The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is now reporting students using eight state-defined racial and ethnic groups, including the use of the state definition of American Indian and the new Other Indigenous group. Students count as American Indian if they meet the state definition regardless of any other racial or ethnic groups with which they may have identified. The state of Minnesota's definition of American Indian includes any of the original people within what is now the borders of the United States (excluding Hawaii) or Canada who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition. This is different from the federal definition of American Indian or Alaska Native which includes students whose only racial or ethnic identification is with the original peoples of North, Central, or South America. Within the eight state racial or ethnic groups, the new Other Indigenous group includes students who meet the federal definition of American Indian or Alaska Native but not the state definition of American Indian, which means they identify only with indigenous peoples from Central and South America.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has been directed to report academic achievement (math and reading proficiency) and graduation rates of students in foster care or ever in foster care. Partnering with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), MDE will incorporate data from the Social Service Information Service (SSIS) for people (0-21) who are or have been in foster care in the previous 22 years. The foster care data will be matched with MDE's academic achievement and graduation data to produce only aggregated summary at the school, district and state levels.
When foster care filters are applied to the Minnesota Report Card, no other filters can be selected. This will include, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, gender, English learner, special education, free/reduced-priced meals, migrant status, active-duty parent, homeless, or SLIFE status.
Due to the sensitive nature, this data is subject to primary and secondary data suppression techniques to protect against the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII). This is in the best interest of the student, and the security and privacy of the data. Additional information on MDE Student Privacy and Public Reports
This action meets or exceeds, United States Code (U.S.C.) and the State of Minnesota Statute:
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U.S.C. § 6311(h)(1)(C)(ii) and (iii) (20 U.S.C. ch. 28 § 1111(h)(1)(C)(ii) and (iii) of the Every Student
Succeeds Act) which requires DATA SHARING PARTNER to report on the academic achievement (math and reading
proficiency) and graduation rates of students in foster care.
Minn. Stat. § 120B.35, subd. 3 (a)(2), which requires DATA SHARING PARTNER to disaggregate by student who are current or were previously in foster care.