01 / PUBLIC DECISIONS
Community Impact Notes
Advance REIN/CIN tools that require decision-makers to identify who benefits, who is burdened, what evidence supports a proposal, and how impacts will be monitored.
Parent power changes systems
Families deserve a real say in the decisions that shape their children’s lives.
We organize parents and caregivers, turn lived experience into policy, and push institutions to be transparent, accountable, and equitable.
State campaignsPreparing for the 2027 legislative session, beginning January 12
Literacy deadlineDistrict curriculum submissions are due October 30
MPS TransformationClosures and mergers are paused for 2027–28
Current priorities
What we’re working to change
Our campaigns connect family knowledge to public decisions—from school buildings and classrooms to city and state policy. State priorities are now in pre-session organizing for 2027; bill numbers will be added after introduction.
02 / SAFE ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Education Protection Bill
Build statewide protections so immigrant families can access public education without intimidation, inconsistent practices, or unnecessary exposure of private information.
03 / CIVIL RIGHTS
Clear pathways to protection
Strengthen Minnesota’s civil-rights infrastructure through an accessible parent and caregiver portal, trusted community partnerships, clear complaint pathways, and stronger accountability.
04 / LITERACY
Literacy is liberation
Protect equitable READ Act implementation, multilingual supports, family voice, and strong summer learning opportunities so every child has the support to become a reader.
05 / DIGNITY IN SCHOOLS
Solutions, not suspensions
Defend non-exclusionary discipline, early-grade protections, safe restraint practices, and student rights—especially where racial disparities are predictable and preventable.
06 / INFORMED CONSENT
More than a setting
Require plain-language explanations and meaningful parent or caregiver consent when schools consider more restrictive special-education placements.
Minnesota literacy policy brief · Updated October 28, 2026
What families should know—and ask for now
A concise, source-linked watchlist on READ Act implementation, equity, multilingual learners, educator support, funding, and parent and caregiver power. We include only substantive reports, guidance, and implementation evidence.
Families may request a grades 4–12 reading screening at any time. Schools also have 2026–27 parent-notification responsibilities. Ask for the results, intervention plan, and progress-monitoring schedule in writing.
This is a district and publisher submission process—not a general family survey. Ask MPS and SPPS what they submitted, what evidence supports it, and how parents and caregivers shaped the choice.
Press MDE and districts to publish how students below WIDA thresholds are screened, served, and reported—and to protect English-language development as a distinct service.
Ask districts to pair literacy targets with disaggregated results, named owners, timelines, resources, and evidence that family input changed the plan.
READ Act Grades 4–12 Screening Guidance
What is new
MDE now says all six Capti subtests should be administered annually. A parent, caregiver, or teacher may request screening at any time, and students who need help should receive intervention and progress monitoring until proficiency.
Why it matters
This creates a concrete family lever beyond K–3. Decisions should use multiple forms of evidence—including student and family concerns—and multilingual students’ language, home-literacy experience, RAEL status, and SLIFE history must be considered.
Read this first
Focus on the parent-request right, the six-subtest expectation, the multilingual-learner considerations, and the requirement that opting out of screening does not end needed intervention.
RPS2030 Strategic Plan
What is new
Rochester’s new plan makes literacy MTSS a named district project and pairs K–2 reading measures with grades 3–8 benchmarks and a measure of the gap between white students and students of color.
Why it matters
It offers a useful accountability model: literacy outcomes, racial equity, and school–family partnership are visible in one public framework. The separate family-partnership project also shows where engagement can be measured instead of merely promised.
Read this first
Review the literacy MTSS project, the K–2 and grades 3–8 measures, the white/BIPOC gap indicator, and the family-partnership project. Then ask whether MPS and SPPS publish comparable owners and measures.
Minnesota READ Act Ongoing Curriculum Review Process
What is new
Districts may submit up to three instructional resources for state review. Only one submission per district counts, reviews run from December through June, and Kauffman & Associates is scheduled to complete a cultural-responsiveness review by June 30, 2027.
Why it matters
The process can expand Minnesota’s approved options, but its design does not guarantee parent or caregiver participation. District choices made now may shape later curriculum purchasing and implementation.
Read this first
Review the submission rules, timeline, selection criteria, and cultural-responsiveness review. The October 30 survey is for districts and publishers; families should ask their district what it submitted and why.
