Section | Headnote |
---|---|
120B.01 | DEFINITIONS. |
ACADEMIC STANDARDS | |
120B.019 | REPEALING PROFILE OF LEARNING STATUTES AND RULES. |
120B.02 | EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS FOR MINNESOTA'S STUDENTS. |
120B.021 | REQUIRED ACADEMIC STANDARDS. |
120B.022 | ELECTIVE STANDARDS. |
120B.023 | BENCHMARKS. |
120B.024 | GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS; COURSE CREDITS. |
120B.03 | [Repealed, 2000 c 500 s 21] |
120B.031 | [Repealed, 2003 c 129 art 1 s 12] |
120B.04 | [Repealed, 2000 c 500 s 21] |
120B.05 | [Repealed, 1999 c 241 art 1 s 69] |
120B.07 | EARLY GRADUATION. |
CURRICULUM | |
120B.10 | FINDINGS; IMPROVING INSTRUCTION AND CURRICULUM. |
120B.11 | SCHOOL DISTRICT PROCESS FOR REVIEWING CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. |
120B.12 | READING INTERVENTION. |
120B.125 | INVOLUNTARY CAREER TRACKING PROHIBITED. |
120B.128 | EDUCATIONAL PLANNING AND ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (EPAS) PROGRAM. |
120B.13 | ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS. |
120B.131 | COLLEGE-LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP). |
120B.132 | RAISED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; ADVANCED PLACEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAMS. |
120B.14 | ADVANCED ACADEMIC CREDIT. |
120B.15 | GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS PROGRAMS. |
120B.16 | SECONDARY CREDIT FOR STUDENTS. |
120B.18 | AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE. |
120B.19 | CHINESE LANGUAGE PROGRAMS; CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. |
120B.20 | PARENTAL CURRICULUM REVIEW. |
120B.22 | VIOLENCE PREVENTION EDUCATION. |
120B.23 | VIOLENCE PREVENTION EDUCATION GRANTS. |
120B.232 | CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION. |
120B.233 | [Repealed, 2007 c 146 art 2 s 48] |
120B.235 | AMERICAN HERITAGE EDUCATION. |
120B.236 | CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION AND AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR INSTRUCTION. |
120B.24 | ENDOWED CHAIR. |
120B.299 | DEFINITIONS. |
ASSESSMENT; ACCOUNTABILITY | |
120B.30 | STATEWIDE TESTING AND REPORTING SYSTEM. |
120B.31 | SYSTEM ACCOUNTABILITY AND STATISTICAL ADJUSTMENTS. |
120B.35 | STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND GROWTH. |
120B.36 | SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY; APPEALS PROCESS. |
120B.362 | [Repealed, 2009 c 96 art 2 s 68] |
120B.363 | CREDENTIAL FOR EDUCATION PARAPROFESSIONALS. |
120B.365 | ASSESSMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. |
120B.38 | [Repealed, 1998 c 398 art 6 s 38] |
120B.39 | [Repealed, 2009 c 96 art 2 s 68] |
For the purposes of this chapter, the words defined in section 120A.05 have the same meaning.
1998 c 397 art 3 s 1; art 11 s 3
Notwithstanding sections 120B.02, 120B.30, 120B.31, and 120B.35, or other law to the contrary, the commissioner of education must not implement the profile of learning portion of the state's results-oriented graduation rule.
(a) The legislature is committed to establishing rigorous academic standards for Minnesota's public school students. To that end, the commissioner shall adopt in rule statewide academic standards. The commissioner shall not prescribe in rule or otherwise the delivery system, classroom assessments, or form of instruction that school sites must use. For purposes of this chapter, a school site is a separate facility, or a separate program within a facility that a local school board recognizes as a school site for funding purposes.
(b) All commissioner actions regarding the rule must be premised on the following:
(1) the rule is intended to raise academic expectations for students, teachers, and schools;
(2) any state action regarding the rule must evidence consideration of school district autonomy; and
(3) the Department of Education, with the assistance of school districts, must make available information about all state initiatives related to the rule to students and parents, teachers, and the general public in a timely format that is appropriate, comprehensive, and readily understandable.
(c) When fully implemented, the requirements for high school graduation in Minnesota must require students to satisfactorily complete, as determined by the school district, the course credit requirements under section 120B.024, all state academic standards or local academic standards where state standards do not apply, and successfully pass graduation examinations as required under section 120B.30.
(d) The commissioner shall periodically review and report on the state's assessment process.
(e) School districts are not required to adopt specific provisions of the federal School-to-Work programs.
Ex1959 c 71 art 2 s 11; 1965 c 718 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 23,24; 1969 c 288 s 1; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1975 c 162 s 6,7; 1976 c 271 s 21; 1977 c 347 s 19; 1977 c 447 art 7 s 4; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1982 c 548 art 4 s 4,23; 1983 c 258 s 22; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1987 c 178 s 5; 1987 c 398 art 7 s 5; 1989 c 329 art 7 s 2; art 8 s 1; art 9 s 4; 1990 c 375 s 3; 1991 c 265 art 9 s 13; 1993 c 224 art 12 s 2-6; art 14 s 4; 1994 c 647 art 7 s 1; art 8 s 1; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 7 s 1; art 16 s 13; 1996 c 412 art 7 s 1; 1997 c 1 s 1; 1997 c 162 art 2 s 11; 1998 c 397 art 4 s 1,51; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 6,7,55; 2000 c 500 s 2; 2003 c 129 art 1 s 2; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 4; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 3
NOTE: The amendment to this section by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 3, is effective August 1, 2012, and applies to students entering the 9th grade in the 2012-2013 school year and later. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 3, the effective date.
The following subject areas are required for statewide accountability:
(1) language arts;
(2) mathematics;
(3) science;
(4) social studies, including history, geography, economics, and government and citizenship;
(5) health and physical education, for which locally developed academic standards apply; and
(6) the arts, for which statewide or locally developed academic standards apply, as determined by the school district. Public elementary and middle schools must offer at least three and require at least two of the following four arts areas: dance; music; theater; and visual arts. Public high schools must offer at least three and require at least one of the following five arts areas: media arts; dance; music; theater; and visual arts.
The commissioner must submit proposed standards in science and social studies to the legislature by February 1, 2004.
For purposes of applicable federal law, the academic standards for language arts, mathematics, and science apply to all public school students, except the very few students with extreme cognitive or physical impairments for whom an individualized education plan team has determined that the required academic standards are inappropriate. An individualized education plan team that makes this determination must establish alternative standards.
A school district, no later than the 2007-2008 school year, must adopt graduation requirements that meet or exceed state graduation requirements established in law or rule. A school district that incorporates these state graduation requirements before the 2007-2008 school year must provide students who enter the 9th grade in or before the 2003-2004 school year the opportunity to earn a diploma based on existing locally established graduation requirements in effect when the students entered the 9th grade. District efforts to develop, implement, or improve instruction or curriculum as a result of the provisions of this section must be consistent with sections 120B.10, 120B.11, and 120B.20.
The commissioner must include the contributions of Minnesota American Indian tribes and communities as they relate to the academic standards during the review and revision of the required academic standards.
(a) Upon receiving a student's application signed by the student's parent or guardian, a school district, area learning center, or charter school must declare that a student meets or exceeds a specific academic standard required for graduation under this section if the local school board, the school board of the school district in which the area learning center is located, or the charter school board of directors determines that the student:
(1) is participating in a course of study, including an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or program; a learning opportunity outside the curriculum of the district, area learning center, or charter school; or an approved preparatory program for employment or postsecondary education that is equally or more rigorous than the corresponding state or local academic standard required by the district, area learning center, or charter school;
(2) would be precluded from participating in the rigorous course of study, learning opportunity, or preparatory employment or postsecondary education program if the student were required to achieve the academic standard to be waived; and
(3) satisfactorily completes the requirements for the rigorous course of study, learning opportunity, or preparatory employment or postsecondary education program.
