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August 21, 2026
The Program Monitoring unit will host monthly drop-in sessions, beginning in September. These sessions will be an opportunity for district special education leadership to connect with members of the Program Monitoring team for assistance with the District Collaboration SharePoint site, Student Level and District Level Correction requirements, and program monitoring activities.
Sessions will take place monthly on the third Tuesday of the month at 3 p.m. Drop-in sessions are online, and registration is not required to attend.
Tuesday, September 15 at 3 p.m. Drop-in Session: Join the September 15 session
Mark your calendars for the remaining sessions: October 20, 2026; November 17, 2026; December 15, 2026; January 19, 2027; February 16, 2027; March 16, 2027; April 20, 2027; May 18, 2027; and June 15, 2027.
Educators are invited to attend the Co-teaching Community of Practice (CoP). These virtual sessions provide a space to connect with colleagues across the state, share challenges and strategies, and engage in collaborative problem-solving focused on co-teaching practices. By joining this CoP, you will increase your ability to use practical, innovative, and research-based strategies to improve co-teaching practices.
These CoP sessions are spaces MDE facilitates by providing some framing for each session, but they are flexible based on attendees’ needs at the time. Attendees are encouraged to bring their co-teaching questions, issues, and barriers, as well as examples of co-teaching practices that are working well.
K-12 classroom educators are the target audience, but other school employees in various roles are welcome.
Registration
After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the meeting.
Contact
Holly Andersen (Holly.Andersen@state.mn.us)
Billy Brooks (billy.brooks@state.mn.us)
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Behavioral Health Administration and Health Care Administration continue to implement federal Medicaid requirements for Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) school-based services while working to reduce administrative burden for schools and school-based providers.
September 1, 2027, is the final date to implement federal Medicaid requirements for IEP and IFSP school-based services, which require the following:
- Eligible school-based providers must enroll in Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) before billing for covered Medicaid services.
- Providers can start the process of enrollment beginning September 1, 2026.
- Eligible mental health providers who have been in the process of enrollment should continue enrolling in MHCP in accordance with existing policy.
- Schools must include the individual rendering provider's National Provider Identifier (NPI) on applicable Medicaid claims.
IEP providers should refer to the PDF titled CPT Code Billing and Provider Enrollment Update for School Providers dropped to MN–ITS mailboxes on August 7, 2026, for more information.
With the official deactivation of Stepwell, EDIAM access to the Stepwell application has been automatically revoked for all users. You and your staff may have received emails from MDE notifying you that you no longer have access to the application. Please feel free to disregard the notifications, as they are a result of the Stepwell deactivation and no further action is needed at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion. Please reach out to Rebecca.Nesset@state.mn.us if you have any questions.
Back-to-School Training Highlights for Special Education Directors
Just in time for staff development season, the special education program monitoring team is pleased to announce a new training and key resources designed to support strong and compliant special education practices across your district.
Special Education Essentials: Collection of training modules and resources offering on-demand, bite-sized compliance information for special education teachers, geared toward those holding Tier 1, 2, and out of field placement licensure.
Special Education Program Monitoring Process: A streamlined overview of the program monitoring process, including timelines, monitoring tasks, correction process, and preparation tips for upcoming program monitoring activities.
Share these resources with your teams as part of back-to-school training. Thank you for your leadership and partnership in supporting Minnesota students!
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.
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