Multilingual (English Language) Learner Guidance
What is new
MDE clarifies that FastBridge should not be used below WIDA 2.0; mCLASS or DIBELS may be used when instruction is in English; and there is no approved grades 4–12 English screener for students below WIDA 2.3. District reporting begins in June 2027.
Why it matters
The guidance exposes a real assessment gap. It also says Tier 2 literacy support must supplement—not replace—English-language development, while current local-literacy-plan reporting does not separately delineate English learners.
Read this first
Focus on the WIDA thresholds, the grades 4–12 tool gap, June 2027 reporting, the Tier 2/ELD distinction, and what districts must document locally.
Minnesota READ Act and Students Who Are Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing
What is new
The working-group webinar documents that no single valid and reliable screener or comprehensive curriculum fits these students, so educators must use a body of evidence, multimodal instruction, and specialized expertise.
Why it matters
It is direct implementation evidence about who can be missed by standardized systems. Staffing, training, communication access, and individualized decision-making are equity issues—not exceptions to rigorous literacy policy.
Read this first
Read the transcript sections on screening limits, the body-of-evidence approach, multimodal literacy, curriculum gaps, and staffing and training barriers.
COMPASS in the MnMTSS Professional Learning Catalog, 2026–27
What is new
The catalog maps the state’s 2026–27 professional learning and coaching offers, including literacy implementation, leadership, data use, multilingual learner supports, and continuous improvement.
Why it matters
READ Act success depends on more than curriculum purchases. Districts need coherent coaching, implementation support, and enough staff time—especially where students have historically been underserved.
Read this first
Prioritize pages 15, 50–52, and 57–63 for the literacy, coaching, multilingual, and implementation-support offerings.
COMPASS Atlas
What is new
The Atlas lays out MDE’s statewide theory of action for aligning professional learning, implementation support, and continuous improvement through COMPASS.
Why it matters
It gives advocates a state-level theory of change to test against real district experience: Who receives support, whether it is sufficient, and whether outcomes improve equitably.
Read this first
Read pages 5–10 for the theory of action and system design, then pages 15–16 for the implementation and equity frame.
2026 Legislative Investments and Policy Changes Related to Children and Families
What is new
The state summary consolidates 2026 legislative changes affecting children and families, including READ Act changes, funding decisions, and the statutory treatment of parents and caregivers.
Why it matters
It is a compact starting point for tracking whether implementation resources match legislative promises and whether family roles are defined broadly and equitably.
Read this first
Start with page 4 for the READ Act provisions, funding implications, and the parent-definition issue; use it to frame requests for clearer accountability and adequate support.
Publication note: No additional item met our threshold for a substantive new report, paper, or analysis during September 19–25 or October 10–16. We omit routine announcements and duplicates unless they contain a meaningful update.
MPS Transformation · Updated October 28, 2026
The process is paused. Accountability continues.
MPS has paused school closures and mergers for 2027–28. Parents and caregivers still deserve clear information about any program, staffing, boundary, transportation, or enrollment changes—and evidence of how public input shapes what happens next.
BOARD DIRECTION · OCTOBER 13 / DISTRICT UPDATE · OCTOBER 14
MPS ruled out school closures and mergers for 2027–28.
The School Board’s direction is an important shift, but families should keep pressing for clarity about any remaining program, pathway, staffing, boundary, or transportation changes—and for a public record of how family input shaped the next steps.
BACKGROUND EVIDENCE
Keep the earlier modeling in view
On October 5, MPS shared demographic projections, building-capacity modeling, and financial information. Although the proposed closure and merger process is paused, the data and assumptions may shape later enrollment, program, or facilities decisions and should remain open to public scrutiny.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Family input should remain visible
- Which program, pathway, staffing, boundary, or transportation changes remain under consideration?
- What did MPS change because families spoke up?
- How will the district report effects on Black students, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and North and South Minneapolis communities?
- Who will own the next steps, and when will families see updated evidence?
Check official board agendas for confirmed meeting details and any new proposals.
OUR ACCOUNTABILITY ASK
Publish a REIN/CIN alongside the EDIA
S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United calls for a Racial Equity Impact Note / Community Impact Note (REIN/CIN) for each option. An Equity and Diversity Impact Assessment (EDIA) does not replace our request for a public, decision-specific account of racial impacts, alternatives, and accountability.