Consistent with the requirements of this section, the local school board, the school board of the school district in which the area learning center is located, or the charter school board of directors also may formally determine other circumstances in which to declare that a student meets or exceeds a specific academic standard that the site requires for graduation under this section.
(b) A student who satisfactorily completes a postsecondary enrollment options course or program under section 124D.09, or an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or program under section 120B.13, is not required to complete other requirements of the academic standards corresponding to that specific rigorous course of study.
(a) The commissioner must consider advice from at least the following stakeholders in developing statewide rigorous core academic standards in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, including history, geography, economics, government and citizenship, and the arts:
(1) parents of school-age children and members of the public throughout the state;
(2) teachers throughout the state currently licensed and providing instruction in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, or the arts and licensed elementary and secondary school principals throughout the state currently administering a school site;
(3) currently serving members of local school boards and charter school boards throughout the state;
(4) faculty teaching core subjects at postsecondary institutions in Minnesota; and
(5) representatives of the Minnesota business community.
(b) Academic standards must:
(1) be clear, concise, objective, measurable, and grade-level appropriate;
(2) not require a specific teaching methodology or curriculum; and
(3) be consistent with the Constitutions of the United States and the state of Minnesota.
The commissioner, consistent with the requirements of this section and section 120B.022, must adopt statewide rules under section 14.389 for implementing statewide rigorous core academic standards in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and the arts. After the rules authorized under this subdivision are initially adopted, the commissioner may not amend or repeal these rules nor adopt new rules on the same topic without specific legislative authorization. The academic standards for language arts, mathematics, and the arts must be implemented for all students beginning in the 2003-2004 school year. The academic standards for science and social studies must be implemented for all students beginning in the 2005-2006 school year.
2003 c 129 art 1 s 3; 2004 c 294 art 2 s 2; art 5 s 1; art 6 s 1; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 5; 2006 c 263 art 2 s 2; 2007 c 146 art 2 s 3
(a) A district must establish its own standards in the following subject areas:
(1) vocational and technical education; and
(2) world languages.
A school district must offer courses in all elective subject areas.
(b) World languages teachers and other school staff should develop and implement world languages programs that acknowledge and reinforce the language proficiency and cultural awareness that non-English language speakers already possess, and encourage students' proficiency in multiple world languages. Programs under this paragraph must encompass indigenous American Indian languages and cultures, among other world languages and cultures. The department shall consult with postsecondary institutions in developing related professional development opportunities.
(c) Any Minnesota public, charter, or nonpublic school may award Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificates or Minnesota World Language Proficiency High Achievement Certificates, consistent with this subdivision.
The Minnesota World Language Proficiency Certificate recognizes students who demonstrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing language skills at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Intermediate-Low level on a valid and reliable assessment tool. For languages listed as Category 3 by the United States Foreign Service Institute or Category 4 by the United States Defense Language Institute, the standard is Intermediate-Low for listening and speaking and Novice-High for reading and writing.
The Minnesota World Language Proficiency High Achievement Certificate recognizes students who demonstrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing language skills at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages' Pre-Advanced level for K-12 learners on a valid and reliable assessment tool. For languages listed as Category 3 by the United States Foreign Service Institute or Category 4 by the United States Defense Language Institute, the standard is Pre-Advanced for listening and speaking and Intermediate-Mid for reading and writing.
A district must use a locally selected assessment to determine if a student has achieved an elective standard.
(a) The commissioner must supplement required state academic standards with grade-level benchmarks. High school benchmarks may cover more than one grade. The benchmarks must implement statewide academic standards by specifying the academic knowledge and skills that schools must offer and students must achieve to satisfactorily complete a state standard. The commissioner must publish benchmarks to inform and guide parents, teachers, school districts, and other interested persons and to use in developing tests consistent with the benchmarks.
(b) The commissioner shall publish benchmarks in the State Register and transmit the benchmarks in any other manner that makes them accessible to the general public. The commissioner may charge a reasonable fee for publications.
(c) Once established, the commissioner may change the benchmarks only with specific legislative authorization and after completing a review under subdivision 2.
(d) The commissioner must develop and implement a system for reviewing each of the required academic standards and related benchmarks and elective standards on a periodic cycle, consistent with subdivision 2.
(e) The benchmarks are not subject to chapter 14 and section 14.386 does not apply.
(a) The commissioner of education must revise and appropriately embed technology and information literacy standards consistent with recommendations from school media specialists into the state's academic standards and graduation requirements and implement a review cycle for state academic standards and related benchmarks, consistent with this subdivision. During each review cycle, the commissioner also must examine the alignment of each required academic standard and related benchmark with the knowledge and skills students need for college readiness and advanced work in the particular subject area.
(b) The commissioner in the 2006-2007 school year must revise and align the state's academic standards and high school graduation requirements in mathematics to require that students satisfactorily complete the revised mathematics standards, beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. Under the revised standards:
(1) students must satisfactorily complete an algebra I credit by the end of eighth grade; and
(2) students scheduled to graduate in the 2014-2015 school year or later must satisfactorily complete an algebra II credit or its equivalent.
The commissioner also must ensure that the statewide mathematics assessments administered to students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 are aligned with the state academic standards in mathematics, consistent with section 120B.30, subdivision 1, paragraph (b). The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks in mathematics beginning in the 2015-2016 school year.
(c) The commissioner in the 2007-2008 school year must revise and align the state's academic standards and high school graduation requirements in the arts to require that students satisfactorily complete the revised arts standards beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks in arts beginning in the 2016-2017 school year.
(d) The commissioner in the 2008-2009 school year must revise and align the state's academic standards and high school graduation requirements in science to require that students satisfactorily complete the revised science standards, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. Under the revised standards, students scheduled to graduate in the 2014-2015 school year or later must satisfactorily complete a chemistry or physics credit. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks in science beginning in the 2017-2018 school year.
(e) The commissioner in the 2009-2010 school year must revise and align the state's academic standards and high school graduation requirements in language arts to require that students satisfactorily complete the revised language arts standards beginning in the 2012-2013 school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks in language arts beginning in the 2018-2019 school year.
(f) The commissioner in the 2010-2011 school year must revise and align the state's academic standards and high school graduation requirements in social studies to require that students satisfactorily complete the revised social studies standards beginning in the 2013-2014 school year. The commissioner must implement a review of the academic standards and related benchmarks in social studies beginning in the 2019-2020 school year.
(g) School districts and charter schools must revise and align local academic standards and high school graduation requirements in health, physical education, world languages, and career and technical education to require students to complete the revised standards beginning in a school year determined by the school district or charter school. School districts and charter schools must formally establish a periodic review cycle for the academic standards and related benchmarks in health, physical education, world languages, and career and technical education.
(a) Students beginning 9th grade in the 2004-2005 school year and later must successfully complete the following high school level course credits for graduation:
(1) four credits of language arts;
(2) three credits of mathematics, encompassing at least algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability sufficient to satisfy the academic standard;
(3) three credits of science, including at least one credit in biology;
(4) three and one-half credits of social studies, encompassing at least United States history, geography, government and citizenship, world history, and economics or three credits of social studies encompassing at least United States history, geography, government and citizenship, and world history, and one-half credit of economics taught in a school's social studies, agriculture education, or business department;
(5) one credit in the arts; and
(6) a minimum of seven elective course credits.
