Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=sf4041&version=latest&session=ls91&session_number=0&session_year=2020
Timestamp: 2020-05-25 21:10:30
Document Index: 437458763

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 4830', 'arts 2', 'art 8710', 'art\n8', 'art 4830', 'arts 2']

SF 4041 as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020)
SF 4041
as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/06/2020 08:41am
Introduction Posted on 03/04/2020
1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32
5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23 6.24 6.25 6.26 6.27 6.28 6.29 6.30 6.31 6.32 6.33 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 7.24 7.25 7.26 7.27 7.28 7.29 7.30 7.31 7.32 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.26 8.27 8.28 8.29
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20
9.21 9.22
9.23 9.24
relating to education; strengthening the Increase Teachers of Color Act in higher
education; modifying provisions for student teacher grants and teacher shortage
loan forgiveness; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections 136A.1275, as
amended; 136A.1791; Laws 2019, chapter 64, article 1, section 2, subdivision 28;
repealing Minnesota Rules, part 4830.9130, subparts 2, 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 136A.1275, as amended by Laws 2019, chapter
64, article 2, sections 8 and 9, is amended to read:
136A.1275 new text beginSTUDENT new text endTEACHER deleted text beginCANDIDATEdeleted text end GRANTS.
deleted text begin(a)deleted text end The commissioner of the Office of Higher Education
must establish a grant program for student teaching stipends for low-income students enrolled
in a Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board-approved teacher preparation
program who deleted text beginintend to teachdeleted text endnew text begin are student teachingnew text end in anew text begin licensurenew text end shortage area deleted text beginafter graduating
and receiving their teaching licensedeleted text end or belong to deleted text beginan underrepresenteddeleted text endnew text begin anew text end racial or ethnic groupnew text begin
underrepresented in the teacher workforcenew text end.
deleted text begin (b) "Shortage area" means a license field or economic development region within
Minnesota defined as a shortage area by the Department of Education using data collected
for the teacher supply and demand report under section 127A.05, subdivision 6, or other
surveys conducted by the Department of Education that provide indicators for teacher supply
new text begin For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
meanings given.
new text begin (a) "Economic development region" means an area so designated in the governor's
executive order number 83-15, dated March 15, 1983.
new text begin (b) "Licensure shortage area" means a licensure field within an economic development
region experiencing a shortage of Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensed teachers as determined by the
Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board using data collected for the teacher
supply and demand report under section 122A.091, subdivision 5, and the tiered license
and special permission report in accordance with Minnesota Rules, part 8710.0310, subpart
8. The severity of a licensure shortage area is determined by the percentage of teachers
working in a licensure field not holding a Tier 3 or Tier 4 license in that field where there
are at least ten teachers in the economic development region working within that licensure
new text begin (c) "Permanent residence" means:
new text begin (1) the address listed on the student teacher's most recent Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) or state financial aid application; or
new text begin (2) the economic development region in which the student teacher graduated from high
new text begin (d) "Racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the teacher workforce" means a racial
or ethnic group for which the aggregate percentage of Minnesota teachers of that racial or
ethnic group is lower than the aggregate percentage of Minnesota kindergarten through
grade 12 students of that racial or ethnic group.
To be eligible for a grant under this section, a new text beginstudent new text endteacher
new text begin (1) meet all of the following criteria:
deleted text begin (1)deleted text endnew text begin (i)new text end be enrolled in a Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board-approved
teacher preparation program that requires at least 12 weeks of student teaching new text beginto complete
the program new text endin order to be recommended for any Tier 3 teaching license;
deleted text begin (2)deleted text endnew text begin (ii)new text end demonstrate financial need based on criteria established by the commissioner
under subdivision 3;new text begin and
deleted text begin (3)deleted text endnew text begin (iii)new text end be meeting satisfactory academic progress as defined under section 136A.101,
subdivision 10; and
new text begin (2) meet one of the following criteria:
deleted text begin (4) intend to teach in a shortage areadeleted text endnew text begin (i) be student teaching in one of the ten most severe
licensure shortage areas in the economic development region where either the candidate's
student teaching site or permanent residence is located in the year the student receives a
grant;new text end or
new text begin (ii) new text endbelong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the deleted text beginMinnesotadeleted text end teacher
workforce. deleted text beginIntent can be documented based on the teacher license field the student is pursuing
or a statement of intent to teach in an economic development region defined as a shortage
area in the year the student receives a grant.
