District 196 legislative advisory council summarizes 2025 session, flags future special-education funding reductions

Note: The transcript contains several numeric figures and legislative references as presented by district staff and advisory council members. The article reports those figures as described at the June 23 meeting and indicates where district staff characterized estimates as preliminary.

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District 196 legislative advisory council summarized outcomes of the 2025 legislative session during the June 23 school board meeting and identified areas that will affect district finances and operations in the coming biennium.

District staff and advisory members said the Legislature took a mix of actions. Highlights presented by Janet Swachakowski and council members included: - General education funding: the district reported that the general education formula "will increase by 2.74% for fiscal year 26, and will increase again" for fiscal year 27 (presenters described a second increase but the transcript figure is transcribed as "between 23% for fiscal year 27"). - Compensatory funding: the district said a one-time "hold harmless" for compensatory revenue that existed in 2023 was again provided for 2026. - Unemployment aid: an appropriation of $100 million was reported to continue unemployment insurance support for hourly school employees through fiscal year 27. - Special education: the Legislature created a blue-ribbon commission tasked with identifying $250 million in special education reductions for the next biennium. Presenters said the commission must recommend actions to transform special-education services while maintaining a free and appropriate public education; if the commission fails to identify reductions, the commissioner of education will be directed to do so. - Specific aid reductions cited in the presentation included a statewide reduction of $43 million in special-education transportation reimbursement aid (to 95% of expenses in fiscal 26 and 90% in fiscal 27) and a $28.7 million reduction in student support personnel aid; presenters estimated district impacts but described local-dollar estimates as preliminary.

Policy and statutory changes discussed: panelists summarized several enacted policy changes and clarifications, including updates to attendance reporting, a construction exemption for earlier school start dates in some years, authority to equip high schools to allow possession/administration of an opioid antagonist to respond to opioid overdoses (optional for districts), amendments to directory data rules limiting the public release of parent contact information, READ Act training clarifications, and an open-meetings change that removes the requirement to publish a remote attendee's precise location.

Why this matters: district leaders said the combined effect of statewide shifts in funding and the commission's charge on special education create fiscal and service-design uncertainty for the 2028'29 biennium. Several board members thanked advisory council volunteers and encouraged continued engagement with legislators.

Next steps: the district will track formal recommendations from the blue-ribbon commission and provide updates to the board as state-level decisions become final. The district also plans to continue legislative outreach through its Legislative Advisory Council.