A course credit is equivalent to a student successfully completing an academic year of study or a student mastering the applicable subject matter, as determined by the local school district.
(b) An agriculture science course may fulfill a science credit requirement in addition to the specified science credits in biology and chemistry or physics under paragraph (a), clause (3).
(c) A career and technical education course may fulfill a science, mathematics, or arts credit requirement in addition to the specified science, mathematics, or arts credits under paragraph (a), clause (2), (3), or (5).
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any secondary school student who has completed all required courses or standards may, with the approval of the student, the student's parent or guardian, and local school officials, graduate before the completion of the school year. General education revenue attributable to the student must be paid as though the student was in attendance for the entire year.
1974 c 521 s 7; 1975 c 432 s 12; 1979 c 334 art 1 s 1; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 24; 1983 c 314 art 1 s 22; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 486 s 7; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 73,164; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 1 s 4
The legislature finds that a process is needed to enable school boards and communities to decide matters related to planning, providing, and improving education instruction and curriculum in the context of the state's high school graduation standards. The process should help districts evaluate the impact of instruction and curriculum on students' abilities to meet graduation standards, use evaluation results to improve instruction and curriculum, and determine services that districts and other public education entities can provide collaboratively with institutions including families and private or public organizations and agencies. The legislature anticipates that a highly focused public education strategy will be an integral part of each district's review and improvement of instruction and curriculum.
For the purposes of this section and section 120B.10, the following terms have the meanings given them.
(a) "Instruction" means methods of providing learning experiences that enable a student to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements.
(b) "Curriculum" means district or school adopted programs and written plans for providing students with learning experiences that lead to expected knowledge and skills.
A school board shall have in place an adopted written policy that includes the following:
(1) district goals for instruction including the use of best practices, district and school curriculum, and achievement for all student subgroups;
(2) a process for evaluating each student's progress toward meeting academic standards and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of instruction and curriculum affecting students' progress;
(3) a system for periodically reviewing and evaluating all instruction and curriculum;
(4) a plan for improving instruction, curriculum, and student achievement; and
(5) an education effectiveness plan aligned with section 122A.625 that integrates instruction, curriculum, and technology.
Each school board shall establish an advisory committee to ensure active community participation in all phases of planning and improving the instruction and curriculum affecting state and district academic standards. A district advisory committee, to the extent possible, shall reflect the diversity of the district and its learning sites, and shall include teachers, parents, support staff, students, and other community residents. The district may establish building teams as subcommittees of the district advisory committee under subdivision 4. The district advisory committee shall recommend to the school board rigorous academic standards, student achievement goals and measures, assessments, and program evaluations. Learning sites may expand upon district evaluations of instruction, curriculum, assessments, or programs. Whenever possible, parents and other community residents shall comprise at least two-thirds of advisory committee members.
A school may establish a building team to develop and implement an education effectiveness plan to improve instruction, curriculum, and student achievement. The team shall advise the board and the advisory committee about developing an instruction and curriculum improvement plan that aligns curriculum, assessment of student progress in meeting state and district academic standards, and instruction.
(a) By October 1 of each year, the school board shall use standard statewide reporting procedures the commissioner develops and adopt a report that includes the following:
(1) student achievement goals for meeting state academic standards;
(2) results of local assessment data, and any additional test data;
(3) the annual school district improvement plans including staff development goals under section 122A.60;
(4) information about district and learning site progress in realizing previously adopted improvement plans; and
(5) the amount and type of revenue attributed to each education site as defined in section 123B.04.
(b) The school board shall publish a summary of the report in the local newspaper with the largest circulation in the district, by mail, or by electronic means such as the district Web site. If electronic means are used, school districts must publish notice of the report in a periodical of general circulation in the district. School districts must make copies of the report available to the public on request.
(c) The title of the report shall contain the name and number of the school district and read "Annual Report on Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement." The report must include at least the following information about advisory committee membership:
(1) the name of each committee member and the date when that member's term expires;
(2) the method and criteria the school board uses to select committee members; and
(3) the date by which a community resident must apply to next serve on the committee.
The school board annually shall provide high school graduates or GED recipients who receive a diploma or its equivalent from the school district with an opportunity to report to the board on the following:
(1) the quality of district instruction, curriculum, and services;
(2) the quality of district delivery of instruction, curriculum, and services;
(3) the utility of district facilities; and
(4) the effectiveness of district administration.
Each school district shall periodically ask affected constituencies about their level of satisfaction with school. The district shall include the results of this evaluation in the report required under subdivision 5.
At least once every two years, the district report shall include an evaluation of the district testing programs, according to the following:
(1) written objectives of the assessment program;
(2) names of tests and grade levels tested;
(3) use of test results; and
(4) student achievement results compared to previous years.
1996 c 412 art 7 s 4; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 5 s 12; 1998 c 397 art 6 s 124; art 11 s 3; 2000 c 254 s 2; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 6-11; 2006 c 263 art 7 s 1; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 6
The legislature seeks to have Minnesota's children able to read no later than the end of second grade.
For the 2002-2003 school year and later, each school district shall identify before the end of first grade students who are at risk of not learning to read before the end of second grade. The district must use a locally adopted assessment method. The district must annually report the results of the assessment to the commissioner by June 1.
For each student identified under subdivision 2, the district shall provide a reading intervention method or program to assist the student in reaching the goal of learning to read no later than the end of second grade. District intervention methods shall encourage parental involvement and, where possible, collaboration with appropriate school and community programs. Intervention methods may include, but are not limited to, requiring attendance in summer school and intensified reading instruction that may require that the student be removed from the regular classroom for part of the school day.
Each district shall identify the staff development needs to ensure that:
(1) elementary teachers are able to implement comprehensive, scientifically based, and balanced reading instruction programs that have resulted in improved student performance;
(2) elementary teachers who are instructing students identified under subdivision 2 are prepared to teach using the intervention methods or programs selected by the district for the identified students; and
(3) all licensed teachers employed by the district have regular opportunities to improve reading instruction.
The commissioner shall recommend to districts multiple assessment tools that will assist districts and teachers with identifying students under subdivision 2. The commissioner shall also make available to districts examples of nationally recognized and research-based instructional methods or programs that districts may use to provide reading intervention according to this section.
A school district may develop grade-level curricula or provide instruction that introduces students to various careers, but must not require any curriculum, instruction, or employment-related activity that obligates an elementary or secondary student to involuntarily select a career, career interest, employment goals, or related job training.
(a) School districts and charter schools may elect to participate in the Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) program offered by ACT, Inc. to provide a longitudinal, systematic approach to student educational and career planning, assessment, instructional support, and evaluation. The EPAS achievement tests include English, reading, mathematics, science, and components on planning for high school and postsecondary education, interest inventory, needs assessments, and student education plans. These tests are linked to the ACT assessment for college admission and allow students, parents, teachers, and schools to determine the student's college readiness before grades 11 and 12.
(b) The commissioner of education shall provide ACT Explore tests for students in grade 8 and the ACT Plan test for students in grade 10 to assess individual student academic strengths and weaknesses, academic achievement and progress, higher order thinking skills, and college readiness. The state shall pay the test costs for school districts and charter schools that choose to participate in the EPAS program. The commissioner shall establish an application procedure and a process for state payment of costs.
