Minnesota 2025 Legislative Update - PSEO, Special Education, and More

The Minnesota State Legislature issued a Special Session K-12 finance and policy act which contains provisions which may affect students across the state, whether they are in public or private school. Chapter 10 of the 2025 1^st Special Session includes updates to statutory language for postsecondary enrollment programs, special education, and the Read Act, among others. Below is a short summary of some of the changes that may be most relevant to parents and students in Minnesota.

PSEO

The Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act allows Minnesota High School students to seek enrollment in eligible postsecondary institutions. Minn. Stat. §124D.09. Eligible institutions include Minnesota public postsecondary schools, private, nonprofit two-year trade and technical school granting associate degrees, an “opportunities industrialization center” which has been accredited by an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and private, residential, two or four-year liberal arts, degree granting colleges or universities located in Minnesota. Id. Subd. 3(a). The program applies specifically to secular postsecondary institutions, and any school requiring a faith statement or that makes admissions decisions based in any part on race, creed, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs and affiliations are not eligible. Id. 

The Legislature clarified the language in the Act to include otherwise authorized students enrolled in American-Indian and Charter schools.

Online Instruction Act

The Online Instruction Act allows Minnesota schools to provide online instruction for students. Minn. Stat. § 124D.094 Subd. 2(a). Students enrolled in Minnesota schools may supplement their education with courses outside of those offered by their enrolling district. Id. Subd. 3(a). The Act prevents an enrolling district from restricting a student’s application for these supplemental courses, but still allows enrolling districts to assess whether the supplemental course meets or exceeds the academic standards of the course it is meant to replace. Id. Subd. 4(a) and (b).

The Special Session updated the Act to clarify that it only applies to public and charter schools. Students in nonpublic schools likely may still request supplemental courses, however, there is no statutory language preventing their school from denying or otherwise restricting that request. The Special Session went on to clarify that any state-operated school is an eligible supplemental course provider under the Act.

READ Act

Minnesota Statute §120B.12, otherwise known as the Read Act, is designed to ensure that Minnesota students achieve a reading level at or above their grade level, beginning in kindergarten, including multilingual learners and students receiving special education. Under the Act school districts are required to provide evidence-based reading instruction focused on mastery of foundational reading skills. Id. 

The Read Act was updated in the Special Session to ensure that multilingual students enrolled in immersion programs would be included in the screening for grade level reading proficiency, and that those screeners would also be administered in the immersion program’s language, if such a screener is available.

Special Education

School boards are required, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, to adopt a “language access plan” meant to render effective assistance to students and adults who communicate in a language other than English. Minn. Stat. §123B.32 Subd. 1. That plan must also include the district’s procedures for communication relating to special education determinations and placements, to help ensure meaningful participation in the IEP process. Id. Subd 2.

In anticipation of funding cuts, the Special Session directs the commissioner of management and budget to assume a reduction of $250 million in special education appropriations. School districts can expect to see a reduction in funding for their special education departments, but parents should understand their rights, regardless of funding. School districts may not rely on lack of resources as a reason to deny special education services. Cedar Rapids Community School Dist. v. Garret F. ex rel. Charlene F., 526 U.S. 66, 77 (1999).

The Special Session also directed the Department of Education to establish a working group to review the current rule limiting eligibility for receiving services for developmental delay to students aged six years or younger. The working group has been directed to assess the impact of expanding eligibility to children up to the age of nine. Another working group has been established to evaluate the use of seclusion as an emergency procedure, and not as discipline.

For the exhaustive list of changes made in this summer’s Special Session, the MN House Research summary can be found at https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/actsum.aspx. If you have any questions regarding these changes or how they may impact your student, please reach out to one of our attorneys to set up a time for advice and consultation.