Education News

MPR News keeps track of the latest education news in Minnesota so you can understand the events shaping the future of learning and how it impacts students at any level.

Stay informed about local education events, policies and more happening in schools and colleges across Minnesota.

Duluth schools recommend combination of in-person and distance learning
Duluth schools officials are recommending that elementary students start the year in school, with older students attending class primarily online. The school board meets Thursday to consider the proposal.
St. Paul teen named one of 5 National Student Poets
Madelyn Dietz and the other winners will each receive a $5,000 cash award. The student poet program was launched in 2011, with winners contributing to community programs and poetry events and performing their work everywhere from Lincoln Center to the White House.
2 Iowa schools rebuff governor's return demand
At least two school districts in Iowa are refusing to follow the governor’s demand that they return students to classrooms, rebuffing the idea that the state can override what local officials believe is the safest way to educate their children as coronavirus spreads in their counties.
Parents unhappy with school options assemble learning 'pods'
The race to set up "learning pods" threatens to vastly deepen inequities in access to education. In some cases, parents are paying thousands of dollars each to include their children in pods, promising teachers $40 to $100 an hour or more. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has called learning pods "luxuries" that are not an option for low-income parents. 
'A line in the sand': Both sides dig in on virus relief bill
Negotiators on a huge coronavirus relief bill reported slight progress after talks resumed in the Capitol, with issues like food for the poor and aid to schools struggling to reopen safely assuming a higher profile in the talks.
Parents struggle as schools reopen amid coronavirus surge
As a new school year begins this week in some states, many working parents are struggling to balance their jobs with their children’s school work as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause upheaval in school districts around the country.
Overwhelmed, stressed, scared: School nurses brace for the fall semester
As districts plan for a new school year in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses are tasked with keeping students and staff healthy. Many want a stronger voice in decisions.
For Minnesotans, Walz’s school plan brings more questions than answers
With little more than guidance from the state government for how to handle the upcoming school year, many Minnesotans remain in limbo for how their lives will look in a month.