Minn. Stat. § 124D.231

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 8, August 19, 2024

Section 124D.231 - FULL-SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS

Subdivision 1.Definitions.

For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given them.

(a) "Community organization" means a nonprofit organization that has been in existence for three years or more and serves persons within the community surrounding the covered school site on education and other issues.

(b) "Community school consortium" means a group of schools and community organizations that propose to work together to plan and implement community school programming.

(c) "Community school programming" means services, activities, and opportunities described under subdivision 2, paragraph (f).

(d) "Community-wide full-service community school leadership team" means a district-level team that is responsible for guiding the vision, policy, resource alignment, implementation, oversight, and goal setting for community school programs within the district. This team shall include representatives from the district, including teachers, school leaders, students, and family members from the eligible schools; community members; system-level partners that include representatives from government agencies, relevant unions, and nonprofit and other community-based partners; and, if applicable, the full-service community school initiative director.

(e) "Full-service community school initiative director" means a director responsible for coordinating districtwide administrative and leadership assistance to community school sites and site coordinators, including serving as chairperson for the district's community-wide full-service community school leadership team; site coordinator support; data gathering and evaluation; administration of partnership and data agreements, contracts, and procurement; and grant administration.

(f) "High-quality child care or early childhood education programming" means educational programming for preschool-aged children that is grounded in research, consistent with best practices in the field, and provided by licensed teachers.

(g) "School site" means a school site at which an applicant has proposed or has been funded to provide community school programming.

(h) "Site coordinator" means a full-time staff member serving one eligible school who is responsible for the identification, implementation, and coordination of programming to address the needs of the school community identified in the baseline analysis.

Subd. 2.Full-service community school program.

(a) The commissioner shall provide funding to districts and charter schools with eligible school sites to plan, implement, and improve full-service community schools. Eligible school sites must meet one of the following criteria:

(1) the school is on a development plan for continuous improvement under section 120B.35, subdivision 2; or

(2) the school is in a district that has an achievement and integration plan approved by the commissioner of education under sections 124D.861 and 124D.862.

(b) Districts and charter schools may receive up to:

(1) $100,000 for each eligible school available for up to one year to fund planning activities, including convening a full-service community school leadership team, facilitating family and community stakeholder engagement, conducting a baseline analysis, and creating a full-service community school plan. At the end of this period, the school must submit a full-service community school plan pursuant to paragraphs (d) and (e); and

(2) $200,000 annually for each eligible school for up to three years of implementation of a full-service community school plan, pursuant to paragraphs (f) and (g). School sites receiving funding under this section shall hire or contract with a partner agency to hire a site coordinator to coordinate services at each covered school site. Districts or charter schools receiving funding under this section for three or more schools shall provide or contract with a partner agency to provide a full-service community school initiative director.

(c) The commissioner shall consider additional school factors when dispensing funds including: schools with significant populations of students receiving free or reduced-price meals; significant homeless and highly mobile rates; equity among urban, suburban, and greater Minnesota schools; and demonstrated success implementing full-service community school programming.

(d) A school site must establish a full-service community school leadership team responsible for developing school-specific programming goals, assessing program needs, and overseeing the process of implementing expanded programming. The school leadership team shall have at least 12 members and shall meet the following requirements:

(1) at least 30 percent of the members are parents, guardians, or students and 30 percent of the members are teachers at the school site and must include the school principal and representatives from partner agencies; and

(2) the full-service community school leadership team must be responsible for overseeing the baseline analyses under paragraph (e) and the creation of a full-service community school plan under paragraphs (f) and (g). A full-service community school leadership team must meet at least quarterly and have ongoing responsibility for monitoring the development and implementation of full-service community school operations and programming at the school site and shall issue recommendations to schools on a regular basis and summarized in an annual report. These reports shall also be made available to the public at the school site and on school and district websites.

(e) School sites must complete a baseline analysis prior to the creation of a full-service community school plan. The analysis shall include:

(1) a baseline analysis of needs at the school site, led by the school leadership team, including the following elements:

(i) identification of challenges facing the school;

(ii) analysis of the student body, including:

(A) number and percentage of students with disabilities and needs of these students;

(B) number and percentage of students who are English learners and the needs of these students;

(C) number of students who are homeless or highly mobile;

(D) number and percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price meals and the needs of these students; and

(E) number and percentage of students by race and ethnicity;

(iii) analysis of enrollment and retention rates for students with disabilities, English learners, homeless and highly mobile students, and students receiving free or reduced-price meals;

(iv) analysis of suspension and expulsion data, including the justification for such disciplinary actions and the degree to which particular populations, including but not limited to American Indian students and students of color, students with disabilities, students who are English learners, and students receiving free or reduced-price meals are represented among students subject to such actions;

(v) analysis of school achievement data disaggregated by major demographic categories, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, English learner status, disability status, and free or reduced-price meals status;

(vi) analysis of current parent engagement strategies and their success; and

(vii) evaluation of the need for and availability of full-service community school activities, including, but not limited to:

(A) integrated student supports that address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers, and may include medical, dental, vision care, and mental health services or counselors to assist with housing, transportation, nutrition, immigration, or criminal justice issues;

(B) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, including before-school, after-school, weekend, and summer programs that provide additional academic instruction, individualized academic support, enrichment activities, and learning opportunities that emphasize real-world learning and community problem solving and may include art, music, drama, creative writing, hands-on experience with engineering or science, tutoring and homework help, or recreational programs that enhance and are consistent with the school's curriculum;

(C) active family and community engagement that brings students' families and the community into the school as partners in education and makes the school a neighborhood hub, providing adults with educational opportunities that may include adult English as a second language classes, computer skills, art, or other programs that bring community members into the school for meetings or events; and

(D) collaborative leadership and practices that build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility and include a school-based full-service community school leadership team, a full-service community school site coordinator, a full-service community school initiative director, a community-wide leadership team, other leadership or governance teams, teacher learning communities, or other staff to manage the joint work of school and community organizations;

(2) a baseline analysis of community assets, including documentation of individuals in the community, faith-based organizations, community and neighborhood associations, colleges, hospitals, libraries, businesses, and social service agencies that may be able to provide support and resources; and

(3) a baseline analysis of needs in the community surrounding the school, led by the school leadership team, including:

(i) the need for high-quality, full-day child care and early childhood education programs;

(ii) the need for physical and mental health care services for children and adults; and

(iii) the need for job training and other adult education programming.