- Identify who benefits and who is disproportionately affected, including North and South Minneapolis families.
- Publish the evidence, assumptions, alternatives, and how family feedback changes the plan.
- Name responsible leaders, resources, timelines, and measurable equity outcomes.
QUESTIONS & FAMILY POWER
Bring specific questions and clear asks
- What changes for my child now—and what remains unanswered?
- How will IEP services, multilingual supports, literacy instruction, transportation, and before- and after-school care be protected?
- What alternatives could strengthen schools while reducing disruption?
- How will MPS invest in a strong Black student pathway, including an Afrocentric Northside pathway and a real partnership with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU)?
Keep sharing concerns with the board. Ask MPS for a written response at answers@mpls.k12.mn.us. Connect with us to organize with other families.
Questions parents and caregivers can ask
- What changes for my child’s school, program, pathway, and transportation now?
- How will special education, language supports, literacy instruction, and relationships with educators continue?
- Who benefits and who is disproportionately affected—especially Black families, multilingual families, and students with disabilities?
- What alternatives were considered, and what evidence shows that the proposal improves education rather than only changing buildings?
- What changed because families spoke up? Who will monitor outcomes, report back, and correct harm?
Contact decision-makers
School Board: SchoolBoard@mpls.k12.mn.us · Find your Board representatives
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams: mpssup@mpls.k12.mn.us · 612-668-0200
Deputy Superintendent Ty Thompson: ty.thompson@mpls.k12.mn.us
District questions: answers@mpls.k12.mn.us
Sources: October 14 district update, MPS Transformation resources, and MPS leadership contacts. Current as of October 28; use the linked district pages for later changes.
District facts and resources are linked above. REIN/CIN, family-power, and HBCU pathway asks reflect S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United’s advocacy position. Verify the published agenda before attending a meeting.
Take action
Your experience is evidence. Your voice belongs in the decision.
1
Share what families are experiencing
Tell us where a policy or practice is creating barriers, harm, or unequal outcomes.
2
Prepare your public voice
We help parents and caregivers turn their experience into questions, testimony, and clear policy asks.
3
Act with others
Join a meeting, contact a decision-maker, testify, or help bring information back to your community.
Our record
Policy work that protects students
Our work is grounded in the long view: protecting hard-won progress while building the next generation of family-led policy.
Literacy
Minnesota READ Act
Our advocacy supports evidence-based literacy instruction, equitable implementation, and meaningful parent and caregiver voice.
Read the READ Act statute →Discipline
Early-learning suspension protections
Our advocacy supports limits on excluding Minnesota’s youngest learners and access to nonexclusionary supports.
Read the Minnesota statute →Student safety
Prohibition on prone restraints in schools
Our advocacy supports protections against dangerous restraint practices and transparent reporting.
Read the restrictive-procedures statute →School climate
Stronger discipline policy
Our advocacy supports safer, more transparent approaches to behavior, belonging, and discipline complaints.
Read the discipline-policy statute →Whole child
Recess protections
Our advocacy supports limits on withholding recess and protects structured breaks from exclusionary discipline.
Read the recess statute →Human dignity
Advocacy to end school seclusion
Minnesota still permits regulated seclusion in limited circumstances. We continue pressing for safety practices that protect every child’s dignity.
Read the current Minnesota statute →Parent Power
Op-eds and commentary
Read Khulia Pringle’s published Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder columns on family leadership, public education, and the decisions shaping Minnesota students.
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder · July 9, 2026
Why parent voice is Minnesota’s most underutilized education resource
Families are not an afterthought. They are partners and leaders whose knowledge must help shape policy, resources, and educational change.
Read the published columnMinnesota Spokesman-Recorder · July 21, 2026
Parent Power: After families show up
Meaningful engagement requires more than attendance. Families deserve to know what changed because they participated in the MPS Transformation process.
Read the published columnHow we work
Parents and caregivers lead. Systems respond.
S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United is a grassroots, parent-led organization. We unite, uplift, and empower the voices of people most affected by prenatal–12th grade health and education disparities.
Center lived experienceThe people closest to the impact help define the problem and the solution.
Make power visibleFamilies deserve to know who decides, what evidence is used, and how accountability works.
Move from voice to authorityEngagement matters most when it changes decisions, resources, and outcomes.
Bring a family-led perspective to your policy table.
Connect about advocacy, testimony, coalition work, or community education.