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.

After 20 years of shrinking enrollment, Minneapolis and St. Paul schools face a reckoning
Minneapolis school board members on Tuesday will discuss how to close a $110 million deficit, but that annual effort to close budget gaps masks a much deeper problem in St. Paul and Minneapolis: Enrollment decline is a budget killer, and the kids likely aren’t coming back.
St. Paul teachers OK new contract set to boost pay, benefits
The deal includes a $3,500 salary increase for licensed staff this school year and a 4 percent increase in 2024-25. It’s set to go to the St. Paul school board for approval next week. The two sides came together during negotiations last week, averting a strike.
Class of COVID: For Minnesota high school seniors, pandemic taught lessons in struggle, perseverance
Friday marks four years since Gov. Tim Walz announced the state’s first COVID-19 school closings. Students who entered high school in 2020 saw their entire experience shaped by the pandemic. Those graduating this spring say their high school years are a tale of resilience in a harsh time.
Special friendships have helped ease Artem Fedorenko’s transition to his new life, particularly a reunion with his best friend from Ukraine. In 2022, a bomb blast took the 10-year-old’s arm. He became one of the first Ukrainian children to receive a prosthetic in Minnesota.
Hackers are targeting a surprising group of people: young public school students
Districts store all kinds of sensitive student data, which means the consequences of a school cyberattack can follow pupils well into adulthood. And it's not just their credit that's at risk.
Proposed bill would ban legacy admissions at all Minnesota colleges
Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten introduced the bill to counter the Supreme Court’s ruling against race-conscious admissions in 2023. Most Minnesota colleges and universities already do not consider those criteria.
Wisconsin’s Northland College says it’s at risk of closing this year
Northland College in Ashland, Wis., announced it’s at risk of closing before the next academic year. The school is looking to raise $12 million before April 3, which college leadership said would allow them to have a “transition year” in 2024-25.