(f) Each school site receiving funding under this section must develop a full-service community school plan that utilizes and aligns district and community assets and establishes services in at least two of the following types of programming:

(1) early childhood:

(i) early childhood education; and

(ii) child care services;

(2) academic:

(i) academic support and enrichment activities, including expanded learning time;

(ii) summer or after-school enrichment and learning experiences;

(iii) job training, internship opportunities, and career counseling services;

(iv) programs that provide assistance to students who have been chronically absent, truant, suspended, or expelled; and

(v) specialized instructional support services;

(3) parental involvement:

(i) programs that promote parental involvement and family literacy;

(ii) parent leadership development activities that empower and strengthen families and communities, provide volunteer opportunities, or promote inclusion in school-based leadership teams; and

(iii) parenting education activities;

(4) mental and physical health:

(i) mentoring and other youth development programs, including peer mentoring and conflict mediation;

(ii) juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs;

(iii) home visitation services by teachers and other professionals;

(iv) developmentally appropriate physical education;

(v) nutrition services;

(vi) primary health and dental care; and

(vii) mental health counseling services;

(5) community involvement:

(i) service and service-learning opportunities;

(ii) adult education, including instruction in English as a second language; and

(iii) homeless prevention services;

(6) positive discipline practices; and

(7) other programming designed to meet school and community needs identified in the baseline analysis and reflected in the full-service community school plan.

(g) The full-service community school leadership team at each school site must develop a full-service community school plan detailing the steps the school leadership team will take, including:

(1) timely establishment and consistent operation of the school leadership team;

(2) maintenance of attendance records in all programming components;

(3) maintenance of measurable data showing annual participation and the impact of programming on the participating children and adults;

(4) documentation of meaningful and sustained collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local governmental units, civic engagement organizations, businesses, and social service providers;

(5) establishment and maintenance of partnerships with institutions, such as universities, hospitals, museums, or not-for-profit community organizations to further the development and implementation of community school programming;

(6) ensuring compliance with the district nondiscrimination policy; and

(7) plan for school leadership team development.

Subd. 3.Full-service community school review.

(a) A full-service community school site must submit to the commissioner, and make available at the school site and online, a report describing efforts to integrate community school programming at each covered school site and the effect of the transition to a full-service community school on participating children and adults. This report shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) an assessment of the effectiveness of the school site in development or implementing the community school plan;

(2) problems encountered in the design and execution of the community school plan, including identification of any federal, state, or local statute or regulation impeding program implementation;

(3) the operation of the school leadership team and its contribution to successful execution of the community school plan;

(4) recommendations for improving delivery of community school programming to students and families;

(5) the number and percentage of students receiving community school programming who had not previously been served;

(6) the number and percentage of nonstudent community members receiving community school programming who had not previously been served;

(7) improvement in retention among students who receive community school programming;

(8) improvement in academic achievement among students who receive community school programming;

(9) changes in student's readiness to enter school, active involvement in learning and in their community, physical, social and emotional health, and student's relationship with the school and community environment;

(10) an accounting of anticipated local budget savings, if any, resulting from the implementation of the program;

(11) improvements to the frequency or depth of families' involvement with their children's education;

(12) assessment of community stakeholder satisfaction;

(13) assessment of institutional partner satisfaction;

(14) the ability, or anticipated ability, of the school site and partners to continue to provide services in the absence of future funding under this section;

(15) increases in access to services for students and their families; and

(16) the degree of increased collaboration among participating agencies and private partners.

(b) Reports submitted under this section shall be evaluated by the commissioner with respect to the following criteria:

(1) the effectiveness of the school or the community school consortium in implementing the full-service community school plan, including the degree to which the school site navigated difficulties encountered in the design and operation of the full-service community school plan, including identification of any federal, state, or local statute or regulation impeding program implementation;

(2) the extent to which the project has produced lessons about ways to improve delivery of community school programming to students;

(3) the degree to which there has been an increase in the number or percentage of students and nonstudents receiving community school programming;

(4) the degree to which there has been an improvement in retention of students and improvement in academic achievement among students receiving community school programming;

(5) local budget savings, if any, resulting from the implementation of the program;

(6) the degree of community stakeholder and institutional partner engagement;

(7) the ability, or anticipated ability, of the school site and partners to continue to provide services in the absence of future funding under this section;

(8) increases in access to services for students and their families; and

(9) the degree of increased collaboration among participating agencies and private partners.

Minn. Stat. § 124D.231

1Sp2015 c 3 art 2 s 44; 2016 c 189 art 25 s 34

Amended by 2023 Minn. Laws, ch. 55,s 2-51, eff. 7/1/2023.

Amended by 2016 Minn. Laws, ch. 189,s 25-34, eff. 8/1/2016.

Added by 2015SP1 Minn. Laws, ch. 3,s 2-44, eff. 8/1/2015.