Minnesota

The purpose of this document is to capture state-by-state information of policy and guidelines related to the science of reading / evidence-based reading instruction to be presented on The Reading League Compass, a website of reliable and reputable guidance and resources for targeted stakeholder groups.

Updated 2025

Local control?

Yes

Has your state passed legislation and/or non-legislated rule changes related to the science of reading?

Yes

2023 – The READ Act

2024 – Policy amendments to the READ Act

Subdivision 1. Literacy goal.

(a) The legislature seeks to have every child reading at or above grade level beginning in kindergarten, and to support multilingual learners and students receiving special education services in achieving their individualized reading goals in order to reach grade-level proficiency. By the 2026-2027 school year, districts provide evidence-based reading instruction through a focus on student mastery of the foundational reading skills of phonemic awareness,phonics, and fluency, as well as the development of oral language, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills. Students must receive evidence-based instruction that is proven to effectively teach children to read, consistent with sections 120B.1117 to 120B.124.

• Screening
  • 2-year CAREI Partnership completed
  • Students Grades 4+ not reading at grade level – screening for reading difficulties, including characteristics of dyslexia
• Curriculum and evidence-based structured literacy practices
• Approved Professional Development required:
  • Phase 1 – All K-3 teachers, K-12 Special Education teachers, K-12 Reading interventionists, administrators who are choosing ELA curricular resources; paraprofessionals who support reading instruction
  • Phase 2 – Grades 4-12 teachers of reading
• Literacy Lead – all districts; support implementation of the READ Act
• Create Regional Literacy Network – Regional Leads and Coaches
• Partnerships
  • Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement
  • ServeMinnesota – Reading Corps
• Revisions to teacher prep program and licensing board

Does your state have an approved curriculum list?

Curriculum

To empower districts to make informed decisions in selecting a high-quality reading curriculum that is ideal for learners, educators, and community, the curricula review process examined materials according to the following elements:

• is “evidence-based or focused on structured literacy” to ensure student mastery of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and/or writing
• is “culturally and linguistically responsive”
• “reflect(s) diverse populations”
• “reflect(s) the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds including multilingual learners, biliterate students, and students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color”

Reviewed resources are categorized as highly aligned, partially aligned, minimally aligned, or not aligned to evidenced-based structured literacy practices.

Was evidence-aligned reading instruction a consideration for the curriculum review?

All curricula were categorized based on descriptors and look-fors in the rubric. If a resource met the criteria as “highly aligned”, then red flags were used to determine if a highly aligned program had significant concerns (e.g., potentially conflicting theoretical model, three-cueing system/MSV) that would negate inclusion

Please describe any other instructional-materials work related to the science of reading with links, where applicable

K-12 intervention models will be reviewed next. The recommendations are due by November, 2025.

c) Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, a district must use only evidence-based literacy interventions. Districts are strongly encouraged to use intervention materials approved by the Department of Education under the Read Act.

(d) Starting in the 2026-27 school year, to provide foundational reading intervention, a trained teacher who has completed an approved professional development training must oversee and monitor the instruction provided by any paraprofessional or other unlicensed person, including a volunteer. A paraprofessional or other unlicensed person, including a volunteer, must complete evidence-based training developed under the and offered at no cost through the regional literacy networks under section 120B.124, subdivision 4, or a training that the department has determined meets or exceeds the requirements of section 120B.124, subdivision 4.

Does your state mandate or provide guidance on early screening?

Guidance:

• cross-divisional team that worked on a definition of screening
• KFA kindergarten fall assessment
• KEP (kindergarten entry profile) approved assessments
• Early Childhood Screening

Please describe any other assessment work related to the science of reading with links, where applicable

MnMTSS Components 4 and 5: Assessment and Data-based Decision Making

• A district or charter school is encouraged to provide reading intervention through a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework.
• If a student does not read at or above grade level by the end of the current school year, the district must continue to provide reading intervention until the student reads at grade level.

All students in Grades 4-12 not meeting grade level benchmarks for reading must be screened with a tool approved by MDE, receive aligned intervention, and progress monitored until achieving grade level proficiency.

Does your state have policy or guidance related to MTSS that incorporates information on the science of reading and/or evidence-based literacy practices?

Minnesota MTSS Framework

COMPASS is our statewide system of support; the Literacy Unit partners with COMPASS to provide coaching and support around literacy practices.

Does your state have policy or guidance related to instruction and/or professional development

Approved Professional Development required:

1. Phase 1 – All K-3 teachers, K-12 Special Education teachers, K-12 Reading interventionists, administrators who are choosing ELA curricular resources; paraprofessionals who support reading instruction
2. Phase 2 – Grades 4-12 teachers of reading (approved options are in development)

Does your state have state-developed guidance documents or training courses related to the science of reading?

he department must use the funding to develop regional literacy networks as a partnership between the department and the Minnesota service cooperatives, and to administer statewide training based in structured literacy to be offered free to school districts and charter schools and facilitated by the regional literacy networks and the department.

