1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to workforce development; appropriating money for an online early 
1.3 	childhood development professional educator program.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. APPROPRIATION; ONLINE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT 
1.6 	PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR PROGRAM.
 1.7 	(a) $750,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $750,000 in fiscal year 2027 are appropriated from 
1.8 	the workforce development fund to the commissioner of employment and economic 
1.9 	development, in consultation with the commissioner of children, youth, and families, for 
1.10 	the purchase and operation of an online early childhood development professional educator 
1.11 	program to be available at no cost to early childhood educators, Minnesota residents, and 
1.12 	high school students. Of this amount, up to $250,000 each year is for reimbursing 
1.13 	participating schools for the expense of supporting the program. School reimbursements 
1.14 	must be done on a first-come, first-served basis, though at least 50 percent must go to schools 
1.15 	outside the seven-county metropolitan area, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 
1.16 	473.121, subdivision 2. This is a onetime appropriation.
1.17 	(b) The program selected must:
1.18 	(1) include all of the coursework in English or Spanish necessary to earn a child 
1.19 	development associate credential upon successful completion;
1.20 	(2) provide courses allowing for the award of continuing education units accredited by 
1.21 	the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training;
2.1 	(3) provide health and safety courses meeting federal annual training requirements under 
2.2 	the child care development block grant and the child care and development fund;
2.3 	(4) be usable for students in high school career and technical programs if requested by 
2.4 	school districts;
2.5 	(5) be based on research and developmentally appropriate practices as defined by national 
2.6 	professional organizations such as the National Association for the Education of Young 
2.7 	Children;
2.8 	(6) include content that spans early childhood development from birth to age five and 
2.9 	that covers topics such as developmental milestones, health and safety, working with children 
2.10 	with special needs, supporting families, the Science of Reading, and running a high-quality 
2.11 	early education program;
2.12 	(7) include videos, interactive games, knowledge checks, and writing assignments;
2.13 	(8) have a system for program administrators and state agencies to capture course 
2.14 	completion data, certification status, and individual and group professional development 
2.15 	progress;
2.16 	(9) be accessible on a range of computers, tablets, and mobile devices;
2.17 	(10) include professional development opportunities that are both synchronous and 
2.18 	asynchronous;
2.19 	(11) foster a professional learning community with access to early childhood content 
2.20 	experts and opportunities to share knowledge with peers around the country;
2.21 	(12) provide a user-friendly system with support by a customer help desk; and
2.22 	(13) support a professional development system housed on a learning management 
2.23 	system with proven capability to provide reliable simultaneous access to a network of early 
2.24 	educators.