(a) The advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs are well-established academic programs for mature, academically directed high school students. These programs, in addition to providing academic rigor, offer sound curricular design, accountability, comprehensive external assessment, feedback to students and teachers, and the opportunity for high school students to compete academically on a global level. Advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs allow students to leave high school with the academic skills and self-confidence to succeed in college and beyond. The advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs help provide Minnesota students with world-class educational opportunity.
(b) Critical to schools' educational success is ongoing advanced placement/international baccalaureate-approved teacher training. A secondary teacher assigned by a district to teach an advanced placement or international baccalaureate course or other interested educator may participate in a training program offered by The College Board or International Baccalaureate North America, Inc. The state may pay a portion of the tuition, room, board, and out-of-state travel costs a teacher or other interested educator incurs in participating in a training program. The commissioner shall determine application procedures and deadlines, select teachers and other interested educators to participate in the training program, and determine the payment process and amount of the subsidy. The procedures determined by the commissioner shall, to the extent possible, ensure that advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses become available in all parts of the state and that a variety of course offerings are available in school districts. This subdivision does not prevent teacher or other interested educator participation in training programs offered by The College Board or International Baccalaureate North America, Inc., when tuition is paid by a source other than the state.
The commissioner shall provide support programs during the school year for teachers who attended the training programs and teachers experienced in teaching advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses. The support programs shall provide teachers with opportunities to share instructional ideas with other teachers. The state may pay the costs of participating in the support programs, including substitute teachers, if necessary, and program affiliation costs.
The state may pay all or part of the fee for advanced placement or international baccalaureate examinations. The commissioner shall pay all examination fees for all public and nonpublic students of low-income families, as defined by the commissioner, and to the limit of the available appropriation, shall also pay a portion or all of the examination fees for other public and nonpublic students sitting for an advanced placement examination, international baccalaureate examination, or both. The commissioner shall determine procedures for state payments of fees.
The colleges and universities of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system must award, and the University of Minnesota and private postsecondary institutions are encouraged to award, college credit to high school students who receive a score of three or higher on an advanced placement or four or higher on the international baccalaureate program examination.
The commissioner shall submit the following information to the education committees of the legislature each year by February 1:
(1) the number of pupils enrolled in advanced placement and international baccalaureate courses in each school district;
(2) the number of teachers in each district attending training programs offered by the college board or International Baccalaureate North America, Inc.;
(3) the number of teachers in each district participating in support programs;
(4) recent trends in the field of advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs;
(5) expenditures for each category in this section; and
(6) other recommendations for the state program.
1992 c 499 art 7 s 10; 1993 c 224 art 13 s 46; 1994 c 647 art 7 s 9; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 129,164; 2000 c 489 art 6 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 2; 2002 c 220 art 3 s 1; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 13-15
The college-level examination program (CLEP) offered by the College Board provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement and receive college credit or advanced standing through a program of examinations in undergraduate college courses. Schools must provide information about CLEP and the opportunity to receive college credit from a Minnesota postsecondary institution to students successfully completing a college-level course.
The state may reimburse college-level examination program (CLEP) fees for a Minnesota public or nonpublic high school student who has successfully completed one or more college-level courses in high school in the subject matter of each examination in the following subjects: composition and literature, mathematics and science, social sciences and history, foreign languages, and business and humanities. The state may reimburse each student for up to six examination fees. The commissioner shall establish application procedures and a process and schedule for fee reimbursements. The commissioner must give priority to reimburse the CLEP examination fees of students of low-income families.
The colleges and universities of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system must award, and the University of Minnesota and private postsecondary institutions are encouraged to award, college credit to high school students who receive a satisfactory score on a CLEP examination under this section. The commissioner, in consultation with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, shall set a passing score for college credits.
A program is established to raise kindergarten through grade 12 academic achievement through increased student participation in preadvanced placement, advanced placement, and international baccalaureate programs, consistent with section 120B.13. Schools and charter schools eligible to participate under this section:
(1) must have a three-year plan approved by the local school board to establish a new international baccalaureate program leading to international baccalaureate authorization, expand an existing program that leads to international baccalaureate authorization, or expand an existing authorized international baccalaureate program; or
(2) 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 initiative; and
(3) must propose to further raise students' academic achievement by:
(i) increasing the availability of and all students' access to advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(ii) expanding the breadth of advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses or programs that are available to students;
(iii) increasing the number and the diversity of the students who participate in advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses or programs and succeed;
(iv) providing low-income and other disadvantaged students with increased access to advanced placement or international baccalaureate 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 or international baccalaureate courses or programs and achieving satisfactory scores on related exams.
(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, preadvanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses and programs. The proposed budget must demonstrate that the applicant's efforts will support implementation of advanced placement, preadvanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses and programs. 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 preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or 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 preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(3) an effective ability to actively involve local business and community organizations in student activities that are integral to preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(4) access to additional public or nonpublic funds or in-kind contributions that are available for preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs; or
(5) an intent to implement activities that target low-income and other disadvantaged students.
(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 funding award must be calculated using the number of pupils enrolled on October 1 of the current fiscal year. The commissioner may adjust the maximum funding 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 placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(2) further develop preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(3) improve the transition between grade levels to better prepare students, including low-income and other disadvantaged students, for succeeding in preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(4) purchase books and supplies;
(5) pay course or program fees;
(6) increase students' participation in and success with preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs;
(7) expand students' access to preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs through online learning;
(8) hire appropriately licensed personnel to teach additional advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses or programs; or
(9) engage in other activity directly related to expanding students' access to, participation in, and success with preadvanced placement, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate courses or programs, including low-income and other disadvantaged students.
(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, preadvanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses and programs. The report must demonstrate that the school district or charter school has maintained its effort from other sources for advanced placement, preadvanced placement, and international baccalaureate courses and programs compared with the previous fiscal year, and the district or charter school has expended all grant funds, consistent with its approved budget.
A district must grant academic credit to a pupil attending an accelerated or advanced academic course offered by a higher education institution or a nonprofit public agency other than the district, if the pupil successfully completes the course attended and passes an examination approved by the district. If no comparable course is offered by the district, the commissioner shall determine the number of credits which shall be granted to a pupil who successfully completes and passes the course. If a comparable course is offered by the district, the board must grant a comparable number of credits to the pupil. If there is a dispute between the district and the pupil regarding the number of credits granted for a particular course, the pupil may appeal the school board's decision to the commissioner. The commissioner's decision regarding the number of credits shall be final.
The credits granted to a pupil shall be counted toward the graduation requirements and subject area requirements of the district. Evidence of successful completion of each class and credits granted shall be included in the pupil's secondary school record.
1984 c 463 art 7 s 8; 1993 c 224 art 13 s 21; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 74,164
(a) School districts may identify students, locally develop programs, provide staff development, and evaluate programs to provide gifted and talented students with challenging educational programs.
(b) School districts may adopt guidelines for assessing and identifying students for participation in gifted and talented programs. The guidelines should include the use of:
(1) multiple and objective criteria; and
(2) assessments and procedures that are valid and reliable, fair, and based on current theory and research.
(c) School districts must adopt procedures for the academic acceleration of gifted and talented students. These procedures must include how the district will:
(1) assess a student's readiness and motivation for acceleration; and
(2) match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to a student to achieve the best type of academic acceleration for that student.
A student who satisfactorily completes a high school course shall receive secondary course credit and the credit shall count toward the student's graduation requirements.
Satisfactory completion of courses in American sign language in a public elementary or secondary school shall be accorded equal standing with satisfactory completion of courses in any world language.
