1.1.................... moves to amend H.F. No. 1507, the second engrossment, as follows:
1.2Page 6, delete section 1 and insert:

1.3    "Section 1. DISTANCE LEARNING BROADBAND ACCESS FUNDING.
1.4    Subdivision 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, "commissioner" means the
1.5commissioner of education, and "school" means a school district, charter school, or
1.6cooperative unit.
1.7    Subd. 2. Establishment; purpose. A distance learning broadband access funding program
1.8is established in the Department of Education to provide wireless or wire-line broadband
1.9access for a limited duration to students currently lacking Internet access so that the students
1.10may participate in distance learning offered by school districts and charter schools during
1.11the peacetime public health emergency period that relates to the infectious disease known
1.12as COVID-19.
1.13    Subd. 3. Grants. (a) A Minnesota school applying for a grant award under this section
1.14must file an application with the commissioner on a form developed by the commissioner.
1.15The commissioner may consult with the commissioner of employment and economic
1.16development when developing the form.
1.17(b) An application for a grant under this subdivision must describe a school's approach
1.18to identify and prioritize access for students unable to access the Internet for distance learning
1.19and may include a description of local or private matching grants or in-kind contributions.
1.20(c) A school may develop its application in cooperation with the school's community
1.21education department, the school's adult basic education program provider, a public library,
1.22an Internet service provider, or other community partner.
1.23(d) The commissioner must prioritize applicants based on (1) the location of a school
1.24in or near an unserved area of the state according to the Department of Employment and
2.1Economic Development, (2) the percentage of students that live in a household without
2.2wired or wireless broadband service, and (3) the percentage of students that were provided
2.3Internet access by the school under subdivision 3, clause (3).
2.4(e) The commissioner must develop administrative procedures governing the application
2.5and grant award process.
2.6(f) The commissioner must establish a minimum and maximum per-pupil amount for
2.7grants awarded under this section based on (1) the number of schools that apply for a grant,
2.8(2) the total amount of money requested in the applications, and (3) the availability of federal
2.9money that may be used for a similar purpose.
2.10    Subd. 4. Eligible expenditures. Aid received under this section must be used to:
2.11(1) provide a student with the equipment necessary for the student to use a broadband
2.12connection to access learning materials available on the Internet through a mobile wireless
2.13or wire-line broadband connection;
2.14(2) pay for actual costs incurred to provide emergency distance learning wireless or
2.15wire-line broadband access during the 2019-2020 school year; and
2.16(3) pay for the cost of wireless or wire-line broadband Internet access for households
2.17with students that did not otherwise have Internet access before March 13, 2020, for the
2.182019-2020 school year.
2.19    Subd. 5. Schools to report expenditures. Every school that receives aid under this
2.20section must submit a report to the commissioner of education by February 15, 2021,
2.21documenting its expenditures and describing the onetime and permanent improvements
2.22made to its distance learning access delivery system.
2.23EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
2.24Page 9, delete lines 12 to 22 and insert:
2.25"(a) $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2020 is appropriated from any account or fund where the
2.26Governor's Emergency Education Relief portion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
2.27Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law 116-136, money has been deposited, and the
2.28corresponding amount appropriated under this act cancels to the general fund to the
2.29commissioner of employment and economic development for transfer to the commissioner
2.30of education for emergency distance learning wireless or wire-line broadband access for
2.31student grants for schools under this article. This is a onetime appropriation."
2.32Page 10, line 13, after "under" insert "paragraphs (b) and (c) of"