Bill > HF2497

This bill provides funding for prekindergarten through grade 12 education for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and modifies various provisions related to education finance. * **General Education Aid:** $8,093,493,000 for FY 2024 and $8,229,982,000 for FY 2025. * **Enrollment Options Transportation:** $18,000 for FY 2024 and $19,000 for FY 2025. * **Abatement Aid:** $2,339,000 for FY 2024 and $2,665,000 for FY 2025. * **Consolidation Transition Aid:** $187,000 for FY 2024 and $290,000 for FY 2025. * **Nonpublic Pupil Education Aid:** $22,354,000 for FY 2024 and $23,902,000 for FY 2025. * **Nonpublic Pupil Transportation:** $22,248,000 for FY 2024 and $23,624,000 for FY 2025. * **One-Room Schoolhouse:** $65,000 for FY 2024 and $65,000 for FY 2025 for the Angle Inlet School. * **Career and Technical Aid:** $1,512,000 for FY 2024 and $761,000 for FY 2025. * **Pregnant and Parenting Pupil Transportation Reimbursement:** $55,000 for FY 2024 and $55,000 for FY 2025. * **Career and Technical Education Consortium Grants:** $5,000,000 for FY 2024 and $5,000,000 for FY 2025 to the Minnesota Service Cooperatives. * **Career and Technical Education Program Expansion; Aeronautics Pilot Program:** $450,000 for FY 2024 for Little Falls School District. * **Emergency Medical Training:** $500,000 for FY 2024 and $500,000 for FY 2025 for grants to offer high school courses in emergency medical services. * **Area Learning Center Transportation Aid:** $1,000,000 for FY 2024 and $1,000,000 for FY 2025. * **English Learner Cross Subsidy Aid:** $2,000,000 for FY 2024 and $2,000,000 for FY 2025. * **Unemployment Aid for Hourly Workers:** $135,000,000 for FY 2024 for school districts, charter schools, and other entities. * **General Education Aid:** The bill adjusts the formula allowance for general education aid for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and establishes an inflation adjustment for fiscal years 2026 and later. * **Extended Time Revenue:** The extended time allowance is set at $5,117 for FY 2023 and later. * **Local Optional Revenue:** Adjustments are made to the second tier local optional levy for fiscal years 2023 through 2027 and later. * **Compensatory Education Revenue:** Changes are made to the calculation of compensatory education revenue for FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026 and later. * **Ethnic Studies:** Mandates the offering of ethnic studies courses starting in the 2026-2027 school year and instruction in elementary and middle schools by the 2027-2028 school year. * **Holocaust, Genocide of Indigenous Peoples, and Other Genocide Education:** Requires school districts to offer education on these topics in middle and high school social studies curriculum by the 2026-2027 school year. * **School Unemployment Aid:** Establishes a School Unemployment Aid Account with an appropriation of $135,000,000 for FY 2024, which expires on June 30, 2027. * **Menstrual Products:** Requires school districts and charter schools to provide menstrual products at no charge to students in grades 4-12, effective January 1, 2024. * **Opiate Antagonists:** Requires school districts and charter schools to maintain a supply of opiate antagonists (naloxone) at each school site, with two doses available on-site, effective July 1, 2023. * **Career and Technical Education Grants:** Establishes grants for CTE consortia. * **English Learner Revenue:** Modifies the calculation of English learner revenue for FY 2024 through FY 2027 and later. * **Teacher Shortage Areas:** Modifies the definition of a shortage area to include regions with a lower percentage of Indigenous teachers and teachers of color compared to the student population. * **Paraprofessional Training:** Requires school districts and charter schools to provide a minimum of eight hours of paid orientation or professional development annually to paraprofessionals and other instructional support staff, with reimbursement available starting in FY 2025. * **School Libraries:** Establishes school library aid, with $21,435,000 for FY 2024 and $23,799,000 for FY 2025. * **After-School Community Learning Programs:** Establishes a grant program for after-school and summer learning programs. * **MTSS and COMPASS:** Appropriates $13,500,000 for FY 2024 and $13,500,000 for FY 2025 to support the MTSS framework and COMPASS school improvement model. * **Computer Science Education:** Establishes a computer science supervisor position and a working group to develop a strategic plan for computer science education. * **Pilot Program to Improve Educational Outcomes and Accountability:** Establishes a pilot program for up to eight charter high schools to develop a framework for evaluating school performance beyond test scores. * **Graduation Ceremonies:** Prohibits schools from prohibiting American Indian students from wearing regalia or objects of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies. * **American Indian Education Programs:** Modifies requirements for American Indian education programs, including the definition of an American Indian student and the number of American Indian students required for certain program provisions. * **Teacher Mentoring and Retention:** Modifies provisions related to teacher mentoring, induction, and retention programs, with increased funding for teachers of color and American Indian teachers. * **Grow Your Own Pathways to Teacher Licensure Grants:** Appropriates $25,000,000 for FY 2024 and $25,000,000 for FY 2025 for grants to develop teacher residency programs. * **Special Education Teacher Pipeline Program:** Appropriates $20,000,000 for FY 2024 and $10,000,000 for FY 2025 for grants to develop a pipeline of special education teachers. * **Gender-Neutral Single-User Restrooms:** Allows long-term facilities maintenance revenue to be used for remodeling or constructing gender-neutral single-user restrooms. * **Cybersecurity:** Appropriates $24,332,000 for FY 2024 for a grant program to improve building security and cybersecurity. * **Read Act:** Establishes the "Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act" (Read Act), requiring evidence-based reading instruction, training for educators, and specific screening and intervention practices. Appropriates $4,200,000 for FY 2024 for the Read Act implementation partnership with CAREI and $35,000,000 for FY 2024 for curriculum and intervention materials. It also appropriates $34,950,000 for FY 2024 for professional development related to the Read Act. * **Teacher Licensure:** Makes various changes to teacher licensure requirements, including modifications to Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 licenses, and the introduction of a short-call substitute teacher pilot program. * **Student Support Personnel Aid:** Establishes student support personnel aid, with specific amounts for FY 2024 and FY 2025, and provides appropriations for a student support personnel workforce pipeline program. * **School Facilities:** Adjusts long-term facilities maintenance revenue and levy calculations for fiscal years 2025 and later, and allows for the use of revenue for gender-neutral single-user restrooms. * **Repeals:** Repeals certain statutes related to educational expectations, teacher qualifications, and online learning options.