(a) Notwithstanding other law to the contrary, the commissioner of education may contract with the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota or other Minnesota public entity the commissioner determines is qualified to undertake the development of an articulated K-12 Chinese curriculum for Minnesota schools that involves:
(1) creating a network of Chinese teachers and educators able to develop new and modify or expand existing world languages K-12 curricula, materials, assessments, and best practices needed to provide Chinese language instruction to students; and
(2) coordinating statewide efforts to develop and expand Chinese language instruction so that it is uniformly available to students throughout the state, and making innovative use of media and technology, including television, distance learning, and online courses to broaden students' access to the instruction.
(b) The entity with which the commissioner contracts under paragraph (a) must have sufficient knowledge and expertise to ensure the professional development of appropriate, high-quality curricula, supplementary materials, aligned assessments, and best practices that accommodate different levels of student ability and types of programs.
(c) Project participants must:
(1) work throughout the project to develop curriculum, supplementary materials, aligned assessments, and best practices; and
(2) make curriculum, supplementary materials, aligned assessments, and best practices equitably available to Minnesota schools and students.
The entity with which the commissioner contracts must work with the network of Chinese teachers and educators to:
(1) conduct an inventory of Chinese language curricula, supplementary materials, and professional development initiatives currently used in Minnesota or other states;
(2) develop Chinese language curricula and benchmarks aligned to local world language standards and classroom-based assessments; and
(3) review and recommend to the commissioner how best to build an educational infrastructure to provide more students with Chinese language instruction, including how to develop and provide: (i) an adequate supply of Chinese language teachers; (ii) an adequate number of high-quality school programs; (iii) appropriate curriculum, instructional materials, and aligned assessments that include technology-based delivery systems; (iv) teacher preparation programs to train Chinese language teachers; (v) expedited licensing of Chinese language teachers; (vi) best practices in existing educational programs that can be used to establish K-12 Chinese language programs; and (vii) technical assistance resources.
Each school district shall have a procedure for a parent, guardian, or an adult student, 18 years of age or older, to review the content of the instructional materials to be provided to a minor child or to an adult student and, if the parent, guardian, or adult student objects to the content, to make reasonable arrangements with school personnel for alternative instruction. Alternative instruction may be provided by the parent, guardian, or adult student if the alternative instruction, if any, offered by the school board does not meet the concerns of the parent, guardian, or adult student. The school board is not required to pay for the costs of alternative instruction provided by a parent, guardian, or adult student. School personnel may not impose an academic or other penalty upon a student merely for arranging alternative instruction under this section. School personnel may evaluate and assess the quality of the student's work.
(a) The commissioner of education, in consultation with the commissioners of health and human services, state minority councils, battered women's and domestic abuse programs, battered women's shelters, sexual assault centers, representatives of religious communities, and the assistant commissioner of the Office of Drug Policy and Violence Prevention, shall assist districts on request in developing or implementing a violence prevention program for students in kindergarten to grade 12 that can be integrated into existing curriculum. The purpose of the program is to help students learn how to resolve conflicts within their families and communities in nonviolent, effective ways.
(b) Each district is encouraged to integrate into its existing curriculum a program for violence prevention that includes at least:
(1) a comprehensive, accurate, and age appropriate curriculum on violence prevention, nonviolent conflict resolution, sexual, racial, and cultural harassment, self-protection, and student hazing that promotes equality, respect, understanding, effective communication, individual responsibility, thoughtful decision making, positive conflict resolution, useful coping skills, critical thinking, listening and watching skills, and personal safety;
(2) planning materials, guidelines, and other accurate information on preventing physical and emotional violence, identifying and reducing the incidence of sexual, racial, and cultural harassment, and reducing child abuse and neglect;
(3) a special parent education component of early childhood family education programs to prevent child abuse and neglect and to promote positive parenting skills, giving priority to services and outreach programs for at-risk families;
(4) involvement of parents and other community members, including the clergy, business representatives, civic leaders, local elected officials, law enforcement officials, and the county attorney;
(5) collaboration with local community services, agencies, and organizations that assist in violence intervention or prevention, including family-based services, crisis services, life management skills services, case coordination services, mental health services, and early intervention services;
(6) collaboration among districts and service cooperatives;
(7) targeting early adolescents for prevention efforts, especially early adolescents whose personal circumstances may lead to violent or harassing behavior;
(8) opportunities for teachers to receive in-service training or attend other programs on strategies or curriculum designed to assist students in intervening in or preventing violence in school and at home; and
(9) administrative policies that reflect, and a staff that models, nonviolent behaviors that do not display or condone sexual, racial, or cultural harassment or student hazing.
(c) The department may provide assistance at a neutral site to a nonpublic school participating in a district's program.
Each district is encouraged to provide training for district staff and school board members to help students identify violence in the family and the community so that students may learn to resolve conflicts in effective, nonviolent ways. The in-service training must be ongoing and involve experts familiar with domestic violence and personal safety issues.
Districts may accept funds from public and private sources for violence prevention programs developed and implemented under this section.
1992 c 571 art 10 s 6; 1994 c 647 art 4 s 34; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 138; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 7 s 9; 1998 c 397 art 3 s 92,103; 2000 c 445 art 2 s 6; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 18
The commissioner of education, after consulting with the assistant commissioner of the Office of Drug Policy and Violence Prevention, shall establish a violence prevention education grant program to enable a school district, an education district, or a group of districts that cooperate for a particular purpose to develop and implement or to continue a violence prevention program for students in kindergarten through grade 12 that can be integrated into existing curriculum. A district or group of districts that elects to develop and implement or to continue a violence prevention program under section 120B.22 is eligible to apply for a grant under this section.
To be eligible to receive a grant, a school district, an education district, a service cooperative, or a group of districts that cooperate for a particular purpose must submit an application to the commissioner in the form and manner and according to the timeline established by the commissioner. The application must describe how the applicant will: (1) continue or integrate into its existing K-12 curriculum a program for violence prevention that contains the program components listed in section 120B.22; (2) collaborate with local organizations involved in violence prevention and intervention; and (3) structure the program to reflect the characteristics of the children, their families and the community involved in the program. The commissioner may require additional information from the applicant. When reviewing the applications, the commissioner shall determine whether the applicant has met the requirements of this subdivision.
The commissioner may award grants for a violence prevention education program to eligible applicants as defined in subdivision 2. Grant amounts may not exceed $3 per resident pupil unit in the district or group of districts in the prior school year. Grant recipients should be geographically distributed throughout the state.
A successful applicant must use the grant money to develop and implement or to continue a violence prevention program according to the terms of the grant application.
1992 c 571 art 10 s 30; 1994 c 576 s 2; 1994 c 647 art 4 s 35; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 9 s 29; art 16 s 13; 1998 c 397 art 3 s 93,103; art 11 s 3; 2003 c 130 s 12
The legislature encourages districts to integrate or offer instruction on character education including, but not limited to, character qualities such as attentiveness, truthfulness, respect for authority, diligence, gratefulness, self-discipline, patience, forgiveness, respect for others, peacemaking, and resourcefulness. Instruction should be integrated into a district's existing programs, curriculum, or the general school environment. The commissioner shall provide assistance at the request of a district to develop character education curriculum and programs.
The commissioner must first use federal funds for character development education programs to the extent available under United States Code, title 20, section 7247. Districts may accept funds from private and other public sources for character development education programs developed and implemented under this section.
(a) School districts shall permit grade-level instruction for students to read and study America's founding documents, including documents that contributed to the foundation or maintenance of America's representative form of limited government, the Bill of Rights, our free-market economic system, and patriotism.
(b) Districts may not censor or restrain instruction in American or Minnesota state history or heritage based on religious references in original source documents, writings, speeches, proclamations, or records.
