1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; allowing for administration of a nationally recognized college 
1.3 	entrance exam;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 120B.30, subdivisions 
1.4 	11, 12, 13, 16; 120B.302, subdivision 1; 120B.303, subdivision 2; 120B.305, 
1.5 	subdivision 2; 136F.302, subdivisions 1, 1a; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2024, 
1.6 	section 120B.302, subdivision 2.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.30, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
1.9 		Subd. 11.Testing process. (a) The commissioner must determine the testing process 
1.10 	and the order of administration.
1.11 	(b) The commissioner must establish a testing period as late as possible each school year 
1.12 	during which schools must administer the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments to students
1.13 	in grades 3 through 8 and a nationally recognized college entrance exam to high school 
1.14 	students, typically in grade 11 or 12. The commissioner must publish the testing schedule 
1.15 	at least two years before the beginning of the testing period.

1.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

1.17 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.30, subdivision 12, is amended to read:
1.18 		Subd. 12.Test administration. (a) The Department of Education shall must contract 
1.19 	for professional and technical services according to competitive solicitation procedures 
1.20 	under chapter 16C for purposes of this section. The department must contract with a provider 
1.21 	of a nationally recognized college entrance exam to fulfill any obligations of this section 
1.22 	or to satisfy federal accountability requirements for testing in the 2026-2027 school year 
1.23 	and later.
2.1 	(b) A proposal submitted under this section must include disclosures containing:
2.2 	(1) comprehensive information regarding test administration monitoring practices; and
2.3 	(2) data privacy safeguards for student information to be transmitted to or used by the 
2.4 	proposing entity.
2.5 	(c) Information provided in the proposal is not security information or trade secret 
2.6 	information for purposes of section 13.37.

2.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. The commissioner must contract with the provider to begin testing 
2.8 	in the 2026-2027 school year and later.

2.9 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.30, subdivision 13, is amended to read:
2.10 		Subd. 13.Parental review. Consistent with section 13.34, the commissioner must adopt 
2.11 	and publish a policy to provide public and parental access for review of Minnesota-developed 
2.12 	assessments which would not compromise the objectivity or fairness of the testing or 
2.13 	examination process. Upon receiving a written request, the commissioner must make 
2.14 	available to parents or guardians a copy of their student's actual responses to the test questions 
2.15 	for their review. The commissioner must make a webpage available to students and parents 
2.16 	or guardians that provides information on the content, structure, and uses of the nationally 
2.17 	recognized college entrance exam, and also includes resources for exam preparation.

2.18 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

2.19 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.30, subdivision 16, is amended to read:
2.20 		Subd. 16.College entrance exam. Though not a high school graduation requirement, 
2.21 	students are encouraged to participate in The commissioner must adopt a nationally 
2.22 	recognized college entrance exam and provide it, at no cost, to each student in grade 11 or, 
2.23 	if deferred, grade 12 in accordance with section 120B.302, subdivision 1. The commissioner 
2.24 	must use the nationally recognized college entrance exam to satisfy federal educational 
2.25 	accountability requirements in English language arts, math, and science. To the extent state 
2.26 	funding for college entrance exam fees is available, a district must pay the cost, one time, 
2.27 	for an interested student in grade 11 or 12 who is eligible for a free or reduced-price meal, 
2.28 	to take a nationally recognized college entrance exam before graduating. A student must 
2.29 	be able to take the exam under this paragraph at the student's high school during the school 
2.30 	day and at any one of the multiple exam administrations available to students in the district.
2.31 	A district may administer the ACT or SAT or both the ACT and SAT to comply with this 
2.32 	paragraph a nationally recognized college entrance exam to satisfy federal accountability 
3.1 	requirements in English language arts, math, and science. If the district administers only 
3.2 	one of these two tests and a free or reduced-price meal eligible student opts not to take that 
3.3 	test and chooses instead to take the other of the two tests, the student may take the other 
3.4 	test at a different time or location and remains eligible for the examination fee reimbursement. 
3.5 	Notwithstanding sections 123B.34 to 123B.39, a school district may require a student that 
3.6 	is not eligible for a free or reduced-price meal to pay the cost of taking a nationally 
3.7 	recognized college entrance exam. The district must waive the cost for a student unable to 
3.8 	pay.

3.9 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

3.10 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.302, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.11 		Subdivision 1.Developing assessments. For purposes of conforming with existing 
3.12 	federal educational accountability requirements, the commissioner must develop and 
3.13 	implement computer-adaptive reading and mathematics assessments for grades 3 through 
3.14 	8, state-developed high school reading and mathematics tests aligned with state academic 
3.15 	standards, a high school writing test aligned with state standards when it becomes available,
3.16 	and science assessments that districts and sites must use to monitor student growth toward 
3.17 	achieving those standards. The commissioner must also provide a nationally recognized 
3.18 	college entrance exam to students in grade 11 or, if deferred, grade 12. The commissioner 
3.19 	must:
3.20 	(1) not develop statewide assessments for academic standards in social studies, health 
3.21 	and physical education, and the arts; and
3.22 	(2) require annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 3 through 5 span,;
3.23 	(3) require annual science assessments in one grade in the grades 6 through 8 span,; and 
3.24 	a life sciences assessment in the grades 9 through 12 span, and
3.25 	(4) provide students in grade 11 or, if deferred, grade 12, with the opportunity to take a 
3.26 	nationally recognized college entrance exam that assesses science skills.
3.27 	The commissioner must not require students to achieve a passing score on high school 
3.28 	science assessments as a condition of receiving a high school diploma.

