SF 4638
1st Engrossment - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026)
Posted on 04/14/2026 12:02 p.m.
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A bill for an act
relating to higher education and civil law; providing funding for the Office of
Higher Education and the University of Minnesota; extending the Farmer-Lender
Mediation Act; requiring public high schools to participate in the direct admissions
program by default; establishing a student persistence grant program; requiring a
report; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 583.215;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 120B.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
ARTICLE 1
HIGHER EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Section 1. new text begin OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
new text end
new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin State grant program. new text end
new text begin
$131,000,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the state
grant program. This appropriation is in addition to the appropriation in Laws 2025, First
Special Session chapter 5, article 1, section 2, subdivision 2. This is a onetime appropriation.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Minitex. new text end
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$1,500,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the general fund
to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the Minitex program. This
appropriation is in addition to the appropriation in Laws 2025, First Special Session chapter
5, article 1, section 2, subdivision 15.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Direct admissions program. new text end
new text begin
$253,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from
the general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education for the direct
admissions program. This appropriation is in addition to the appropriation in Laws 2025,
First Special Session chapter 5, article 1, section 2, subdivision 29.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership. new text end
new text begin
$1,060,000 in fiscal year 2027 is
appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education
for the Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership under Minnesota Statutes, section 127A.70.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Student persistence grant program. new text end
new text begin
$900,000 in fiscal year 2027 is
appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education
for a student persistence grant program. This is a onetime appropriation.
new text end
Sec. 2. new text begin UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA.
new text end
new text begin
$150,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the general fund to the Board of
Regents of the University of Minnesota for a new University of Minnesota Extension
full-time equivalent staff position to support farmer-lender mediation under Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 583. This is a onetime appropriation.
new text end
ARTICLE 2
HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY
Section 1.
new text begin
[120B.1251] PARTICIPATION IN DIRECT ADMISSIONS PROGRAM.
new text end
new text begin
Starting in the 2029-2030 school year, a district or charter school high school must
participate in the direct admissions program under section 136A.84, unless the school board
has adopted a written resolution exempting one or more high schools from participating in
the program.
new text end
new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
new text begin
This section is effective July 1, 2026.
new text end
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 583.215, is amended to read:
583.215 EXPIRATION.
Sections 336.9-601, subsections (h) and (i); 550.365; 559.209; 582.039; and 583.20 to
583.32, expire June 30, deleted text begin 2027deleted text end new text begin 2032new text end .
Sec. 3. new text begin STUDENT PERSISTENCE GRANT PROGRAM.
new text end
new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Establishment. new text end
new text begin
The commissioner of the Office of Higher Education
shall establish a competitive grant program to support students enrolled in Minnesota public
postsecondary institutions that elect to participate in the program.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Program requirements. new text end
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The grant program must:
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(1) serve an initial cohort of at least 1,000 students;
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(2) prioritize students who demonstrate strong potential for degree completion but are
at risk of noncompletion due to academic, financial, or systemic barriers, including students
commonly described as in the academic middle, such as those with high school grade point
averages of approximately 2.5 or higher;
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new text begin
(3) improve student persistence and completion outcomes through proactive,
individualized coaching and coordinated academic and financial aid support; and
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(4) require grantees to implement a structured support model that includes:
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(i) assessment of student persistence risk across academic, financial, and social-emotional
domains;
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(ii) tiered intervention strategies to prioritize support for students facing the greatest
barriers to degree completion;
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new text begin
(iii) targeted supports addressing academic progress, financial aid stability, and student
engagement; and
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new text begin
(iv) coordination with institutional partners to align supports with existing campus-based
services.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Eligible applicants. new text end
new text begin
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations or other
organizations with demonstrated experience supporting student persistence and degree
completion for low-income students in Minnesota, including experience serving students
in the academic middle.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Contracted partner qualifications. new text end
new text begin
A grantee under this section must
demonstrate the capacity to implement the program described in subdivision 2 and must:
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(1) provide a near-peer, one-to-one, or similarly individualized persistence coaching
model;
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(2) demonstrate a successful history of operating student persistence or college completion
programs serving low-income students;
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(3) demonstrate experience working across multiple Minnesota public postsecondary
systems, including institutions within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system
and the University of Minnesota system;
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(4) demonstrate the administrative and operational capacity to serve a cohort of at least
1,000 students annually;
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(5) demonstrate a proven track record of supporting students from families with incomes
at or below 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines toward degree completion;
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(6) demonstrate experience supporting students commonly described as in the academic
middle;
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(7) maintain data systems capable of tracking student persistence, completion outcomes,
and key performance indicators required under subdivision 5; and
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new text begin
(8) utilize student engagement tools and practices designed to support proactive,
individualized interventions.
new text end
new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Reporting and evaluation. new text end
new text begin
(a) The commissioner must annually submit a
report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over higher education finance and policy until all grant money has been expended
and all terms in the grant agreement have been met.
new text end
new text begin
(b) The report must include:
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new text begin
(1) participant persistence and completion outcomes, including retention rates and
credential attainment;
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(2) financial aid renewal rates and credit accumulation trends;
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new text begin
(3) a comparison of outcomes to a demographically similar cohort who did not participate
in the program; and
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new text begin
(4) recommendations regarding program sustainability and potential statewide expansion.
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