School districts are encouraged to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator instruction as part of their curriculum. Schools offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation or automatic external defibrillator instruction must use cardiopulmonary resuscitation or automatic external defibrillator training that has been developed:
(1) by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross and incorporate psychomotor skills to support the instruction; or
(2) using nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and incorporates psychomotor skills to support the instruction.
The purpose of the endowed chair program is to increase curriculum offerings and learning experiences available to students.
A school site, represented by the school site council or, if no site council exists, the principal or lead teacher, and the party interested in endowing a chair may enter into an agreement for an endowed chair for no longer than one year in length. The party endowing the chair and the school site may, at their discretion, renew annually.
An endowed chair program may be for a semester, a summer session, or a full school year. Curriculum developed or provided under the endowed chair program must supplement the existing curriculum offerings available at the school in the particular subject chosen.
The agreement must make available funds sufficient for the salary and benefit costs of the instructor, and necessary supplies for the course. The participating site must provide the classroom space and administer the program. The parties, in consultation with the school district and the exclusive representative of the teachers, jointly select the instructor for the endowed chair.
"Growth" compares the difference in a student's achievement score at two or more distinct points in time.
"Value added" is the amount of achievement a student demonstrates above an established baseline. The difference between the student's score and the baseline defines value added.
"Value-added growth" is based on a student's growth score. In a value-added growth system, the student's first test is the baseline, and the difference between the student's first and next test scores within a defined period is the measure of value added. Value-added growth models use student-level data to measure what portion of a student's growth can be explained by inputs related to the educational environment.
A school or district makes "adequate yearly progress" if, for every student subgroup under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act in the school or district, its proficiency index or other approved adjustments for performance, based on statewide assessment scores, meets or exceeds federal expectations. To make adequate yearly progress, the school or district also must satisfy applicable federal requirements related to student attendance, graduation, and test participation rates.
(a) "State growth target" is the average year-two assessment scores for students with similar year-one assessment scores.
(b) The state growth targets for each grade and subject are benchmarked as follows until the assessment scale changes:
(1) beginning in the 2008-2009 school year, the state growth target for grades 3 through 8 is benchmarked to 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school year data;
(2) beginning in the 2008-2009 school year the state growth target for grade 10 is benchmarked to 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school year data;
(3) for the 2008-2009 school year, the state growth target for grade 11 is benchmarked to 2005-2006 school year data; and
(4) beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, the state growth target for grade 11 is benchmarked to 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school year data.
(c) Each time before the assessment scale changes, a stakeholder group that includes assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers must recommend a new state growth target that the commissioner must consider when revising standards under section 120B.023, subdivision 2.
"Low growth" is an assessment score one-half standard deviation below the state growth target.
"Medium growth" is an assessment score within one-half standard deviation above or below the state growth target.
"High growth" is an assessment score one-half standard deviation or more above the state growth target.
"Proficiency" for purposes of reporting growth on school performance report cards under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, means those students who, in the previous school year, scored at or above "meets standards" on the statewide assessments under section 120B.30. Each year, school performance report cards must separately display: (1) the numbers and percentages of students who achieved low growth, medium growth, and high growth and achieved proficiency in the previous school year; and (2) the numbers and percentages of students who achieved low growth, medium growth, and high growth and did not achieve proficiency in the previous school year.
The categories of low growth, medium growth, and high growth shall be used to indicate both (1) growth and (2) progress toward grade-level proficiency that is consistent with subdivision 10.
(a) The commissioner, with advice from experts with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, consistent with subdivision 1a, shall include in the comprehensive assessment system, for each grade level to be tested, state-constructed tests developed from and aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021, include multiple choice questions, and be administered annually to all students in grades 3 through 8. State-developed high school tests aligned with the state's required academic standards under section 120B.021 and administered to all high school students in a subject other than writing must include multiple choice questions. The commissioner shall establish one or more months during which schools shall administer the tests to students each school year. For students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, Minnesota basic skills tests in reading, mathematics, and writing shall fulfill students' basic skills testing requirements for a passing state notation. The passing scores of basic skills tests in reading and mathematics are the equivalent of 75 percent correct for students entering grade 9 based on the first uniform test administered in February 1998. Students who have not successfully passed a Minnesota basic skills test by the end of the 2011-2012 school year must pass the graduation-required assessments for diploma under paragraph (b).
(b) The state assessment system must be aligned to the most recent revision of academic standards as described in section 120B.023 in the following manner:
(1) mathematics;
(i) grades 3 through 8 beginning in the 2010-2011 school year; and
(ii) high school level beginning in the 2013-2014 school year;
(2) science; grades 5 and 8 and at the high school level beginning in the 2011-2012 school year; and
(3) language arts and reading; grades 3 through 8 and high school level beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.
(c) For students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, only the following options shall fulfill students' state graduation test requirements:
(1) for reading and mathematics:
(i) obtaining an achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as determined through a standard setting process on the Minnesota comprehensive assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the graduation-required assessment for diploma in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics or subsequent retests;
(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified language proficiency test in reading and the mathematics test for English language learners or the graduation-required assessment for diploma equivalent of those assessments for students designated as English language learners;
(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual education plan or 504 plan;
(iv) obtaining achievement level equivalent to or greater than proficient as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments in grade 10 for reading and grade 11 for mathematics for students with an individual education plan; or
(v) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual education plan; and
(2) for writing:
(i) achieving a passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma;
(ii) achieving a passing score as determined through a standard setting process on the state-identified language proficiency test in writing for students designated as English language learners;
(iii) achieving an individual passing score on the graduation-required assessment for diploma as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual education plan or 504 plan; or
(iv) achieving an individual passing score on the state-identified alternate assessment or assessments as determined by appropriate state guidelines for students with an individual education plan.
(d) Students enrolled in grade 8 in any school year from the 2005-2006 school year to the 2009-2010 school year who do not pass the mathematics graduation-required assessment for diploma under paragraph (b) are eligible to receive a high school diploma with a passing state notation if they:
(1) complete with a passing score or grade all state and local coursework and credits required for graduation by the school board granting the students their diploma;
(2) participate in district-prescribed academic remediation in mathematics; and
(3) fully participate in at least two retests of the mathematics GRAD test or until they pass the mathematics GRAD test, whichever comes first. A school, district, or charter school must place a student's highest assessment score for each of the following assessments on the student's high school transcript: the mathematics Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, reading Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, and writing Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma, and when applicable, the mathematics Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma and reading Graduation-Required Assessment for Diploma.
In addition, the school board granting the students their diplomas may formally decide to include a notation of high achievement on the high school diplomas of those graduating seniors who, according to established school board criteria, demonstrate exemplary academic achievement during high school.
(e) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school test results shall be available to districts for diagnostic purposes affecting student learning and district instruction and curriculum, and for establishing educational accountability. The commissioner must disseminate to the public the high school test results upon receiving those results.
(f) The 3rd through 8th grade and high school tests must be aligned with state academic standards. The commissioner shall determine the testing process and the order of administration. The statewide results shall be aggregated at the site and district level, consistent with subdivision 1a.
(g) In addition to the testing and reporting requirements under this section, the commissioner shall include the following components in the statewide public reporting system:
(1) uniform statewide testing of all students in grades 3 through 8 and at the high school level that provides appropriate, technically sound accommodations or alternate assessments;
(2) educational indicators that can be aggregated and compared across school districts and across time on a statewide basis, including average daily attendance, high school graduation rates, and high school drop-out rates by age and grade level;
(3) state results on the American College Test; and
(4) state results from participation in the National Assessment of Educational Progress so that the state can benchmark its performance against the nation and other states, and, where possible, against other countries, and contribute to the national effort to monitor achievement.
