SF 3139

Introduction - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)

Posted on 04/02/2025 09:52 a.m.

A bill for an act
relating to education; codifying the framework for MTSS and COMPASS from
session law to statutes; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.201.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.201, is amended to read:

121A.201 MTSS AND COLLABORATIVE MINNESOTA PARTNERSHIPS TO
ADVANCE STUDENT SUCCESS (COMPASS).

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given:
new text end

new text begin (1) new text end new text begin "COMPASS" means the Collaborative Minnesota Partnership to Advance Student
Success; and
new text end

new text begin (2) "MTSS" means Multitiered System of Support.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin COMPASS. new text end

deleted text begin Beginning July 1, 2023, all Minnesota school districts and charter
schools must be offered training and support in implementing MTSS through the Department
of Education COMPASS team and the Department of Education's regional partners, the
Minnesota Service Cooperatives. deleted text end COMPASS is deleted text begin the state deleted text end new text begin Minnesota's new text end school improvement
model providing a statewide system through which all districts and schools may receive
support in the areas of literacy, math, social-emotional learning, and mental health within
the MTSS framework.

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin MTSS. new text end

The MTSS framework is the state's systemic, continuous school
improvement framework for ensuring positive social, emotional, behavioral, developmental,
and academic outcomes for every student. MTSS provides access to layered tiers of culturally
and linguistically responsive, evidence-based practices. The MTSS framework relies on the
understanding and belief that every student can learn and thrive, and it engages an anti-bias
and socially just approach to examining policies and practices and ensuring equitable
distribution of resources and opportunity. The MTSS systemic framework requires:

(1) a district-wide infrastructure consisting of effective leaders, collective efficacy among
staff, positive school climate, linked teams, and professional learning that supports continuous
improvement;

(2) authentic engagement with families and communities to develop reciprocal
relationships and build new opportunities for students together;

(3) multilayered tiers of culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and support
that allows every student the support they need to reach meaningful and rigorous learning
standards. Tiers of support include core (Tier 1), supplemental (Tier 2), and intensive (Tier
3) instruction levels;

(4) valid and reliable assessment tools and processes to assess student and system
performance and inform necessary changes; and

(5) a data-based decision-making approach in which problems are precisely defined and
analyzed, solutions address root causes, and implementation is monitored to ensure success.
The data-based problem-solving component of the MTSS framework consists of three major
subcomponents: accessible and integrated data, decision-making process, and system
performance.

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Training and support provided. new text end

new text begin The Department of Education COMPASS
team and the department's regional partners, the Minnesota Service Cooperatives, must
offer Minnesota school districts and charter schools training and support in implementing
MTSS.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin COMPASS and MTSS support. new text end

new text begin Support for school districts, charter schools,
and cooperative units under this subdivision may include but is not limited to:
new text end

new text begin (1) partnering with the Minnesota Service Cooperatives to support districts in
implementing COMPASS to support schools in the areas of literacy, math, social-emotional
learning, mental health, and graduation using the MTSS framework;
new text end

new text begin (2) providing support to districts and charter schools identified under section 120B.11;
new text end

new text begin (3) providing support to districts and charter schools in streamlining various applications,
reports, and submissions to the Department of Education through One Plan;
new text end

new text begin (4) providing training, guidance, and implementation resources for MTSS, including a
universal screening process approved by the Department of Education to identify students
who may be at risk of experiencing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional development
difficulties, including an early warning indicator of being off track for graduation by the
end of grade 9;
new text end

new text begin (5) providing guidance to convene school-based teams to analyze data provided by
screenings and resources for related identification, instruction, and intervention methods;
new text end

new text begin (6) providing dyslexia screening and intervention that are evidence-based;
new text end

new text begin (7) requiring school districts and charter schools to provide parents of students identified
in screenings with notice of screening findings and related support information;
new text end

new text begin (8) requiring districts and charter schools to provide at-risk students with interventions
and to monitor the effectiveness of these interventions and student progress, including
progress toward graduation; and
new text end

new text begin (9) developing and annually reporting findings regarding the implementation of MTSS.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Funding. new text end

new text begin State funding for COMPASS must be used for the following purposes:
new text end

new text begin (1) to support implementation of MTSS and COMPASS. Funding must be used to support
increased capacity at the Department of Education and the Minnesota Service Cooperatives
for implementation supports;
new text end

new text begin (2) to provide grants to school districts, charter schools, and cooperative units as defined
in section 123A.24, subdivision 2, for implementation of MTSS, including: (i) hiring local
MTSS coordinators; (ii) deferring costs for personnel to participate in cohort activities and
professional learning; and (iii) piloting a Department of Education One Plan, the
consolidation of multiple reporting structures to streamline various applications, reports,
and submissions by school districts and charter schools;
new text end

new text begin (3) to develop a regional network focusing on mathematics to provide dedicated
mathematics trainers and coaches to train regional support staff from the Minnesota Service
Cooperatives to support school leaders and teachers to implement evidence-based
instructional strategies in mathematics. Funding may also be used to host an annual
Mathematics Standards-Based Instructional Institute; and
new text end

new text begin (4) for the University of Minnesota Center for Applied Research and Educational
Improvement to support implementation and evaluation of the MTSS framework.
new text end