March 2026 Research Rundown
By Madie Spartz
For March’s Research Rundown—our curated list of recent, relevant research we think is worth adding to the education equity conversation—we highlight articles on:
- American Indian language instruction in Minnesota schools,
- Teacher turnover in early childhood education, and
- How Minnesota ranks in a nationwide scan of school finance systems
American Indian Language Instruction Report
Minnesota Indigenous Immersion Network, February 2026
This report offers an overview of the current state of American Indian language instruction in Minnesota. Under state law, any school serving 100 or more American Indian students, or whose student body is 5% or more American Indian must offer American Indian language and culture instruction. However, as the report highlights, there is a severe shortage of American Indian language teachers in the state; the authors estimate that Minnesota needs 157 additional American Indian language teachers and 89 more school districts to offer this coursework in order to meet legislative requirements. The districts surveyed for the report cite lack of state funding and teacher recruitment struggles as the largest factors contributing to this gap.
Furthermore, the report found large gaps in both teacher preparation and professional development for American Indian language teachers. The most common license level held by working American Indian language teachers is “no license.” Teachers and districts reported a large desire for professional development, such as mentorship and professional learning communities (PLCs), but the lack of dedicated postsecondary teacher training programs in this area of instruction makes it difficult. In order to remedy these challenges, the authors recommend an increase in American Indian Education Aid, formalized curriculum development through the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), and partnerships between school districts, Tribal Nations, postsecondary institutions, and MDE to increase opportunities for professional development and training of American Indian language teachers.
Why This Matters in Minnesota
Like the report highlights, school districts are failing to meet legislative obligations to their American Indian students, largely due to significant gaps in the teacher pipeline. This is a fixable problem, but it requires targeted investment, meaningful collaboration among several stakeholders, and long-term commitments to training and licensure systems that welcome teachers in from all backgrounds, and help them advance without undue barriers. Successfully shoring up any teacher pipeline takes years of continued focus. Beyond addressing legislative mandates, this issue matters because quantitative, qualitative, and historical data tell us that Indigenous students are some of the most marginalized students in Minnesota schools. They deserve a robust, high-quality education that meets their academic and cultural needs, and this report offers solutions for one piece of that puzzle.
Who Leaves? How Job and Teacher Characteristics Relate to Turnover in Child Care Settings
Annenberg Institute at Brown University, March 2026
This study, using a dataset whose large size makes it “unprecedented in child care research,” analyzes the factors that contribute to the persistently high teacher turnover in early childhood care and education (ECCE). Teacher turnover, which can be up to twice as high in ECCE compared to K-12 settings, contributes to poor outcomes for children, parents, and child care providers alike. For kids, it can lead to inconsistent relationships with caregivers; for parents, it may result in instability in scheduling or site availability; and for child care providers, it forces more time to be spent on administrative tasks rather than supporting instructional development. The researchers looked at several factors that may influence turnover rates, including wages, prior experience and education levels, ages of children taught, and teacher race or ethnicity.
They found that low wages were the strongest predictor of teacher turnover, with lower paid teachers leaving at much higher rates, both compared to the general ECCE teacher population and within their own child care site. Assistant teachers were more likely to leave than lead teachers, as were teachers working with infants and toddlers, compared to those working with preschool-aged children. They also found a persistent, negative relationship between years of experience and turnover, meaning new teachers were far more likely to leave their job than experienced teachers.
Why This Matters in Minnesota
The early childhood landscape in Minnesota is particularly fraught, with highest-in-the-nation costs for families and often unsustainable conditions for providers. The findings in this study offer possible policy solutions worth exploring to address strains in the ECCE teacher workforce. For example, since the correlation between experience and staying in the workforce is so strong, policymakers could invest in new teacher mentorship and support programs, ensuring early childhood educators have the skills and support they need to stay in their positions. Ultimately, however, it’s clear that more needs to be done to address persistently low wages within the sector as this is an ongoing driver of turnover—as well as an equity and quality issue.
The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems: Eighth Edition
Albert Shanker Institute, February 2026
This report analyzes school funding in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for three features: adequacy (whether the state provides enough funding to schools), equal opportunity (how low-income districts are funded relative to affluent districts), and fiscal effort (how much of the state’s budget is allocated to education). Among the major findings, 42 states—including Minnesota—devote a smaller share of their budgets to education compared to the period before the 2008 recession. Furthermore, across the nation Black students are twice as likely to attend school in districts with “below adequate” funding levels, and three times as likely to be enrolled in “chronically underfunded” districts. Finally, they conclude that educational opportunity is unequal in every state: while the size of the funding gap between low- and high-poverty districts varies, it exists in all 50 states.
To ameliorate these issues, the authors suggest that states regularly analyze their funding formulas to ensure that funding is precisely targeted as district needs evolve and change. They also recommend increasing school funding wherever it’s inadequate and/or inequitable, and encourage stronger federal oversight of state-level school funding.
Why This Matters in Minnesota
In their individual profile of Minnesota, the authors rank our school finance system 17th out of 47 states. In terms of fiscal effort, they categorize Minnesota as a “medium” effort state, noting that we have relatively high revenue capacity but the share of our state budget dedicated to education has trended downwards every year since the Great Recession. Furthermore, while they rank our per-pupil funding amount at 14th out of 47, we have high funding discrepancies between high and low poverty districts. This analysis underscores the importance of acknowledging the deep disparities that exist in education in Minnesota, even if they are masked by decent averages. Furthermore, these relative rankings don’t necessarily translate into strong outcomes for kids or mean that we are close to meeting the real need: statewide, test scores continue to lag, absenteeism remains high, all while we hear regularly from schools about unmet needs from school counselors to well-rounded coursework to adequate staffing and beyond.