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October 13, 2023
Updates in this email:
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) makes MnMTSS grant funding available to Minnesota local educational agencies (LEAs), i.e., school districts and charter schools, to build the capacity of LEAs to support implementation of the MnMTSS framework in order to improve academic, behavioral and social emotional outcomes for all students. Implementation of MnMTSS supports MDE’s vision of a public education system that is intentionally designed for each student to receive a world-class education in a safe and nurturing environment. MnMTSS also supports the World’s Best Workforce goals of closing racial and economic achievement gaps and ensuring all students graduate from high school ready for career and college.
This competitive grant opportunity is open to current MnMTSS grantees for continued funding and to applicants who are not current MnMTSS grantees for new funding. Application materials can be found on MDE’s competitive grants site beginning today, October 12, 2023. Prospective applicants are invited to an informational webinar on October 17, 2023, at 10 a.m. Registration is required, and the webinar will be recorded and posted for those unable to attend. Register for the MnMTSS informational webinar.
Current MnMTSS grantees may apply for up to $250,000 for Fiscal Years 2025-26 (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026). Applicants who are not current MnMTSS grantees may apply for up to $375,000 for the anticipated grant period February 1, 2024, through June 30, 2026. Applications must be received by November 9, 2023, at 5 p.m. Additional details are available on MDE’s competitive grants site.
Schools may apply to become a supplemental online course provider under Minnesota Statutes 2023, section 124D.094. Approved providers can offer online course options for students who remain enrolled in their local district or charter school. Please complete the Application for Supplemental Online Course Providers by November 15 to be considered for approval and to begin offering supplemental online courses to students in the fall of 2024.
Please contact mde.onlinelearning@state.mn.us with questions.
Class is in session at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) with the launch of our new blog—Class in Session.
Through Class in Session we will offer updates about what is happening at the Minnesota Department of Education and highlight the stories from Minnesota schools. We’ll keep our visitors up-to-date with our Commissioner’s Cabinet tour of schools, and offer highlights from within the walls of Minnesota Department of Education. We’ll break down new initiatives happening at the department in plain language, and we’ll bring perspectives to light about how agency programs are making a difference in the lives of Minnesota students.
Follow along as we grow Class in Session. If you have a success story to share with us about implementation of a grant or program to consider for our Class in Session blog, please connect with us at mde.communications@state.mn.us.
The Minnesota Kognito Mental Health Training Initiative is renewing for another year! Kognito At-Risk trainings for school staff and the Friend2Friend trainings for students will continue to be offered across Minnesota for free for the 2023-24 school year thanks to a partnership between MDE and MDH. There are new training simulations available for both staff and students this year including Emotional & Mental Wellness (K-8 educators and 9-12 educators), Trauma Informed Practices for K12 Schools, Safe and Caring Schools (students). Kognito provides practice-based digital learning for school staff and students to improve mental health and well-being in schools. Kognito trainings use role-play simulations to teach learners how to navigate real-life situations, leading to positive outcomes in and out of the classroom. More information is available here: Kognito for Schools and Districts. Interested schools and districts are encouraged to attend an informational webinar to learn implementation options. Informational webinars are held from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Register for the date of your choosing: Informational Webinar Registration.
If you have any questions please contact Stephanie Downey, stephanie.downey@state.mn.us.
Extempore has secured a grant to cover the cost of MDE’s Bilingual Seals assessments that are delivered through the Extempore testing platform and paired assessments delivered by AVANT. The following tests are FREE to Minnesota schools during 23-24 and 24-25 school years.
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Amharic, Hmong, Somali, and Vietnamese (Writing and speaking are paired with AVANT.)
- Karen and Oromo
- Dakota and Ojibwe
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Dari and Pashto – reading and listening (For speaking and writing, use ACTFL SOBL bundle.) Only reading and listening portion will be free. Cost of SOBL bundle – if you purchase AAPPL, $55.00, if not, $209.00.
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Swahili – listening (For speaking, writing, and reading, use AVANT STAMP WS.)
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Ukrainian – reading and listening (For speaking and writing, use AVANT STAMP WS.)
Contact mde.worldlang@state.mn.us for further information.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and MDE are partnering to offer training on language proficiency levels, based on the ACTFL proficiency scale. This language proficiency training is for teachers of Native American Indigenous languages and adult speakers involved in supporting Indigenous language learning. The training, provided by ACTFL (a national association of professional language educators), will focus on language proficiency levels and strategies for growing and assessing students’ language proficiency over time. This virtual workshop is free and scheduled for the mornings of November 30 and December 1, 2023. Registrants are required to attend both days from 9:00 a.m to 12:30 p.m. Please review the ACTFL Workshop for Indigenous Language Educators summary. Register for the ACTFL Native American Indigenous Language workshop by October 27, 2023.
Contact mde.worldlang@state.mn.us for further information.
World Languages Education 101 is a workshop offered for educational leaders including principals, superintendents and instructional coaches to learn about some basics of world languages education. This three-hour online workshop addresses types of programs, standards, effective instructional practices and program design. The goal is to increase the knowledge and capacity of leaders in the area of supporting world languages programs and teachers. Minnesota Board of School Administrators (BOSA) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be available. All sessions are the same content, please choose one session to attend.
