placement courses or programs that are available
to students;
(iii) increasing the number and the diversity of the students who participate in advanced
placement courses or programs and succeed;
(iv) providing low-income and other disadvantaged students with increased access to
advanced placement courses and programs; or
(v) increasing the number of high school students, including low-income and other
disadvantaged students, who receive college credit by successfully completing advanced
placement courses or programs and achieving satisfactory scores on related exams.
    Subd. 2. Application and review process; funding priority. (a) Charter schools and
school districts in which eligible schools under subdivision 1 are located may apply to the
commissioner, in the form and manner the commissioner determines, for competitive funding
to further raise students' academic achievement. The application must detail the specific efforts
the applicant intends to undertake in further raising students' academic achievement, consistent
with subdivision 1, and a proposed budget detailing the district or charter school's current and
proposed expenditures for advanced placement or preadvanced placement courses and programs.
The proposed budget must demonstrate that the applicant's efforts will supplement but not
supplant any expenditures for advanced placement and preadvanced placement courses and
programs the applicant currently makes available to students. Expenditures for administration
must not exceed five percent of the proposed budget. The commissioner may require an applicant
to provide additional information.
(b) When reviewing applications, the commissioner must determine whether the applicant
satisfied all the requirements in this subdivision and subdivision 1. The commissioner may give
funding priority to an otherwise qualified applicant that demonstrates:
(1) a focus on developing or expanding advanced placement courses and programs or
increasing students' participation in, access to, or success with the courses or programs, including
the participation, access, or success of low-income and other disadvantaged students;
(2) a compelling need for access to advanced placement programs;
(3) an effective ability to actively involve local business and community organizations in
student activities that are integral to advanced placement courses and programs;
(4) access to additional public or nonpublic funds or in-kind contributions that are available
for advanced placement programs; or
(5) an intent to implement activities that target low-income and other disadvantaged students.
    Subd. 3. Funding; permissible funding uses. (a) The commissioner shall award grants to
applicant school districts and charter schools that meet the requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2.
The commissioner must award grants on an equitable geographical basis to the extent feasible and
consistent with this section. Grant awards must not exceed the lesser of:
(1) $85 times the number of pupils enrolled at the participating sites on October 1 of the
previous fiscal year; or
(2) the approved supplemental expenditures based on the budget submitted under subdivision
2. For charter schools in their first year of operation, the maximum grant award must be calculated
using the number of pupils enrolled on October 1 of the current fiscal year. The commissioner
may adjust the maximum grant award computed using prior year data for changes in enrollment
attributable to school closings, school openings, grade level reconfigurations, or school district
reorganizations between the prior fiscal year and the current fiscal year.
(b) School districts and charter schools that submit an application and receive funding under
this section must use the funding, consistent with the application, to:
(1) provide teacher training and instruction to more effectively serve students, including
low-income and other disadvantaged students, who participate in preadvanced and advanced
placement programs;
(2) further develop advanced placement courses or programs;
(3) improve the transition between grade levels to better prepare students, including
low-income and other disadvantaged students, for succeeding in advanced placement programs;
(4) purchase books and supplies;
(5) pay course or program fees;
(6) increase students' participation in and success with advanced placement programs;
(7) expand students' access to preadvanced placement or advanced placement courses or
programs through online learning;
(8) hire appropriately licensed personnel to teach additional advanced placement programs; or
(9) engage in other activity directly related to expanding students' access to, participation in,
and success with preadvanced placement or advanced placement courses and programs, including
low-income and other disadvantaged students.
    Subd. 4. Annual reports. (a) Each school district and charter school that receives a grant
under this section annually must collect demographic and other student data to demonstrate and
measure the extent to which the district or charter school raised students' academic achievement
under this program and must report the data to the commissioner in the form and manner the
commissioner determines. The commissioner annually by February 15 must make summary data
about this program available to the education policy and finance committees of the legislature.
(b) Each school district and charter school that receives a grant under this section annually
must report to the commissioner, consistent with the Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting
Standards, its actual expenditures for advanced placement and preadvanced placement programs.
The report must demonstrate that the school district or charter school has maintained its effort
from other sources for advanced placement and preadvanced placement programs compared with
the previous fiscal year, and the district or charter school has expended all grant funds, consistent
with its approved budget.
History: 2006 c 282 art 4 s 1