Administrationdeleted text begin; repaymentdeleted text end.
application process and other guidelines for implementing this program.new text beginThe commissioner
must notify grant recipients of their award amounts by the following dates:
new text begin (1) for fall student teaching placements, recipient must be notified by August 1;
new text begin (2) for spring student teaching placements, recipients must be notified by December 1;
new text begin (3) for summer student teaching placements, recipients must be notified by May 1.
new text begin These notification deadlines do not apply in cases where grants are awarded to student
teachers who applied after application deadlines and there were funds remaining after the
initial round of grants awarded.
(c) new text beginIn order to improve all students' access to effective and diverse teachers under sections
120B.11 and 124D.861, a percentage of the total award funds available at the beginning of
the fiscal year must be reserved for student teachers belonging to a racial or ethnic group
underrepresented in the teacher workforce. new text endThe percentage of the total award funds available
at the beginning of the fiscal year reserved for teacher candidates who identify as belonging
to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce must be
equal to or greater than the total percentage of new text beginkindergarten through grade 12 new text endstudents of
racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce as measured
under section 120B.35, subdivision 3. If this percentage cannot be deleted text beginmetdeleted text endnew text begin fully spentnew text end because
of a lack of qualifying candidates, the remaining amount deleted text beginmay be awarded to teacher
candidates who intend to teach in a shortage areadeleted text endnew text begin must be transferred to the student teacher
grant program reserve accountnew text end.
new text begin (d) The commissioner must give equal consideration to all applicants regardless of the
order the application was received before the application deadline. If the amount appropriated
for this program is insufficient to make full awards to eligible applicants, the commissioner
must give priority for awarding grants to applicants pursuing the most severe licensure
shortage areas in their respective economic development regions.
new text begin Creation of account. new text end
new text begin A student teacher grant program reserve account is
established in the special revenue fund. Money in the account is appropriated to the
commissioner to fund grants to student teachers belonging to a racial or ethnic group
underrepresented in the teacher workforce. Appropriations from the account do not cancel
and are available until expended.
new text begin Reporting. new text end
new text begin (a) By July 15 of each year, the commissioner of higher education
must submit a report on the details of the program under this section for the previous fiscal
year to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over higher education finance and policy.
new text begin (1) the balance of the student teacher grant program reserve account in the special revenue
new text begin (2) the licensure shortage areas giving rise to award eligibility, organized by economic
development region;
new text begin (3) the extent of racial or ethnic underrepresentation in the teacher workforce statewide
and broken down by economic development region; and
new text begin (4) separately for eligibility based on licensure shortage area and eligibility based on
racial or ethnic underrepresentation:
new text begin (i) the number of eligible applicants and the number of student teachers receiving an
award, each broken down by postsecondary institution; and
new text begin (ii) the total number of awards, the total dollar amount of all awards, and the average
new text begin (b) The report under paragraph (a) must be submitted in compliance with sections 3.195
and 3.197.
new text begin (c) Within 60 days after each round of award notifications required under subdivision
3, paragraph (a), the commissioner must publish on the Office of Higher Education's website
a report with data on the most recent round of grant awards. The report must include the
same information required to be included in the report under paragraph (a).
new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2020, except that the commissioner
may delay notification to student teachers receiving grants for the fall 2020 term until August
15, 2020.
Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 136A.1791, is amended to read:
136A.1791 TEACHER SHORTAGE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM.
(b) "Qualified educational loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation loan
for actual costs paid for tuition and reasonable educational and living expenses related to a
teacher's preparation or further education.
(c) "School district" means an independent school district, special school district,
intermediate district, education district, special education cooperative, service cooperative,
a cooperative center for vocational education, or a charter school located in Minnesota.
(d) "Teacher" means an individual holding a teaching license issued by the Professional
Educator Licensing and Standards Board who is employed by a school district to provide
classroom instructionnew text begin, or a Head Start or Early Head Start nonlicensed early childhood
professional employed by a Head Start program under section 119A.50new text end.