3.29 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

4.1 	Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.303, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
4.2 		Subd. 2.Targeted instruction plan. A student under subdivision 1, clause (1), must 
4.3 	receive targeted, relevant, academically rigorous, and resourced instruction, which may 
4.4 	include a targeted instruction and intervention plan focused on improving the student's 
4.5 	knowledge and skills in core subjects so that the student has a reasonable chance to succeed 
4.6 	in a career or college without need for postsecondary remediation. Consistent with sections 
4.7 	120B.13, 124D.09, 124D.091, 124D.49, and related sections, an enrolling school or district 
4.8 	must provide a grade 11, or if deferred, grade 12 student with the opportunity to take a 
4.9 	nationally recognized college entrance exam and actively encourage a the student in grade 
4.10 	11 or 12 who is identified as academically ready for a career or college to participate in 
4.11 	courses and programs awarding college credit to high school students. Students are not 
4.12 	required to achieve a specified score or level of proficiency on an assessment under this 
4.13 	subdivision to graduate from high school.

4.14 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

4.15 	Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.305, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
4.16 		Subd. 2.Reporting requirements. (a) Reporting of state assessment results must:
4.17 	(1) provide timely, useful, and understandable information on the performance of 
4.18 	individual students, schools, school districts, and the state;
4.19 	(2) include a growth indicator of student achievement; and
4.20 	(3) determine whether students have met the state's academic standards.
4.21 	(b) The commissioner must ensure that for annual computer-adaptive assessments:
4.22 	(1) individual student performance data and achievement reports are available within 
4.23 	three school days of when students take an assessment except in a year when an assessment 
4.24 	reflects new performance standards;
4.25 	(2) growth information is available for each student from the student's first assessment 
4.26 	to each proximate assessment using a constant measurement scale;
4.27 	(3) parents, teachers, and school administrators are able to use elementary and middle 
4.28 	school student performance data to project students' secondary and postsecondary 
4.29 	achievement; and
4.30 	(4) useful diagnostic information about areas of students' academic strengths and 
4.31 	weaknesses is available to teachers and school administrators for improving student 
4.32 	instruction and indicating the specific skills and concepts that should be introduced and 
5.1 	developed for students at given performance levels, organized by strands within subject 
5.2 	areas, and aligned to state academic standards.
5.3 	(c) The commissioner, in consultation with the chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges 
5.4 	and Universities, must establish empirically derived benchmarks on the high school tests 
5.5 	that reveal a trajectory toward career and college readiness consistent with section 136F.302, 
5.6 	subdivision 1a. The commissioner may use data obtained from the nationally recognized 
5.7 	college entrance exam provided to grade 11, or if deferred, grade 12 students and the 
5.8 	vertically aligned assessment provided to students between grades 8 and 10 to establish the 
5.9 	criteria and report on student trajectories toward career and college readiness. The 
5.10 	commissioner must disseminate to the public the computer-adaptive assessments and high 
5.11 	school test results upon receiving those results.
5.12 	(d) A school, school district, or charter school may provide a student's parent access to 
5.13 	the student's individual student performance data and achievement report that is made 
5.14 	available under paragraph (b), clause (1), when the performance data and report is available 
5.15 	to the school, school district, or charter school.

5.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

5.17 	Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 136F.302, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
5.18 		Subdivision 1.ACT or SAT college ready score; Minnesota Comprehensive 
5.19 	Assessment career and college ready benchmarks. (a) A state college or university must 
5.20 	not require an individual to take a remedial, noncredit course in a subject area if the individual 
5.21 	has received a college ready ACT or SAT score or met a career and college ready Minnesota 
5.22 	Comprehensive Assessment benchmark in that subject area. Only the ACT and SAT scores 
5.23 	an individual received and the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment benchmarks an 
5.24 	individual met in the previous five years are valid for purposes of this section. Each state 
5.25 	college and university must post notice of the exemption from remedial course taking on 
5.26 	its website explaining student course placement requirements.
5.27 	(b) When deciding if an individual is admitted to or if an individual may enroll in a state 
5.28 	college or university, the state college or university must consider the individual's scores 
5.29 	on the high school Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments ACT or SAT, in addition to 
5.30 	other factors determined relevant by the college or university.

5.31 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

6.1 	Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 136F.302, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
6.2 		Subd. 1a.Minnesota comprehensive assessment ACT or SAT career and college 
6.3 	ready benchmarks scores; remedial education. (a) A state college or university must not 
6.4 	require an individual to take a remedial, noncredit course in a subject area if the individual 
6.5 	has received a career and college ready Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment benchmark
6.6 	ACT or SAT score in that subject area, consistent with benchmarks established by the 
6.7 	commissioner of education pursuant to section 120B.305, subdivision 2, paragraph (b).
6.8 	(b) As part of the notification of high school students and their families under section 
6.9 	120B.305, subdivision 2, paragraph (b), the commissioner shall include a statement that 
6.10 	students who receive a college ready benchmark score on the high school MCA ACT or 
6.11 	SAT are not required to take a remedial, noncredit course at a Minnesota state college or 
6.12 	university in the corresponding subject area.

6.13 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

6.14 	Sec. 10. REPEALER.
 6.15 	Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.302, subdivision 2, is repealed.

6.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for the 2026-2027 school year and later.

APPENDIX 

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: S2067-1 

120B.302 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS; TEST DESIGN.Subd. 2.Comprehensive assessment system. 
The commissioner, with advice from experts with appropriate technical qualifications and experience and stakeholders, must include state-developed tests in the comprehensive assessment system. State-developed tests administered to all students in a subject other than writing must include multiple choice questions.