601 Policy: Model Policy - School District Curriculum Instruction and Goals

1.  PURPOSE
   The purpose of this policy is to establish broad curriculum parameters for the school district that encompass the Minnesota Academic Standards and federal law and are aligned with creating the world’s best workforce.
    
2. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
   The policy of the school district is to establish the “world’s best workforce” in which all learning in the school district should be directed and for which all school district learners should be held accountable.
    
3. DEFINITIONS
   1. “Academic standard” means a summary description of student learning in a required content area or elective content area. 
   2. “Benchmark” means specific knowledge or skill that a student must master to complete part of an academic standard by the end of the grade level or grade band.
   3. "Culturally sustaining" means integrating content and practices that infuse the culture and language of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.
   4. “Curriculum” means district or school adopted programs and written plans for providing students with learning experiences that lead to expected knowledge and skills. 
   5. “Ethnic studies” as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.25, has the same meaning for purposes of this section.  Ethnic studies curriculum may be integrated in existing curricular opportunities or provided through additional curricular offerings.
   6. “Experiential learning” means learning for students that includes career exploration through a specific class or course or through work-based experiences such as job shadowing, mentoring, entrepreneurship, service learning, volunteering, internships, other cooperative work experience, youth apprenticeship, or employment.
   7. “Instruction” means methods of providing learning experiences that enable students to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements including applied and experiential learning.
   8. “Performance measures” are measures to determine school district and school site progress in striving to create the world’s best workforce and must include at least the following:
      1. the size of the academic achievement gap;
      2. rigorous course taking, including college-level advanced placement, international baccalaureate, postsecondary enrollment options; (including concurrent enrollment), other rigorous courses of study or industry certification courses or programs, and enrichment experiences by student subgroup;
      3. student performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments;
      4. high school graduation rates; and
      5. career and college readiness under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 1.
   9. “World’s best workforce”  means striving to accomplish the following goals: meet school readiness goals; have all third-grade students achieve grade-level literacy; close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and have all students graduate from high school.
       
4. LONG-TERM STRATEGIC PLAN
   1. The school board, at a public meeting, must adopt a comprehensive, long-term strategic plan to support and improve teaching and learning that is aligned with creating the world’s best workforce and includes the following: 
      1. clearly defined school district and school site goals for instruction and student achievement for all student categories identified in Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3, paragraph (b)(2)
      2. a process to:
         1.  assess and evaluate each student’s progress toward meeting state and local academic standards,
         2. assess and identify students for participation in gifted and talented programs and services and accelerate their instruction,
         3. adopt early-admission procedures consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.15 and
         4. identifying the strengths and weaknesses of instruction in pursuit of student and school success and curriculum affecting students’ progress and growth toward career and college readiness and leading to the world’s best workforce;
      3. a system to periodically review and evaluate the effectiveness of all curriculum and instruction, taking into account strategies and best practices, student outcomes, principal evaluations under Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.147, subdivision 3, students’ access to effective teachers who are members of populations under-represented among the licensed teachers in the district or school and who reflect the diversity of enrolled students under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3(b)(2), and teacher evaluations under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.40, subdivision. 8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5;
      4. strategies for improving curriculum, instruction, and student achievement, including the English and, where practicable, the native language development and the academic achievement of English learners;
      5. a process to examine the equitable distribution of teachers and strategies to ensure children in low-income families, children in families of People of Color, and children in American Indian families are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, ineffective, or out-of-field teachers;
      6. education effectiveness practices that
         1. integrate high-quality instruction, technology, and a collaborative professional culture that develops and supports teacher quality, performance, and effectiveness; and
         2. ensure learning and work environments validate, affirm, embrace, and integrate cultural and community strengths for all students, families, and employees;
         3. provide a collaborative professional culture that develops and supportsseeks to retain qualified, racially and ethnically diverse staff effective at working with diverse students while developing and supporting teacher quality, performance, and effectiveness;
      7. an annual budget for continuing to implement the school district plan; and
      8.  identifying a list of suggested and required materials, resources, sample curricula, and pedagogical skills for use in kindergarten through grade 12 that accurately reflect the diversity of the state of Minnesota.

B. The school district is not required to include information regarding literacy in a plan or report required under this section, except with regard to the academic achievement of English learners.

Legal References:
Minn. Stat. § 120B.018 (Definitions) 
Minn. Stat. § 120B.02 (Educational Expectations for Minnesota Students) Minn. Stat. § 120B.11 (School District Process for Reviewing Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement; Striving for the World’s Best 
Workforce) 
Minn. Stat. § 120B.12 (Read Act Goal and Interventions)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.30, Subd. 1 (Statewide Testing and Reporting System) Minn. Stat. § 120B.35, Subd. 3 (Student Academic Achievement and 
Growth)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.40, Subd. 8 (Employment; Contracts; Termination)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.41, Subd. 5 (Teacher Tenure Act; Cities of the First Class; Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.147, Subd. 3 (Principals)
Minn. Stat. § 125A.56, Subd. 1 (Alternate Instruction Required before Assessment Referral)
20 U.S.C. § 5801, et seq. (National Education Goals)
20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (Every Student Succeeds Act)

Cross References:    
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 104 (School District Mission Statement)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 613 (Graduation Requirements)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 614 (School District Testing Plan and Procedure)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 615 (Testing Accommodations, Modifications, and Exemptions for IEPs, Section 504 Plans, and LEP Students)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 616 (School District System Accountability)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 618 (Assessment of Student Achievement)