(a) For purposes of conforming with existing federal educational accountability requirements, the commissioner must develop reading and mathematics assessments for grades 3 through 8, state-developed high school reading and mathematics tests aligned with state academic standards, and science assessments under clause (2) that districts and sites must use to monitor student growth toward achieving those standards. The commissioner must not develop statewide assessments for academic standards in social studies, health and physical education, and the arts. The commissioner must require:
(1) annual reading and mathematics assessments in grades 3 through 8, and high school reading and mathematics tests; and
(2) annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 through 5 span, the grades 6 through 8 span, and a life sciences assessment in the grades 9 through 12 span, and the commissioner must not require students to achieve a passing score on high school science assessments as a condition of receiving a high school diploma.
(b) The commissioner must ensure that all statewide tests administered to elementary and secondary students measure students' academic knowledge and skills and not students' values, attitudes, and beliefs.
(c) Reporting of assessment results must:
(1) provide timely, useful, and understandable information on the performance of individual students, schools, school districts, and the state;
(2) include a value-added growth indicator of student achievement under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b); and
(3)(i) for students enrolled in grade 8 before the 2005-2006 school year, determine whether students have met the state's basic skills requirements; and
(ii) for students enrolled in grade 8 in the 2005-2006 school year and later, determine whether students have met the state's academic standards.
(d) Consistent with applicable federal law and subdivision 1, paragraph (d), clause (1), the commissioner must include appropriate, technically sound accommodations or alternative assessments for the very few students with disabilities for whom statewide assessments are inappropriate and for students with limited English proficiency.
(e) A school, school district, and charter school must administer statewide assessments under this section, as the assessments become available, to evaluate student proficiency in the context of the state's grade level academic standards. If a state assessment is not available, a school, school district, and charter school must determine locally if a student has met the required academic standards. A school, school district, or charter school may use a student's performance on a statewide assessment as one of multiple criteria to determine grade promotion or retention. A school, school district, or charter school may use a high school student's performance on a statewide assessment as a percentage of the student's final grade in a course, or place a student's assessment score on the student's transcript.
The Department of Education shall contract for professional and technical services according to competitive bidding procedures under chapter 16C for purposes of this section.
The commissioner shall report test data publicly and to stakeholders, including the performance achievement levels developed from students' unweighted test scores in each tested subject and a listing of demographic factors that strongly correlate with student performance. The commissioner shall also report data that compares performance results among school sites, school districts, Minnesota and other states, and Minnesota and other nations. The commissioner shall disseminate to schools and school districts a more comprehensive report containing testing information that meets local needs for evaluating instruction and curriculum.
The commissioner must adopt and publish a policy to provide public and parental access for review of basic skills tests, Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or any other such statewide test and assessment. Upon receiving a written request, the commissioner must make available to parents or guardians a copy of their student's actual responses to the test questions for their review.
1997 c 138 s 1; 1998 c 386 art 2 s 38; 1998 c 397 art 4 s 2,51; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 8; 1999 c 241 art 9 s 3; 2000 c 489 art 6 s 2; 2000 c 500 s 15; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 4; 2003 c 129 art 1 s 7,8; 2003 c 130 s 12; 2004 c 294 art 6 s 2; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 21-23; 2007 c 146 art 2 s 9; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 8
NOTE: Subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1), item (ii), as added by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 8, is not effective until July 1, 2010, and the legislature specifically authorizes the number, subject area, grade level, and consequence of a high school mathematics assessment program. If the legislature does not authorize the assessment program by July 1, 2010, the graduation-required assessment for diploma in grade 11 for mathematics under subdivision 1, paragraph (c), remains in effect. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 8, the effective date.
NOTE: Subdivision 1, paragraph (d), as added by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 8, applies to the 2009-2010 through 2013-2014 school years only. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 8, the effective date.
Consistent with the direction to adopt statewide academic standards under section 120B.02, the department, in consultation with education and other system stakeholders, must establish a coordinated and comprehensive system of educational accountability and public reporting that promotes greater academic achievement, preparation for higher academic education, preparation for the world of work, citizenship under sections 120B.021, subdivision 1, clause (4), and 120B.024, paragraph (a), clause (4), and the arts.
Each school year, all school districts shall give a uniform statewide test to students at specified grades to provide information on the status, needs and performance of Minnesota students.
(a) The Independent Office of Educational Accountability, as authorized by Laws 1997, First Special Session chapter 4, article 5, section 28, subdivision 2, is established, and shall be funded through the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota. The office shall advise the education committees of the legislature and the commissioner of education, at least on a biennial basis, on the degree to which the statewide educational accountability and reporting system includes a comprehensive assessment framework that measures school accountability for students achieving the goals described in the state's high school graduation rule. The office shall determine and annually report to the legislature whether and how effectively:
(1) the statewide system of educational accountability uses multiple indicators to provide valid and reliable comparative and contextual data on students, schools, districts, and the state, and if not, recommend ways to improve the accountability reporting system;
(2) a value-added growth indicator of student achievement over time estimates the effects of the school and school district on student achievement and measures school performance, consistent with section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b);
(3) data are available on students who do not pass one or more of the state's required GRAD tests and do not receive a diploma as a consequence, and these data are categorized according to gender, race, eligibility for free or reduced lunch, and English language proficiency; and
(4) the requirements under section 127A.095, subdivision 2, are met.
(b) When the office reviews the statewide educational accountability and reporting system, it shall also consider:
(1) the objectivity and neutrality of the state's educational accountability system; and
(2) the impact of a testing program on school curriculum and student learning.
In developing policies and assessment processes to hold schools and districts accountable for high levels of academic standards under section 120B.021, the commissioner shall aggregate student data over time to report student performance and growth levels measured at the school, school district, and statewide level. When collecting and reporting the performance data, the commissioner shall: (1) acknowledge the impact of significant demographic factors such as residential instability, the number of single parent families, parents' level of education, and parents' income level on school outcomes; and (2) organize and report the data so that state and local policy makers can understand the educational implications of changes in districts' demographic profiles over time. Any report the commissioner disseminates containing summary data on student performance must integrate student performance and the demographic factors that strongly correlate with that performance.
1996 c 412 art 7 s 2; 1997 c 1 s 2; 1998 c 397 art 4 s 3,4,51; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 5 s 10,55; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 11 s 1; 2007 c 146 art 2 s 10; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 9-11
The commissioner must develop and implement a system for measuring and reporting academic achievement and individual student growth, consistent with the statewide educational accountability and reporting system. The system components must measure and separately report the adequate yearly progress of schools and the growth of individual students: students' current achievement in schools under subdivision 2; and individual students' educational growth over time under subdivision 3. The system also must include statewide measures of student academic growth that identify schools with high levels of growth, and also schools with low levels of growth that need improvement. When determining a school's effect, the data must include both statewide measures of student achievement and, to the extent annual tests are administered, indicators of achievement growth that take into account a student's prior achievement. Indicators of achievement and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or districtwide assessments. Indicators that take into account a student's prior achievement must not be used to disregard a school's low achievement or to exclude a school from a program to improve low achievement levels.
(a) Each school year, a school district must determine if the student achievement levels at each school site meet federal expectations. If student achievement levels at a school site do not meet federal expectations and the site has not made adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years, beginning with the 2001-2002 school year, the district must work with the school site to adopt a plan to raise student achievement levels to meet federal expectations. The commissioner of education shall establish student academic achievement levels to comply with this paragraph.
