Minnesota House passes education policy bill with temporary school-start flexibility; discipline rollbacks fail

The Minnesota House passed Senate File 1740, an omnibus education policy bill, after floor members adopted amendments including a temporary start-date flexibility for K–12 calendars and several technical and programmatic provisions. The bill passed on third reading by a 131–3 vote.

The most consequential amendment adopted on the floor, labeled the A1 amendment, allows school districts temporary flexibility to set start dates before Labor Day for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 school years but prohibits calendars that begin earlier than Sept. 1 in those two years. Representative Joachim, who explained the amendment on the floor, said the change preserves existing exceptions — for example, for districts with construction projects over $400,000 or cross-border calendar agreements — and is meant as a time-limited accommodation to avoid cutting instructional days when Labor Day falls very late.

Supporters framed A1 as a local-control, student-centered fix. Representative Jordan, the bill sponsor,…