- Tuesday, October 31, 2023, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
- Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
- Friday, March 29, 2024, 8:30–11:30 a.m.
Register for the World Languages Education 101 for School Leaders Workshop
Contact mde.worldlang@state.mn.us for further information.
The Career and College Success Division (CCSD) has posted the following competitive grant program, with applications due November 3, 2023: Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) STEM Grant – Fiscal Years 24, 25, 26
State funds are available to charter schools, school districts, or cooperative units for the purpose of raising kindergarten through grade 12 academic achievement through increased student participation in Pre-AP, AP, and/or IB science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, particularly for historically underserved student groups.
The following materials from the first round of posting are helpful to understand grant eligibility and use of funds: AP IB Stem Grant Question and Answer document, Recording of AP IB Stem Grant Overview session.
Applications are due November 3, 2023, with an anticipated grant start date in December 2023. Visit the MDE Competitive Grant Opportunities page for more information and application materials.
Minnesotans can now officially submit their ideas for the next state flag and seal. The State Emblems Redesign Commission is accepting public submissions on its website, State Emblems Redesign Commission, through October 30, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Submissions are also accepted via US Mail at the address listed on the website.
Please consider sharing this with teachers and your school communities. Note that submissions by those under 18 years of age must be submitted by a parent/legal guardian.
The State Emblems Redesign Commission was established in the 2023 legislative session to develop and adopt a new design for the official state seal and a new design for the official state flag no later than January 1, 2024.
MDE is convening a Computer Science Education Working Group as part of the Computer Science Education Advancement Program. The working group will develop a state strategic plan for a statewide computer science education program. The strategic plan must include a summary of the current state landscape for computer science in grades K–12, including the diversity of students taking these courses. Through the Minnesota Common Course Catalog, we can access data about computer science education in grades 9–12. We’ve put together a survey to gather information about computer science education in grades K–8.
The survey will be open until Oct. 27. Please contact mde.academic-standards@state.mn.us if you need support completing the survey or have any questions.
The Minnesota Legislature repealed the Online Learning Option and replaced it with the Online Instruction Act (Minnesota Statutes 2023, section 124D.094), effective for the 2023–24 school year. District and charter school leaders are invited to attend an information session about the Online Instruction Act and MDE’s developing guidance for the field. We will discuss how to implement digital instructional modalities to create flexibility in time, place, path and pace.
Register for the Oct. 10, 2023 session at 12:30 p.m
Visit the MDE calendar event for more information.
The Minnesota Department of Education's Division of Special Education and General Counsel have prepared guidance documents regarding recent changes in law. View Providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) during Staff Shortages and Q & A: Special Instruction and Services for Children with Disabilities Continues until Age 22.
The Providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) during Staff Shortages document is intended to assist school districts, charter schools and parents/guardians in making equitable and individualized determinations of appropriate special education and related services for students with disabilities and quality early intervention services for infants, toddlers and their families when facing shortages of qualified special education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals and other essential staff.
The Q & A: Special Instruction and Services for Children with Disabilities Continues until Age 22 document provides technical assistance to parents, school districts and charter schools regarding the changes to age eligibility for children with disabilities. Now, in Minnesota, the provision of special instruction and services (a free appropriate public education) to children with disabilities continues until they reach age 22.
The timeline for the Minnesota Youth Water Safety grant posted on Sept. 6, 2023, has been extended from June 30, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The due date for the grant application has also been extended from Oct. 6 to Oct. 20. This grant is available to Minnesota nonprofit organizations and city and county parks and recreation programs providing swimming lessons to youth. These state funds are available primarily to provide low-income and at-risk children with scholarships for swimming lessons based on nationally recognized water safety curricula. Up to 15% of the grant funds may also be used to hire water safety instructors or lifeguards or to train water safety instructors or lifeguards in nationally recognized water safety practices and instruction. The total funding available is $250,000. The minimum award is $10,000, and the maximum award is $24,000 over the grant period. Application materials for the Minnesota Youth Water Safety Grant can be found on the Minnesota Department of Education Grants Page. Contact Grants Specialist Coordinator Bette Benson at Bette.Benson@state.mn.us with any grant questions.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced the final timeline for restarting annual renewals in public health care programs. With Medicaid eligibility newly becoming a part of direct certification, which is currently tied to the compensatory revenue formula, schools could be affected by this change.
Due to the pandemic Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare renewals were paused but are now restarting. More than 1.5 million Minnesotans on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare will need their program eligibility reviewed through a renewal process by May 2024.
Minnesota will restart the renewal processes for Medical Assistance in 2023 beginning with the July renewal cohort. Renewals for MinnesotaCare coverage will restart beginning in October 2023 for coverage effective Jan. 1, 2024. View the full timeline.
Please visit DHS's Renew My Coverage communications toolkit for resources in multiple languages. Please share the messages in this toolkit with your district and school communities.
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