(e) "Teacher shortage area" means:
(1) the licensure fields and economic development regions reported by the commissioner
of education as experiencing a teacher shortage; and
(2) economic development regions where there is a shortage of licensed teachers who
reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of students in the region as reported by the commissioner
(f) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education unless
new text begin (g) "Economic development region" means an area so designated in the governor's
new text begin (h) "Racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the teacher workforce" has the meaning
given in section 136A.1275.
new text begin (i) "Licensure shortage area" has the meaning given in section 136A.1275.
Program established; administration.
new text begin(a) new text endThe commissioner deleted text beginshalldeleted text endnew text begin mustnew text end
establish and administer a teacher shortage loan forgiveness program. deleted text beginA teacher is eligible
for the program if the teacher is teaching in an identified teacher shortage area under
subdivision 3 and complies with the requirements of this section.
new text begin (b) The commissioner must give equal consideration to all applicants regardless of the
must give priority for awarding loan forgiveness to: first, applicants with the greatest financial
need considering the applicant's income, household size, and total qualified educational
loan; and, second, applicants teaching in the most severe licensure shortage areas in the
economic development region where they teach.
new text begin (c) The commissioner must ensure an equitable distribution of student loan repayment
funds to teachers across all economic development regions using a method determined by
the commissioner. Funds dedicated to teachers from racial or ethnic groups underrepresented
in the teacher workforce must be allocated separately.
new text begin (d) In order to improve all students' access to effective and diverse teachers under sections
120B.11 and 124D.861, a percentage of the total program funds available at the beginning
of the fiscal year must be reserved for teachers belonging to a racial or ethnic group
underrepresented in the teacher workforce. The percentage of the total award funds available
at the beginning of the fiscal year reserved for teachers who identify as belonging to a racial
or ethnic group underrepresented in the teacher workforce must be equal to or greater than
the total percentage of kindergarten through grade 12 students of racial or ethnic groups
underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce as measured under section 120B.35,
deleted text begin Use of report on teacher shortage areas. deleted text end
deleted text begin The commissioner of education
shall use the teacher supply and demand report to the legislature to identify the licensure
fields and economic development regions in Minnesota experiencing a teacher shortage.
Application for loan forgivenessnew text begin; eligibilitynew text end.
new text begin(a) new text endEach applicant for loan
forgiveness, according to rules adopted by the commissioner, deleted text beginshalldeleted text endnew text begin mustnew text end:
(1) apply for teacher shortage loan forgiveness and promptly submit any additional
information required by the commissioner; and
(2) submit to the commissioner a completed affidavit, prescribed by the commissioner,
affirming the teacher is deleted text beginteaching in: (i) a licensure field identified by the commissioner as
experiencing a teacher shortage; or (ii) an economic development region identified by the
commissioner as experiencing a teacher shortagedeleted text endnew text begin eligible for loan forgivenessnew text end.
new text begin (b) To be eligible for loan forgiveness under this section, a teacher must have taught in
Minnesota for at least one complete school year and:
new text begin (1) have taught for at least one year and still be currently teaching in one of the ten most
severe licensure shortage areas in the teacher's economic development region; or
new text begin (2) belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the teacher workforce.
Amount of loan forgiveness.
(a) To the extent funding is available, the annual
amount of teacher shortage loan forgiveness for an approved applicant deleted text beginshalldeleted text endnew text begin mustnew text end not exceed
deleted text begin $1,000deleted text endnew text begin $2,000new text end or the cumulative balance of the applicant's qualified educational loans,
including principal and interest, whichever amount is less.
(b) Recipients must secure their own qualified educational loans. Teachers who graduate
from an approved teacher preparation program or teachers who add a licensure field,
consistent with the teacher shortage requirements of this section, are eligible to apply for
the loan forgiveness program.
(c) No teacher deleted text beginshalldeleted text endnew text begin maynew text end receive more than deleted text beginfivedeleted text endnew text begin tennew text end annual awards.
new text begin (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), an approved applicant who meets both eligibility
criteria under subdivision 4, paragraph (b), clauses (1) and (2), may receive an annual amount
of up to $3,000 or the cumulative balance of the applicant's qualified educational loans,
(a) The commissioner must make annual disbursements directly
to the participant of the amount for which a participant is eligible, for each year that a
participant is eligible.