(b) School sites identified as not meeting federal expectations must develop continuous improvement plans in order to meet federal expectations for student academic achievement. The department, at a district's request, must assist the district and the school site in developing a plan to improve student achievement. The plan must include parental involvement components.
(c) The commissioner must:
(1) assist school sites and districts identified as not meeting federal expectations; and
(2) provide technical assistance to schools that integrate student achievement measures into the school continuous improvement plan.
(d) The commissioner shall establish and maintain a continuous improvement Web site designed to make data on every school and district available to parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and the general public.
(a) The state's educational assessment system measuring individual students' educational growth is based on indicators of achievement growth that show an individual student's prior achievement. Indicators of achievement and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or districtwide assessments.
(b) The commissioner, in consultation with a stakeholder group that includes assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers must implement a model that uses a value-added growth indicator and includes criteria for identifying schools and school districts that demonstrate medium and high growth under section 120B.299, subdivisions 8 and 9, and may recommend other value-added measures under section 120B.299, subdivision 3. The model may be used to advance educators' professional development and replicate programs that succeed in meeting students' diverse learning needs. Data on individual teachers generated under the model are personnel data under section 13.43. The model must allow users to:
(1) report student growth consistent with this paragraph; and
(2) for all student categories, report and compare aggregated and disaggregated state growth data using the nine student categories identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two student gender categories of male and female, respectively, following appropriate reporting practices to protect nonpublic student data.
The commissioner must report separate measures of student growth and proficiency, consistent with this paragraph.
(c) When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2011, must report two core measures indicating the extent to which current high school graduates are being prepared for postsecondary academic and career opportunities:
(1) a preparation measure indicating the number and percentage of high school graduates in the most recent school year who completed course work important to preparing them for postsecondary academic and career opportunities, consistent with the core academic subjects required for admission to Minnesota's public colleges and universities as determined by the Office of Higher Education under chapter 136A; and
(2) a rigorous coursework measure indicating the number and percentage of high school graduates in the most recent school year who successfully completed one or more college-level advanced placement, international baccalaureate, postsecondary enrollment options including concurrent enrollment, other rigorous courses of study under section 120B.021, subdivision 1a, or industry certification courses or programs.
When reporting the core measures under clauses (1) and (2), the commissioner must also analyze and report separate categories of information using the nine student categories identified under the federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and two student gender categories of male and female, respectively, following appropriate reporting practices to protect nonpublic student data.
(d) When reporting student performance under section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the commissioner annually, beginning July 1, 2014, must report summary data on school safety and students' engagement and connection at school. The summary data under this paragraph are separate from and must not be used for any purpose related to measuring or evaluating the performance of classroom teachers. The commissioner, in consultation with qualified experts on student engagement and connection and classroom teachers, must identify highly reliable variables that generate summary data under this paragraph. The summary data may be used at school, district, and state levels only. Any data on individuals received, collected, or created that are used to generate the summary data under this paragraph are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9.
Consistent with the requirements of this section, beginning June 20, 2012, the commissioner of education must annually report to the public and the legislature the organizational and curricular practices implemented in those schools that demonstrate medium and high growth compared to the state growth target.
(a) A district must develop strategies in conjunction with parents of students with emotional or behavioral disorders and the county board responsible for implementing sections 245.487 to 245.4889 to keep students with emotional or behavioral disorders in school, when the district has a drop-out rate for students with an emotional or behavioral disorder in grades 9 through 12 exceeding 25 percent.
(b) A district must develop a plan in conjunction with parents of students with emotional or behavioral disorders and the local mental health authority to increase the graduation rates of students with emotional or behavioral disorders. A district with a drop-out rate for children with an emotional or behavioral disturbance in grades 9 through 12 that is in the top 25 percent of all districts shall submit a plan for review and oversight to the commissioner.
1998 c 398 art 9 s 1; 1999 c 241 art 9 s 4; 2000 c 500 s 16; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 5; 2003 c 130 s 12; 2004 c 294 art 5 s 2; 2007 c 147 art 8 s 38; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 12
NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 3, paragraph (c), applies to students in the 2010-2011 school year and later. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, the effective date.
NOTE: Subdivision 3, paragraph (d), as added by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, applies to data that are collected in the 2012-2013 school year and later and reported annually beginning July 1, 2014, consistent with advice the commissioner receives from recognized and qualified experts on student engagement and connection and classroom teachers. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, the effective date.
NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 4 by Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, applies in the 2011-2012 school year and later. Laws 2009, chapter 96, article 2, section 12, the effective date.
(a) The commissioner shall report student academic performance under section 120B.35, subdivision 2; the percentages of students showing low, medium, and high growth under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b); school safety and student engagement and connection under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (d); rigorous coursework under section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (c); two separate student-to-teacher ratios that clearly indicate the definition of teacher consistent with sections 122A.06 and 122A.15 for purposes of determining these ratios; staff characteristics excluding salaries; student enrollment demographics; district mobility; and extracurricular activities. The report also must indicate a school's adequate yearly progress status, and must not set any designations applicable to high- and low-performing schools due solely to adequate yearly progress status.
(b) The commissioner shall develop, annually update, and post on the department Web site school performance report cards.
(c) The commissioner must make available performance report cards by the beginning of each school year.
(d) A school or district may appeal its adequate yearly progress status in writing to the commissioner within 30 days of receiving the notice of its status. The commissioner's decision to uphold or deny an appeal is final.
(e) School performance report card data are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in paragraph (d) concludes. The department shall annually post school performance report cards to its public Web site no later than September 1.
All data the department receives, collects, or creates to determine adequate yearly progress status under Public Law 107-110, section 1116, set state growth targets, and determine student growth are nonpublic data under section 13.02, subdivision 9, until not later than ten days after the appeal procedure described in subdivision 1, paragraph (d), concludes. Districts must provide parents sufficiently detailed summary data to permit parents to appeal under Public Law 107-110, section 1116(b)(2). The department shall annually post federal adequate yearly progress data and state student growth data to its public Web site no later than September 1.
The Board of Teaching must adopt rules to implement a statewide credential for education paraprofessionals who assist a licensed teacher in providing student instruction. Any paraprofessional holding this credential or working in a local school district after meeting a state-approved local assessment is considered to be highly qualified under federal law. Under this subdivision, the Board of Teaching, in consultation with the commissioner, must adopt qualitative criteria for approving local assessments that include an evaluation of a paraprofessional's knowledge of reading, writing, and math and the paraprofessional's ability to assist in the instruction of reading, writing, and math. The commissioner must approve or disapprove local assessments using these criteria. The commissioner must make the criteria available to the public.
In adopting rules under subdivision 1, the board must consider including provisions that provide training in: students' characteristics; teaching and learning environment; academic instruction skills; student behavior; and ethical practices.
Within the first 60 days of supervising or working with students, a district must provide each paraprofessional with initial training in emergency procedures, confidentiality, vulnerability, reporting obligations, discipline policies, roles and responsibilities, and a building orientation.
An Assessment Advisory Committee of up to 11 members selected by the commissioner is established. The commissioner must select members as follows:
(1) two superintendents;
(2) two teachers;
(3) two higher education faculty; and
(4) up to five members of the public, consisting of parents and members of the business community.
The committee must review all statewide assessments. The committee must submit its recommendations to the commissioner and to the committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade 12 education policy and budget issues. The commissioner must consider the committees' recommendations before finalizing a statewide assessment.
Notwithstanding section 15.059, subdivision 5, the committee expires on June 30, 2014.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes