Short Session, Big Stakes: EdAllies’ 2026 Legislative Priorities

By Madie Spartz & Matt Shaver

It feels like we say this every year, but the 2026 legislative session is shaping up to be a doozy. Several dynamics at play, including a major election year, a non-budget year with a deficit on the horizon, and more national attention on Minnesota than potentially ever before, are making this year one to watch. No matter what the legislative or electoral dynamics, however, the major issues facing our education system remain. From the attendance crisis to persistent gaps in academic opportunity and achievement, the need to take bold action for kids is as urgent as ever. Read on for an overview of the upcoming session and EdAllies’ leading policy priorities.

A Major Election Year

All 201 legislative seats are up for re-election, and there are so many retirements and lawmakers seeking election to other offices that the Legislature has established a webpage to track it all. Furthermore, Minnesota has an open Governor’s race for the first time since 2018, with the Speaker of the House and the House Education Policy Co-Chair among the contenders. Finally, as we all remember from the dramatic start to last year’s session (or maybe have chosen to forget), our legislature remains locked in a partisan split. The House has 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans, while in the Senate, the DFL holds a majority by just one seat. As a result, all votes will be tight and both parties will be looking to take the majority to advance their agendas in 2027.

Lightning Fast Session, No Budget Required

This session is scheduled to be the shortest on record, with fewer than 70 working days. Furthermore, it’s not a budget year, meaning lawmakers aren’t actually required to pass anything—they completed their only constitutional mandate last session when they passed the biennial budget. Add a looming deficit to that equation, and there is a question of what legislation will actually pass this year, if anything.

Taken together, these factors set the stage for a year that is heavy on rhetoric and light on actual policymaking. Still, there are serious issues facing Minnesota that lawmakers have the power to address, and it’s not uncommon for legislators to pass a supplemental budget in the even years (although the last time the legislature met in similar circumstances, in 2022, they gaveled out failing to come to any agreement). 

EdAllies’ 2026 Policy Priorities

So what should legislators be focused on this year? There are several urgent needs we’re calling on policymakers to address—for example, addressing our attendance crisis and codifying the right to an education, regardless of immigration status, into state law. There are also important long-term policy issues that legislators would be wise to address. Here are the highlights of what we’ll be watching this year.

Addressing the Attendance Crisis

Nearly one in four students aren’t attending school regularly, and Operation Metro Surge is exacerbating our existing attendance crisis. Minnesota needs better data, stronger coordination, and more streamlined systems for support, in addition to immediate action addressing the impact of ICE enforcement on our children and schools. This year we will be working to ensure the 15-day drop policy does not penalize schools and students who are staying home out of fear of immigration enforcement. Additionally, we are advocating for the creation of an Interagency Council on Attendance to bridge the gap between all of the entities responsible for the attendance and well-being of students: schools, counties, state agencies, and community partners. This is modeled off a similar Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Equal Access to a Public Education

As federal civil rights protections face renewed legal and political threats, Minnesota has both the authority and responsibility to act. State leaders must be clear that all students, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a K-12 education, and outline what it looks like to ensure students are safe in our schools. This year, legislators are considering the Education Protection Bill, which would codify this right and outline what it looks like in practice. 

In addition, we’ll be working to identify and address the impacts of Operation Metro Surge on children and schools, including absenteeism, learning loss, mental health, and enrollment shifts. The negative effects of Metro Surge will long outlast ICE’s presence in our community and it will be critical to take proactive steps to support recovery at the Capitol.

Improving School Funding Based on Need

Compensatory revenue is the second largest funding stream in education, but it relies on an outdated system for capturing student poverty counts. Furthermore, sweeping federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid will have downstream impacts on school funding, in addition to the material harm they will cause for students’ access to health care and nutrition. The bottom line is that unless we take action now, school funding for the highest-need students could drop if we don’t take action. The legislature should prioritize a short-term fix while looking to the Compensatory Revenue Task Force for longer term systems change.

Upholding K-3 Seclusion & Dismissal Bans

While the legislature eliminated these harmful practices for our youngest learners in 2023, there have been repeated efforts to repeal them, and this year will be no different. Over the interim, the legislatively-mandated Seclusion Working Group met to discuss whether seclusion should be used and when, and how to advance alternatives. This resulted in some shared recommendations but heated debate on allowing it in any form for K-3 students. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid recently released an investigative report on seclusion in schools, and their findings underscore the importance of maintaining the ban on school-based confinement for our youngest learners. 

Advancing Next Steps on Literacy

The Read Act was a marquee policy passed in 2023 with major investments, but most of that money came via one-time dollars. This year, the legislature should continue making tweaks to improve the policy based on lessons learned in implementation, and to better-target Literacy Aid funds based on need. 

Policymakers should also expand best practices, specifically working to replicate Literacy Labs. Through this program at MSU Moorhead and St. Thomas University, teacher candidates are paired with K-3 students to provide high-quality, one-on-one literacy instruction. This model has a dual benefit: aspiring teachers get real-world practice implementing the teaching skills they learn in class, and young learners get individualized instruction based in the science of reading. Building out the Literacy Lab model statewide can support aspiring educators while expanding capacity for one-on-one support in K-12 classrooms. 

Building Clear Pathways to Licensure 

Minnesota’s tiered licensure system was designed to streamline the licensure process and get more passionate educators in the classroom, but lawmakers have chipped away at many of the ways to advance up the tiers, resulting in more confusion and unnecessary roadblocks to professional licensure. There’s an opportunity this year to ensure pathways for educators who are enrolled in out-of-state programs to move from Tier 1 to Tier 2, and this commonsense provision would make a big difference for certain educators in niche fields and on nontraditional pathways.

Ongoing Debates & Next Steps

We’ll also be tracking other long-standing priorities such as paid student teaching, adoption of 9th grade on track indicators, and statewide expansion of the Direct Admissions program. In addition, we know that school safety will be front-and-center in light of the tragic shootings at Annunciation this fall. We’ll be working to ensure student voice is at the center of the conversation about what it means to build safe schools. Even in a tough year, there is a lot to get done, and Minnesota kids are counting on us to be bold and take action.