1.1    .................... moves to amend H. F. No. 3472 as follows:
1.2Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

1.3    "Section 1. SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS'
1.4ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.
1.5    Subdivision 1. District academic achievement plan; priorities. (a) A school
1.6district experiencing disparities in academic achievement is encouraged to develop a
1.7short and long-term plan encompassing one through four years to significantly improve
1.8students' academic achievement that uses concrete measures to eliminate differences in
1.9academic performance among groups of students defined by race, ethnicity and income.
1.10The plan must:
1.11    (1) reflect a research-based understanding of high-performing educational systems
1.12and best educational practices;
1.13    (2) include innovative and practical strategies and programs, whether existing or
1.14new, that supplement district initiatives to increase students' academic achievement under
1.15state and federal educational accountability requirements; and
1.16    (3) contain valid and reliable measures of student achievement that the district uses
1.17to demonstrate the efficacy of the district plan to the education commissioner.
1.18    (b) A district must address the elements under section 2, paragraph (a), to the extent
1.19those elements are implicated in the district's plan.
1.20(c) A district must identify in its plan the strategies and programs the district has
1.21implemented and found effective in improving students' academic achievement.
1.22    (d) The district must include with the plan the amount of expenditures necessary
1.23to implement the plan. The district must indicate how current resources are used to
1.24implement the plan, including, but not limited to, state-limited English proficiency aid
1.25under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.65; integration revenue under Minnesota Statutes,
1.26section 124D.86; early childhood family education revenue under Minnesota Statutes,
1.27section 124D.135; school readiness aid under Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.16; basic
2.1skills revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, subdivision 4; extended time
2.2revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 126C.10, subdivision 2a; and alternative
2.3compensation revenue under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.415.
2.4    Subd. 2. Plan. (a) A school district by October 1, 2008, must submit its plan in
2.5electronic format to the commissioner, consistent with subdivision 1.
2.6    (b) The commissioner must analyze the commonalities and differences of the district
2.7plans and the effective strategies and programs districts have implemented to improve
2.8students' academic achievement, and submit the analysis and underlying data to the
2.9advisory task force on improving students' academic achievement under section 2 by
2.10November 1, 2008, and also report the substance of the analyses to the education policy
2.11and finance committees of the legislature by January 1, 2009.
2.12EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.13    Sec. 2. ADVISORY TASK FORCE ON IMPROVING STUDENTS' ACADEMIC
2.14ACHIEVEMENT.
2.15    (a) An advisory task force on improving students' academic achievement is
2.16established to review the plans submitted to the education commissioner under section 1
2.17and recommend to the education committees of the legislature a proposal for improving
2.18students' academic achievement and eliminating differences in academic performance
2.19among groups of students defined by race, ethnicity, and income. The task force members
2.20must at least consider how the following education-related issues impact the educational
2.21achievement of low-income students and students of color:
2.22    (1) rigorous preparation and coursework and how to (i) effectively invest in early
2.23childhood and parent education, (ii) increase academic rigor and high expectations on
2.24elementary and secondary students in schools serving a majority of low-income students
2.25and students of color, and (iii) provide parents, educators, and community members with
2.26meaningful opportunities to collaborate in educating students in schools serving a majority
2.27of low-income students and students of color;
2.28    (2) professional development for educators and how to (i) provide stronger financial
2.29and professional incentives to attract and retain experienced, bilingual, and culturally
2.30competent teachers and administrators in schools serving a majority of low-income
2.31students and students of color, (ii) recruit and retain teachers of color, and (iii) develop and
2.32include cultural sensitivity and interpersonal and pedagogical skills training that teachers
2.33need for effective intercultural teaching;
2.34    (3) English language learners and how to (i) use well designed tests, curricula,
2.35and English as a second language programs and services as diagnostic tools to develop
3.1effective student interventions, (ii) monitor students' language capabilities, (iii) provide
3.2academic instruction in English that supports students' learning and is appropriate
3.3for students' level of language proficiency, and (iv) incorporate the perspectives and
3.4contributions of ethnic and racial groups, consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section
3.5120B.022, subdivision 1, paragraph (b);
3.6    (4) special education and how to (i) incorporate linguistic and cultural sensitivity
3.7into special education diagnosis and referral, (ii) increase the frequency and quality of
3.8prereferral interventions, and (iii) decrease the number of minority and nonnative English
3.9speaking students inappropriately placed in special education;
3.10    (5) GRAD tests and how to (i) incorporate linguistic and cultural sensitivity into the
3.11reading and math GRAD tests, and (ii) develop interventions to meet students' learning
3.12needs; and
3.13    (6) valid and reliable data and how to use data on student on-time graduation rates,
3.14student dropout rates, documented disciplinary actions, and completed and rigorous course
3.15work indicators to determine how well-prepared low-income students and students of
3.16color are for postsecondary academic and career opportunities.
3.17    The task force also must examine the findings of a 2008 report by Minnesota
3.18superintendents on strategies for creating a world-class educational system to establish
3.19priorities for improving students' academic achievement. The task force may consider
3.20other related matters at its discretion.
3.21    (b) The commissioner of education must convene the first meeting of the advisory
3.22task force on improving students' academic achievement by July 1, 2008. The task force
3.23members must adopt internal procedures and standards for subsequent meetings. The task
3.24force is composed of the following members:
3.25    (1) a representative from a Twin Cities metropolitan area school district, a suburban
3.26school district, a school district located in a regional center, and a rural school district, all
3.27four representatives appointed by the state demographer based on identified concentrations
3.28of low performing low-income students and students of color;
3.29    (2) a faculty member of a teacher preparation program at the University of
3.30Minnesota's college of education and human development, appointed by the college dean
3.31or the dean's designee;
3.32    (3) a faculty member from the urban teachers program at Metropolitan State
3.33University appointed by the university president or the president's designee;
3.34    (4) a faculty member from a MnSCU teacher preparation program located outside
3.35the Twin Cities metropolitan area, appointed by the university president or the president's
3.36designee;
4.1    (5) a classroom teacher appointed by Education Minnesota;
4.2    (6) an expert in early childhood care and education appointed by a state early
4.3childhood organization;
4.4    (7) a member from each state council representing a community of color, appointed
4.5by the respective council;
4.6    (8) a curriculum specialist with expertise in providing language instruction for
4.7nonnative English speakers, appointed by a state curriculum organization;
4.8    (9) a special education teacher, appointed by a state organization of special education
4.9educators;
4.10    (10) a parent of color, appointed by a state parent-teacher organization;
4.11    (11) a district testing director appointed by a recognized Minnesota assessment
4.12group composed of assessment and evaluation directors and staff and researchers; and
4.13    (12) a Minnesota Department of Education staff person with expertise in school
4.14desegregation matters appointed by the education commissioner or the commissioner's
4.15designee.
4.16    A majority of task force members, at their discretion, may invite other representatives
4.17of interested public or nonpublic organizations, Minnesota's communities of color, and
4.18stakeholders in local and state educational equity to become task force members. A
4.19majority of task force members must be persons of color.
4.20    (c) Task force members' terms and other task force matters are subject to Minnesota
4.21Statutes, section 15.059. The commissioner may reimburse task force members from
4.22the education department's current operating budget but may not compensate task force
4.23members for task force activities. By February 15, 2009, the task force must submit
4.24written proposal to the education policy and finance committees of the legislature on how
4.25to significantly improve students' academic achievement.
4.26    (d) The advisory task force expires on February 16, 2009.
4.27EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."