Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative appropriation reduced, restorative practices grant funding provided, and money appropriated.

A bill for an act

relating to children and families; reducing an appropriation for the Juvenile

Detention Alternatives Initiative; appropriating money for restorative practices

grants; amending Laws 2025, First Special Session chapter 5, article 1, section 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Laws 2025, First Special Session chapter 5, article 1, section 3, is amended to

read:

Sec. 3.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE

MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES AND

UNIVERSITIES

Subdivision 1.

Total Appropriation

$

879,039,000

$

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878,550,000

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878,050,000

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The amounts that may be spent for each

purpose are specified in the following

subdivisions.

Subd. 2.

Central Office and Shared Services

Unit

36,401,000

36,401,000

For the Office of the Chancellor and the

Shared Services Division.

Subd. 3.

Operations and Maintenance

830,873,000

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830,384,000
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829,884,000
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(a) $5,700,000 in fiscal year 2026 and

$5,700,000 in fiscal year 2027 are to provide

supplemental aid for operations and

maintenance to the president of each two-year

institution in the system with at least one

campus that is not located in a metropolitan

county, as defined in Minnesota Statutes,

section
473.121, subdivision 4
. The board

shall transfer at least $158,000 for each

campus not located in a metropolitan county

in each year to the president of each institution

that includes such a campus.

(b) The Board of Trustees is requested to help

Minnesota close the attainment gap by funding

activities which improve retention and

completion for students of color.

(c) $9,500,000 in fiscal year 2026 and

$9,500,000 in fiscal year 2027 are for

enterprise-wide technology, including

upgrading the Integrated Statewide Record

System and maintaining enterprise-wide

technology services.

(d) $50,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $50,000

in fiscal year 2027 are to reduce students'

out-of-pocket costs by expanding free

offerings in course materials and resources,

including through open educational resources,

open textbooks, and implementation of

Z-Degrees under Minnesota Statutes, section

136F.305
.

(e) $3,158,000 in fiscal year 2026 and

$3,158,000 in fiscal year 2027 are to expand

student support services. This appropriation

provides funding to campuses to address basic

needs insecurity, mental health, and other

high-need student support services by

increasing the amount of available resources

to students. In addition, this funding provides

systemwide resources and coordination,

including electronic connections for peer

support and professional clinical support for

mental health. These systemwide resources

must be available online 24 hours a day, seven

days a week.

(f) $883,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $894,000

in fiscal year 2027 are for costs associated

with the increased employer contribution rates

for the higher education individual retirement

account plan under Minnesota Statutes, section

354B.23, subdivision 3
.

(g) $282,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $282,000

in fiscal year 2027 are to pay the cost of

supplies and equipment necessary to provide

access to menstrual products under Minnesota

Statutes, section
135A.1365
.

(h) $809,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $809,000

in fiscal year 2027 are for unemployment

insurance aid under Minnesota Statutes,

section
268.193
, to institutions within the

system.

(i) $500,000 in fiscal year 2026
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and $500,000

in fiscal year 2027 are
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is
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for the Juvenile

Detention Alternatives Initiative at

Metropolitan State University. Of this amount,

$280,000
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each year
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is to provide juvenile

justice services and resources, including the

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, to

Minnesota counties and federally recognized

Tribes; and $220,000
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each year
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is for funding

to local units of government, federally

recognized Tribes, and agencies to support

local Juvenile Detention Alternative

Initiatives, including but not limited to

alternatives to detention.
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Any unencumbered

balance remaining in the first year does not

cancel and is available in the second year
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This

is a onetime appropriation
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.

(j) $500,000 in fiscal year 2026 is to address

contamination of PFAS, as defined in

Minnesota Statutes, section
116.943
, arising

from or associated with the use of firefighting

foam at the Lake Superior College Emergency

Response Training Center (ERTC) prior to

January 1, 2015. Money may be used to

conduct environmental investigation and

response activities, including ERTC program

accommodations, and reimburse past expenses

incurred for these activities. This is a onetime

appropriation.

Subd. 4.

Direct Student Support

7,350,000

7,350,000

(a) $4,500,000 in fiscal year 2026 and

$4,500,000 in fiscal year 2027 are for

workforce development scholarships under

Minnesota Statutes, section
136F.38
. The

board may use up to five percent of this

appropriation to administer the programs. Of

the amount appropriated, $500,000 in fiscal

year 2027 only is for the law enforcement

grant pilot program under article 2, section 61.

(b) $2,250,000 in fiscal year 2026 and

$2,250,000 in fiscal year 2027 are for

emergency assistance grants to Minnesota

State Colleges and Universities students. The

Board of Trustees must:

(1) award emergency assistance grants directly

to students to meet immediate needs that could

interfere with the student completing the term

or their program, including but not limited to

emergency housing, food, and transportation;

(2) minimize any negative impact on student

financial aid resulting from the receipt of

emergency money; and

(3) by February 1 of each year, submit a report

to the chairs and ranking minority members

of the legislative committees with jurisdiction

over higher education on emergency assistance

grants awarded to students using the money

appropriated in this paragraph. The report must

detail:

(i) how money was distributed among

institutions;

(ii) the process by which students apply for

emergency assistance grants and institutions

make a determination about whether money

will be awarded;

(iii) how many students received emergency

assistance grants and the average award

amount;

(iv) the most common student needs that

grants were awarded to meet; and

(v) the average length of time between grant

application and disbursement to students.

(c) $600,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $600,000

in fiscal year 2027 are for hunger-free campus

activities. The Board of Trustees must:

(1) meet the following hunger-free campus

requirements on Minnesota State Colleges and

Universities campuses:

(i) maintain an on-campus food pantry or

partnership with a local food bank to provide

regular, on-campus food distributions;

(ii) provide information to students on the

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

(SNAP), the Minnesota Family Investment

Program (MFIP), and other programs that

reduce food insecurity;

(iii) notify students in work-study employment

of their potential eligibility for SNAP benefits

and provide information to those students

about eligibility criteria and how to apply for

benefits;

(iv) hold or participate in one hunger

awareness event per academic year;

(v) provide emergency assistance grants to

students; and

(vi) establish a hunger task force that meets a

minimum of three times per academic year

and that includes at least two students

currently enrolled at the institution;

(2) match at least 50 percent of the amount

appropriated in this paragraph with either

in-kind contributions or other resources; and

(3) by February 1 each year, submit a report

to the chairs and ranking minority members

of the legislative committees with jurisdiction

over higher education on hunger-free campus

activities performed using the money

appropriated in this paragraph. The report must

detail:

(i) how money was distributed among

institutions;

(ii) how hunger-free campus requirements

were met at those institutions; and

(iii) how many students were served.

Subd. 5.

Cook County Higher Education Board

300,000

300,000

For a grant to the Cook County Higher

Education Board to provide educational

programming, workforce development, and

academic support services to remote regions

in northeastern Minnesota. The Cook County

Higher Education Board shall continue to

provide information to the Board of Trustees

on the number of students served, credit hours

delivered, and services provided to students.

Subd. 6.

Learning Network of Minnesota

4,115,000

4,115,000

Sec. 2.
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OFFICE OF RESTORATIVE PRACTICES; APPROPRIATION.
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$500,000 in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner

of children, youth, and families for the Office of Restorative Practices to issue grants under

Minnesota Statutes, section 142A.76, subdivision 5.

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