(b) Within 60 days of the disbursement date, the participant must provide the
commissioner with verification that the full amount of loan repayment disbursement has
been applied toward the designated loans. A participant that previously received funds under
this section but has not provided the commissioner with such verification is not eligible to
receive additional funds.
(a) A teacher who submits a false or misleading application or other
false or misleading information to the commissioner may:
(1) have his or her teaching license suspended or revoked under section 122A.20;
(2) be disciplined by the teacher's employing school district; or
(3) be required by the commissioner to repay the total amount of the loan forgiveness
he or she received under this program, plus interest at a rate established under section
270C.40.
(b) The commissioner must deposit any repayments received under paragraph (a) in the
fund established in subdivision 8.
A teacher shortage loan forgiveness repayment account
is created in the special revenue fund for depositing money appropriated to or received by
the commissioner for the program. Money deposited in the account is appropriated to the
commissioner, does not cancel, and is continuously available for loan forgiveness under
By February 1 of each year, the commissioner must report
to the chairs of the kindergarten through grade 12 and higher education committees of the
legislature onnew text begin:
new text begin (1) the balance of the teacher shortage loan forgiveness repayment account in the special
revenue fund;
new text begin (2) the amounts of funds allocated among the economic development regions;
new text begin (3)new text end the number of new text begineligible new text endindividuals who new text beginapplied for loan forgiveness and the number
of individuals who new text endreceived loan forgiveness under this sectiondeleted text begin,deleted text endnew text begin and the basis for their
new text begin (4)new text end the race or ethnicity of the teachers participating in the programdeleted text begin,deleted text endnew text begin;
new text begin (5)new text end the licensure new text beginshortage new text endareas and economic development regions in which the teachers
taughtdeleted text begin,deleted text endnew text begin;
new text begin (6) separately for both applicants and recipients, the total amount of the all qualified
education loan debts stated, the average amount of qualified loan debt, and the range in
amount of loan debt stated;
new text begin (7)new text end the average amount paid to a teacher participating in the programdeleted text begin,deleted text endnew text begin;new text end and
new text begin (8) new text endother summary data identified by the commissioner as outcome indicators.
The commissioner shall adopt rules under chapter 14 to
administer this section.
Laws 2019, chapter 64, article 1, section 2, subdivision 28, is amended to read:
For grants to teacher candidates under
meeting other eligibility requirements. new text beginThis
dedicated amount is in addition to any amount
reserved under section 136A.1275, subdivision
3, paragraph (c). new text endIf this dedicated amount is
not fully spent because of a lack of qualifying
candidates, any remaining deleted text beginamount may be
awarded to qualifying teacher candidates in a
shortage areadeleted text endnew text begin money must be transferred to
the student teacher grant program reserve
accountnew text end.
The commissioner may use no more than deleted text beginthreedeleted text endnew text begin
fivenew text end percent of the appropriation for
administration of the program.
new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2020. Amendments in this section
affect only the appropriation in fiscal year 2021.
Sec. 4. new text beginREPEALER.
new text begin Minnesota Rules, part 4830.9130, subparts 2 and 3, new text end new text begin are repealed.
Repealed Minnesota Rule: 20-7786
4830.9130 APPLICATION AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.
The amount of an eligible participant's annual award shall not exceed $1,000 or the cumulative balance of the applicant's qualified educational loans, including principal and interest, whichever amount is less.
Funds availability.
If there are insufficient funds to provide an award to all eligible participants, the commissioner shall not prorate each award. The commissioner shall prioritize the awards to eligible participants based on:
the financial need of an applicant, considering the applicant's income, household size, and total qualified educational loan;
previous awards to the applicant from the teacher shortage loan forgiveness program;
whether the applicant is employed in an economic development region that is a teacher shortage area;
whether the applicant is employed in a teacher shortage area within the applicant's economic development region;
whether the applicant is employed in a statewide teacher shortage area; and
the statewide distribution of funds.