June 12, 2026

Changes with Level Data and Stepwell Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has ended its contract with Level Data, the vendor for the Stepwell Minnesota software and website, effective June 30, 2026. This was a difficult decision. MDE recognizes the significant learning curve and troubleshooting districts experienced during the onboarding process; however, it became clear that Stepwell Minnesota could not adequately support MDE’s general supervision responsibilities, and the system ultimately required more time from districts than anticipated at the start of the project.

You may have already seen early steps in the transition away from Stepwell Minnesota. Moving forward, MDE will use existing tools, including SharePoint, to fulfill the state’s data collection responsibilities. These updated processes will remain in place until further notice.

Stepwell Minnesota will remain available to districts until June 30, 2026. MDE strongly encourages all districts to log in and download any documentation or files needed before that date.

If you have questions about Stepwell Minnesota, the transition to new data collection processes, or if you encounter difficulties retrieving files, please email mde.special-ed@state.mn.us for assistance.

Minnesota’s New Labor Exchange Is Now Live

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has launched CareerForce.MN.gov as the state’s new online labor exchange, replacing MinnesotaWorks.net. The new platform is mobile-friendly, easier to navigate, and offers expanded tools for both job seekers and employers. These updates provide accessible, user-friendly resources to support secondary transition activities, including career exploration, labor market research, work-based learning coordination, and planning related to competitive integrated employment.

Why the Change?

This transition follows two years of planning, stakeholder feedback, and training, supported by a 2023 legislative appropriation for DEED’s digital transformation efforts. Ongoing site enhancements are planned.

Benefits of using CareerForce.MN.gov for those looking for work:

• Search thousands of jobs from vetted Minnesota employers with no ads or sponsored posts.
• Save job search terms for more efficient online job searching.
• Create and store resumes using a resume builder tool and storage capacity available with a CareerForce.MN.gov account.
• Participate in FREE job search workshops with easy search and sign up on the site. with easy search and sign up on the site.
• View training opportunities via the Training Program Finder.

Benefits for employers who post their open positions on the Post-a-Job platform so they show up on CareerForce.MN.gov:

• Post Minnesota jobs with no fee to post.
• Reach thousands of Minnesota job seekers; CareerForce.MN.gov already gets a half million pageviews by more than 50,000 job seekers each month.
• Leverage the statewide CareerForce network of workforce professionals who connect job seekers with jobs.

Reminder: Updates to the MDE Federal Webpage

MDE has updated our Federal Updates webpage with recent communications and resources for schools and families, including the new resource, Learning Choices for Minnesota Families, for parents and caregivers. Other languages are available on the Federal Updates webpage. Please feel free to share this resource in your school communities. 

The Minnesota Department of Education's (MDE) Special Education Division works toward its vision that all children get necessary support for healthy development and lifelong learning; its mission is to provide leadership to ensure a high-quality education for Minnesota's children and youth with disabilities.

To learn more, visit the Special Education section of the MDE website.

mde.special-ed@state.mn.us |651-582-8616 | website