All students should have access to welcoming, safe, and affirming schools

Why This Matters for Minnesota Students

Every Minnesota student should have access to a school where they feel safe and welcome, and where the climate, curriculum, and instruction feel relevant and engaging. This means building culturally-relevant schools where students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds can feel seen and celebrated, inclusionary policies and practices for students with disabilities, climates that support students of all gender and sexual identities, and more. Strong school climates not only ensure students have a safe place where they desire to show up each day, but a strong foundation for academic learning and personal development.

Policy Solutions

Address chronic absenteeism

One-in-four Minnesota students are chronically absent, meaning they miss more than 10% of the school year. This was a challenge that grew much worse post-pandemic, and is a crisis that needs attention now. Policymakers should act to ensure local leaders are tracking and acting on the data, with the supports needed to intervene and get kids back in school. 

In 2025, legislators took some first steps to reshaping state policy by streamlining how we measure student attendance and ensuring local government intervenes when students stop attending school. Despite these steps, there is still a long way to go to understand not just the scope of the problem—for example, the profile of students missing the most days—as well as the interventions most ripe for statewide replication. As a first step, in 2024 lawmakers created a Student Attendance Pilot Program in which twelve districts from across the state received funding to implement new strategies to address absenteeism, meet regularly to share best practices and challenges, and prepare a public report on their goals, progress, and detailed attendance data. It’s critical that we build on this work to identify ways to address absenteeism and advance meaningful solutions. 

Ensure culturally-affirming schools

Minnesota is home to troubling racial disparities in K-12 education, impacting students’ academic outcomes, engagement in school, and much more. As Minnesota’s K-12 student population becomes increasingly diverse, we must face these disparities head on, building climate where students from the wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds in our state have access to schools where they are supported to thrive. This includes universal practices, such as access to ethnic studies courses, and support for school options specifically designed to support students who have for too long been pushed to the margins. 

EdAllies is tracking two important milestones in the coming year. First, after being added to the state social studies standards in 2023, ethnic studies courses will be required across the state in 2026. It’s important that our curriculum represents the diverse tapestry of history and experience across our state, and these courses will help students build a grounding in different perspectives to better understand themselves and their peers in an evolving society.. Effective implementation should be a key priority for the coming year.

Second, the Cruz-Guzman v. Minnesota lawsuit will go to trial, exploring the intersection of integration, parent choice, and the role of schools built around specific missions to serve low-income students and students of color. In 2023, EdAllies worked with a coalition of local organizations focused on education and community engagement to craft and submit an amicus brief urging the court to center the needs of historically underserved families and consider the role of culturally relevant schools. As the case moves forward, it will have important ripple effects throughout the sector and we’ll be watched to ensure it leads to better student outcomes.