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October 2, 2026
If you have any questions regarding the announcement below, please email the Division of Special Education (mde.special-ed@state.mn.us).
Join us next Friday for the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Special Education Directors' Forum, a full-day event filled with essential learning, updates, and community gathering.
Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
Registration is required to confirm your attendance and preferred format. Please complete the registration form to let us know how you plan to attend and to register for the afternoon breakout sessions.
Morning Forum Webinar (Hybrid)
9:30-11:30 a.m.
This session will be held in a hybrid format, allowing you to participate either in-person or virtually via webinar. We will cover key updates and presentations relevant to all directors.
- Division of Special Education Updates
- Agency and Legislative Updates
- Special Education Funding Update
- Print Disability, National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC), and Local Educational Agency (LEA) Responsibilities
- Dispute Resolution Programs: Data and Trends
- Special Education and COMPASS Collaboration Update
Lunch Break
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Following the morning session, there will be a one-hour lunch break for those attending the in-person afternoon sessions. You may bring your own lunch, visit a nearby restaurant, or purchase food from the food truck parked in the MDE parking lot.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions (In-Person Only)
12:30-3:30 p.m.
Following the morning session and break, we will offer in-person breakout sessions for deeper engagement, interaction, and specialized learning.
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Special Education Funding Q&A: Paul Ferrin, Special Education Funding and Data Supervisor, will be available to answer any questions related to special education funding, reporting, and data.
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Exiting Special Education: This training will cover the four ways in which students can exit: 1) evaluation, 2) revocation of consent, 3) graduation with a regular diploma, and 4) aging out. This presentation will discuss the recent clarification that students remain eligible for FAPE through age 22, even if they “graduate” with an identical diploma.
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Due Process Support: This will be a panel discussion with Janet Fimmen (RAVE), Billie Jo Steen (Northern Lights), Tanya Tacker (Rum River), and Erin Lavery (Indigo). We are asking directors to share with their peers some of the things they do in their district(s) to facilitate due process compliance and ease the paperwork burden for teachers. Each director will share some things they have done and then answer questions from the audience.
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Dispute Resolution Panel: Special Education State Complaints: Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Special Education State Complaints: Data, Trends, Reminders, and Discussion.
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Special Education and Cultural Liaisons: Partnering for Student Success: This session explores how districts can strengthen special education programming by intentionally integrating cultural liaisons. Participants will examine the roles of cultural liaisons within culturally responsive school environments, including alignment with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Check & Connect, Alternative Delivery of Specialized Instructional Services (ADSIS), Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS), and overall Special Education Due Process.
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Program Monitoring: SharePoint Support: This will be a drop-in session for directors to meet with MDE staff to help directors access or navigate the Program Monitoring SharePoint site.
Career Pathways: A Bridge to Work for Students and Young Adults with Disabilities
This fall, PACER, along with staff from Minnesota CareerForce youth programs, will host free, in-person career planning trainings for youth with disabilities ages 14-24. Attendees will learn about the importance of work and career development and explore employment services and supports. They will also walk away with tips to help them begin their own career path!
To learn the 12 training locations and to register, visit Training & Workshops – PACER Center and the PACER Facebook Page.
When: October 8 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
How: Register for Supporting Every Child Through Accessibility, Supports and Accommodations. Registration is required at least 24 hours in advance.
What: Testing can be stressful for students, test monitors and administrators, and parents. Providing supports and accommodations to meet individual student needs can create assessment experiences that are positive for everyone involved. Participants will learn about the ways the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) and Alternate Comprehensive Assessment (Alt MCA) universal supports and accommodations can be used to support all students.
Who: Special Education staff and district staff involved in decision-making for student supports and accommodations for the MCA and Alt MCA.
Why: During the webinar, we will share information about the Student Readiness Tools (SRT) for the MCA and Alt MCA, where participants can explore supports built into the assessment online platform. We will share available resources around the universal supports and accommodations. There will also be time to ask questions, give input on the supports and accommodations students are using, and share how students could be supported on statewide assessments.
When: October 14 from 4 to 5 p.m. The series will continue monthly, meeting on the second Wednesday of each month (except November). The 2026-27 dates are Oct. 14, Nov. 12, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10, April 14, and May 12.
How: Register now for the entire series. You only need to register once to join any of the monthly Chat and Connects that work for you. However, when registering for the first time, registration for each session closes 24 hours before the meeting time.
What: MTAS/Alternate 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 October, learn about the Reading and Science Alt MCA Student Readiness Tools (SRTs), hear about the feedback Test Administrators gave on the 2026 Alt MCA, and see examples of the Reading and Science Individual Student Reports (ISR) that will be released this fall. Please fill out this form to submit questions for the October Chat & Connect.
Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that submitted CEIS Applications on July 1, 2025, will be required to report to these students in the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) with a Special Education Evaluation Status (SEES) 8 by October 8, 2026.
Student Reporting Requirements
LEAs under Mandatory CEIS (FIN 429) and Voluntary utilizing CEIS (FIN 425) funds on students without disabilities, those without individualized education programs (IEPs), in the 2025-26 school year will be expected to report these students in the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) with a Special Education Evaluation Status (SEES) 8 by October 8, 2026, through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) MARSS webpage.
LEAs under FIN 429 Mandatory CEIS who choose to utilize CEIS funds on students with disabilities/IEPs in the 2025-26 school year will be expected to separately report these students using the MDE CEIS IEP Student Data Tracker in the Minnesota Education Grant System (MEGS) system through the MDE MEGS webpage. The deadline for reporting students in MEGS is October 8, 2026.
Public Reporting Requirements
LEAs identified as being in Mandatory CEIS in spring 2026 are required to publicly report on the revision of policies, practices, and procedures if the change in policies is a result of significant disproportionality in identification, placement in restrictive settings, and/or discipline, including suspensions and expulsions of students with disabilities. Public reporting may include, but is not limited to, presenting information at a local school board meeting or other public forum, disseminating information to the public via mail, and/or posting updated documents or narratives on the district website. The public reporting deadline for LEAs identified in spring 2026 is July 1, 2027. LEAs who have completed their public reporting requirements should submit a copy of the presentation or minutes from the school board meeting and/or appropriate public forum. These documents should be submitted via email to MDE.CEIS@state.mn.us by July 1, 2027.
- Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
- Other Health Disabilities (OHD)
- Speech or Language Impairments (SLI)
- Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)
High Incidence Disabilities Office Hours provide a dedicated space to share updates, resources, and high-leverage practices related to high-incidence and often co-occurring disabilities (EBD, OHD, SLI, SLD). Each session highlights current research, upcoming training opportunities, helpful online and print resources, team-based problem-solving, and strategies to strengthen specialized instruction in both behavior and academics.
These sessions are interactive, with opportunities for group discussion, questions, and shared concerns.
Registration Information
Sessions are recorded and posted for later viewing. CEUs will be available.
October 8, 2026, 11 a.m.-noon: Register for Beyond the Checklist: Turning IEPS into Shared Commitments
This session will focus on how parents and Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams work together to distinguish between student wants and documented educational needs when developing an IEP. Participants will explore how to interpret and synthesize multiple sources of evaluation and progress monitoring data to identify meaningful patterns rather than focusing on isolated data points—learning to "see the forest for the trees."
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)
School staff can register students with disabilities for online career classes that cover the following Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS):
- Job Exploration
- Work-Based Learning Experiences
- Postsecondary Education Exploration
- Workplace Readiness Skills
- Self-Advocacy
To get more information:
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