Office of the Revisor of Statutes
HF 2067
2nd Engrossment - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)
Posted on 04/08/2025 08:30 a.m.
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A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying student attendance provisions; modifying reporting
requirements; modifying notification procedures for student absences and
reenrollment; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 120A.22, subdivisions
12, 13; 120A.24, subdivision 4; 126C.05, subdivision 8.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120A.22, subdivision 12, is amended to read:
Subd. 12.
Legitimate exemptions.
(a) A parent, guardian, or other person having control
of a child may apply to a school district to have the child excused from attendance for the
whole or any part of the time school is in session during any school year. Application may
be made to deleted text begin any member of the board,deleted text end a truant officerdeleted text begin , adeleted text end new text begin or the school official designated by
thenew text end principaldeleted text begin , or the superintendentdeleted text end . The school district may state in its school attendance
policy that it may ask the student's parent or legal guardian to verify in writing the reason
for the child's absence from school. A note from a physician or a licensed mental health
professional stating that the child cannot attend school is a valid excuse. The board of the
district in which the child resides may approve the application upon the following being
demonstrated to the satisfaction of that board:
(1) that the child's physical or mental health is such as to prevent attendance at school
or application to study for the period required, which includes:
(i) child illness, medical, dental, orthodontic, or counseling appointments, including
appointments conducted through telehealth;
(ii) family emergencies;
(iii) the death or serious illness or funeral of an immediate family member;
(iv) active duty in any military branch of the United States;
(v) the child has a condition that requires ongoing treatment for a mental health diagnosis;
or
(vi) other exemptions included in the district's school attendance policy;
(2) that the child has already completed state and district standards required for graduation
from high school; or
(3) that it is the wish of the parent, guardian, or other person having control of the child
that the child attend, for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate three hours in
any week, instruction conducted by a Tribal spiritual or cultural advisor, or a school for
religious instruction conducted and maintained by a church, or association of churches, or
any Sunday school association incorporated under the laws of this state, or any auxiliary
thereof. This instruction must be conducted and maintained in a place other than a public
school building, and it must not, in whole or in part, be conducted and maintained at public
expense. A child may be absent from school on days that the child attends upon instruction
according to this clause.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision 6, paragraph (a), a parent may withdraw a child from
an all-day, every day kindergarten program and put their child in a half-day program, if
offered, or an alternate-day program without being truant. A school board must excuse a
kindergarten child from a part of a school day at the request of the child's parent.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120A.22, subdivision 13, is amended to read:
Subd. 13.
deleted text begin Issuing anddeleted text end Reporting deleted text begin excusesdeleted text end new text begin attendancenew text end .
new text begin
(a) A student is counted as in
attendance on each day that a school employee is paid to supervise or provide services to
the student.
new text end
new text begin (b) new text end The deleted text begin clerk or any authorized officer of the boarddeleted text end new text begin principal or the school official
designated by the principalnew text end must issue and keep a record of such excuses, under such rules
as the board may from time to time establish.
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective July 1, 2025.
new text end
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120A.24, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Reports to the statenew text begin or countynew text end .
new text begin (a) new text end A superintendent must make an annual
report to the commissioner of education by December 1 of the total number of nonpublic
children reported as residing in the district. The report must include the following
information:
(1) the number of children residing in the district attending nonpublic schools or receiving
instruction from persons or institutions other than a public school;
(2) the number of children in clause (1) who are in compliance with section 120A.22
and this section; and
(3) the number of children in clause (1) who the superintendent has determined are not
in compliance with section 120A.22 and this section.
new text begin
(b) No later than 15 school days after the beginning of each academic term, a school
principal must report to the superintendent a list of the names and last known addresses of
all students who were enrolled in the school for the previous term, are not enrolled in the
school for the current term, and were otherwise eligible for enrollment, unless the school
has been notified that the student has enrolled in another school. The superintendent must
immediately make the list received from the principal available to an authorized
representative of a county agency whose statutory purpose is to enroll students in school.
new text end
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 126C.05, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8.
Average daily membership.
(a) Membership for pupils in grades kindergarten
through 12 and for prekindergarten pupils with disabilities shall mean the number of pupils
on the current roll of the school, counted from the date of entry until withdrawal. The date
of withdrawal shall mean the day the pupil permanently leaves the school or the date it is
officially known that the pupil has left or has been legally excused. However, a pupil,
regardless of age, who has been absent from school for 15 consecutive school days during
the regular school year or for five consecutive school days during summer school or
intersession classes of flexible school year programs without receiving instruction in the
home or hospital shall be dropped from the roll and classified as withdrawn. Nothing in this
section shall be construed as waiving the compulsory attendance provisions cited in section
120A.22. Average daily membership equals the sum for all pupils of the number of days
of the school year each pupil is enrolled in the district's schools divided by the number of
days the schools are in session or are providing e-learning days due to inclement weather.
Days of summer school or intersession classes of flexible school year programs are only
included in the computation of membership for pupils with a disability not appropriately
served primarily in the regular classroom. A student must not be counted as more than 1.2
pupils in average daily membership under this section and section 126C.10, subdivision 2a,
paragraph (c). When the initial total average daily membership exceeds 1.2 for a pupil
enrolled in more than one school district during the fiscal year, each district's average daily
membership must be reduced proportionately.
(b) A student must not be counted as more than one pupil in average daily membership
except for purposes of section 126C.10, subdivision 2a.
new text begin
(c) A school district must notify the local welfare agency of any student dropped from
the school's roll under paragraph (a) for unexcused absences exceeding 15 consecutive
school days. The notice to the local welfare agency must include the student's most recent
contact information on file with the school. The school must also send an email, letter, or
otherwise contact the student's family to encourage the student to reenroll in the school's
programming.
new text end
new text begin
(d) After receiving notification under paragraph (c), the local welfare agency must inform
the school if the agency is unable to contact the student or student's family. If the local
welfare agency is unable to contact the student or student's family, the district must notify
the Department of Education that the student has been dropped from the school's roll, and
that the local welfare agency is unable to contact the student or student's family. The notice
to the department must include the student's most recent contact information on file with
the school.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective July 1, 2025.
new text end