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October 31, 2025
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Division of Special Education invites you to participate in our upcoming virtual community listening sessions. These sessions are part of our Annual Performance Report (APR) process and are an opportunity to share your experiences and insights about transition planning and graduation for students with disabilities.
Each session will be held virtually and is open to families, educators, and community members. We want to hear what’s working well and what could be improved as students prepare to exit high school.
Please help us spread the word by sharing this opportunity with families in your district. If you have questions, contact Kirsten Rewey (kirsten.rewey@state.mn.us or 651-582-8638).
Thank you for your continued support of Minnesota students with disabilities.
Implementing the Alternate Assessment Eligibility Guidelines
What: In this session, attendees will review current alternate assessment eligibility guideline resources and use real-world examples to apply the decision-making model.
When: Tuesday, November 4, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Intended audience: Direct Service Providers, Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Team Members, Administrators who support Assessment planning and decision making (district assessment coordinators (DACs), directors)
How: Register in advance to attend this Zoom session.
Understanding the ARC Process through District Examples
What: Learn about the history and purpose of the annually required Assurance Rationale and Context (ARC) process. The session will also explore how to best utilize district data and provide examples from district staff on how they use the ARC process to plan and implement their professional development surrounding alternate assessment and eligibility.
When: Monday, November 10, from 2 to 3 p.m.
Intended audience: DACs, Special Education Coordinators, Special Education Directors
How: Register in advance to attend this Zoom session.
November Alternate Assessment Chat and Connect
What: Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS)/Alternate Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) test administrators and Special Education staff are invited to meet with MDE Alternate Assessment Specialists to give feedback, ask questions, and connect with other Special Education staff from across the state.
Why: In November, learn about the Eligibility Requirements and Decision-Making Tool for Minnesota Alternate Assessments, new Reading Alternate MCA for spring 2026, and the Alt MCA Early Stopping Rule.
When: November 12 from 4 to 5 p.m. Series will continue monthly, meeting the second Wednesday (new meeting day) of each month. Register once for the entire series of monthly meetings.
How: Contact the Alt Assessment Chat and Connect team (Alt.Assessment.MDE@state.mn.us) to register.
Recent federal staffing reductions have raised questions, but no changes have been made to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or its requirements. State and local responsibilities—including providing Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), conducting evaluations, and upholding procedural safeguards—remain fully in effect. Minnesota remains committed to ensuring students with disabilities receive the services and supports they are entitled to.
Thank you for your continued leadership and dedication.
With appreciation,
Sonia R. Smith, J.D.
Director of Special Education
The captioned October 10, 2025 Special Education Directors' Forum recording is available. The PDF of the PowerPoint slides is available in the recording by selecting the three ellipses in the bottom right corner and selecting Info.
If you attended on October 10 or have viewed the recording, please complete the October 2025 Special Education Directors' Forum Evaluation Survey. CEUs will be emailed following the completion of the survey.
In spring 2026, the Reading Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA-IV) will have the first administration of the new assessments aligned to the Reading strand of the 2020 Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in English Language Arts. There are several changes to the accommodations and supports available on the Reading MCA to align with the changes available in universal supports and accommodations in the new MCA-IV series of assessments. Below is a high-level overview of some of the changes on the Reading MCA.
Supports available to all students:
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Similar to the Science MCA-IV, translated and glossed word lists will be available for Reading MCA later this fall. In addition, the English glossary support will be available in the online Reading MCA (items only).
Accommodations available to students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504:
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Similar to Science MCA materials, for the Reading MCA:
- A 24-point large print test book will no longer be available. Instead, the 18-point large print test book format will be improved to make the materials more manageable for students.
- A separate passages book will be provided with the paper test books (12-point, 18-point, or braille) to make it easier for students to access passages information alongside the items included in the test book.
- Assistive technology online test forms are available that allow assistive technology devices to interact directly with the test; this includes screen readers and non-screen reader devices.
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Read-aloud accommodations (script/human reader, text-to-speech, or assistive technology online form for screen readers) are now available with the new Reading MCA for eligible students. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) must approve their use for each student. With these accommodations, the reading passages and test items are read to the student. Read-aloud accommodations will be an approved accommodation for a small number of students who meet one of these criteria:
- Students with documented blindness or low vision that severely limits or prevents them from accessing printed text and have not yet learned braille.
- Students with deafness or hard of hearing and whose print disability severely limits their ability to decode text.
- Students with documented blindness or low vision who use a screen reader in their daily instruction.
More details about these supports and accommodations are available in both the Procedures Manual for Minnesota Statewide Assessments 2025-26 and a guidance document intended to be used by district and school staff who have a role in decision-making and/or test administration with universal supports and accommodations for statewide assessments. This document, Guidance for Selecting Appropriate Universal Supports and Accommodations for Minnesota Statewide Assessments 2025-26, is available on the District Resource page.
Please share with your English Language Arts, Special Education, and Multilingual Learner teachers.
This spring will be the first administration of the Reading MCA-IV and Alternate (Alt) MCA. All new assessments need to go through a process called “standard setting” before scores can be released. This process will take place in summer 2026 for Reading MCA and Alt MCA. During standard setting, Minnesota educators will work together to make recommendations of what students need to know and be able to do at each performance level and use the Performance Level Descriptors to determine what it means for students to demonstrate proficiency on the Reading strand of the Academic Standards in English Language Arts. There are four performance levels for the new series of assessments: Beginning, Intermediate, Meets, and Advanced. The standard setting committees will make recommendations of the cut scores, which determine which level each score corresponds to. Watch the Overview of the Standard Setting Process for MCA and Alternate MCA video for more information.
We are looking for a diverse group of classroom educators representing English Language Arts education throughout the state. This committee will balance grade-level and content-area knowledge of the 2020 Minnesota English Language Arts Standards, geographic distribution, and the diversity of our student population. Participants will contribute their instructional expertise and knowledge of the standards and collaborate with peers from across Minnesota while earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and an honorarium.
Please encourage English language arts, special education, and multilingual learner educators in your district to apply to be part of one of these in-person committees next summer:
- Reading Alternate MCA Standard Setting held on June 16-18, 2026.
- Reading MCA-IV Standard Setting on June 22-25, 2026.
Applications will be open until January 16, 2026. Committee members will be chosen based on grade-level and content-area needs, as well as experience with the 2020 Minnesota Standards in English Language Arts.
Another way to be involved in MCA and Alt MCA development is to register to participate in Educator Review Committees. Educator and community member input is vital in the development of questions assessing the Academic Standards in Science. This opportunity is open to science, math, language arts, multilingual learner and special education teachers. Please contact mde.testing@state.mn.us for more information.
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