The regional literacy networks must focus on implementing comprehensive literacy reform efforts based on structured literacy. Each regional literacy network must add a literacy lead position and establish a team of trained literacy coaches to facilitate evidence-based structured literacy training opportunities and ongoing supports to school districts and charter schools in each of their regions

Please describe any grant work that names the science of reading and/or evidence-aligned instruction including links, where applicable

CLSD – The CLSD grant supports this work through literacy coaching of evidence-based best practices and the engagement of administrative leadership to lead, support and sustain structured literacy practices within the individual school setting and infrastructure. The grant has provided professional development on structured literacy, the MnMTSS Framework, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy, and family engagement practices. It has also provided funding for materials to support structured literacy practices, literacy coaches, and family engagement specialists.

*CLSD grant ended on Sept. 30th 2025

Sauer Grant – The Sauer Grant supports the universal and dyslexia screening of students under the MN READ Act legislation. This screening is to identify students not reading at grade level and those who have characteristics of dyslexia. It supports those districts in both identifying and creating a plan for intervention and progress monitoring of students at risk within a multi-tiered system of support using the MnMTSS Framework. These interventions and supports are aligned to the science of reading research and evidence-based structured literacy practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive.

Has your state reviewed standards for alignment to the science of reading?

The revision of the 2020 ELA standards was heavily informed by the science of reading, including structured literacy, the reciprocity between reading, writing, speaking and listening, and more. Structured literacy is most evident in the new Foundational anchor standards: Reading 1 and Writing 1.

Reading 1: Demonstrate knowledge of oral language, phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and morphology to read accurately and fluently.

Writing 1: Demonstrate knowledge of oral language, orthography, grammar and mechanics to express ideas in writing.

All of the anchor standards across all three strands are informed by research in the field of literacy. We have supports for learning more about the foundational standards on the ELA Implementation webpage — this overview doc.

And a webinar on the foundational standards (scroll down the implementation page to find it).

Please describe any other standards work related to the science of reading with links, where applicable.

This year’s ELA district leader meetings will focus on standards implementation, which will include discussions about the foundational standards.

The Literacy Unit and the ELA Standards unit are consistently collaborating to ensure that the work is cohesive. In addition, we collaborate with the COMPASS team to align the standards and SoR work with the MnMTSS framework.

Does your state have guidance or resources for families related to the science of reading? If so, please link and provide a short description.

Families READ Toolkit: The Families READ toolkit helps Minnesota teachers give families ideas and tools to help their kids learn to read. This resource is designed for flexible implementation, allowing educators to adapt its content to the unique needs of children, families, and partnership settings. Toolkit materials are aligned with Minnesota’s developmental standards and assessments for early language, literacy, and reading.

Do you have policy or guidance regarding how to leverage evidence-based practices to support secondary students?

Grades 6-12 Tier 1 teachers of reading are included in the professional development policy.

Grades 6-12 Reading Specialists and Special Education teachers who support reading are included in the first phase of the professional development.

Screening for students in Grades 4+ who are not reading at grade level

Does your state have state-developed guidance documents or training courses related to the science of reading and Multilingual learners? If so, please link and provide a short description.

MN is in the process of hiring a Multilingual Literacy Specialist in Fall 2025.

January 2026 – Multilingual work group begins, led by Multilingual Literacy Specialist.

Subd. 6.Dual language immersion advisory committee. (a) By January 1, 2026, the Department of Education must establish a dual language immersion advisory committee to advise the department on the unique needs of dual language immersion programs implementation of the Read Act requirements.

(b) Meetings of the advisory committee are subject to the Open Meeting Law under chapter 13D.

(c) Demographics of the advisory committee must be inclusive and represent the diversity of dual language immersion programs.

(d) The advisory committee membership must include but is not limited to:

(1) members whose native language is the partner language of a dual language immersion program;

(2) families of students enrolled in dual language immersion programs;

(3) members with expertise in special education; and

(4) teachers, administrators, and other instructional staff with knowledge and experience in dual language immersion programs.

(e) In consultation with the advisory committee, the department must:

(1) develop and issue guidance to dual language immersion programs on screeners;

(2) identify materials available in programs’ partner languages to provide instruction in foundational reading skills and methods for evaluating alignment to the requirements under the Read Act;

(3) identify professional development opportunities in programs’ partner languages on providing instruction in foundational reading skills aligned to the requirements under the Read Act; and

(4) make recommendations on how districts can support the transfer of literacy skills between the partner language to English.

(f) The department must post the guidance, list of materials and professional development opportunities, and recommendations on its website.

Does your state have licensure or program approval criteria to ensure Educator Preparation Programs are aligned to the science of reading?

Starting July 1, 2027, a Tier 1 early childhood education teacher, elementary education teacher, special education teacher who is responsible for teaching reading, kindergarten through grade 12 English as a second language teacher, grade 4 through 12 classroom teacher responsible for foundational reading skills instruction, teacher who provides instruction to students in a state-approved alternative program, or a teacher who is responsible for selecting literacy curriculum materials for grades 6 through 12, and is licensed under section 122A.181 for their first licensure renewal must demonstrate that they are registered for, are currently taking, or have completed evidence-based structured literacy training consistent with training approved by the Department of Education. A Tier 1 teacher may demonstrate evidence of progress in meeting the subject matter reading standards for reading in administrative rule through evidence-based structured literacy coursework or through employer verification. The training required must be in progress before a second renewal of the Tier 1 license.

Starting, July 1, 2027, a Tier 2 early childhood education teacher, elementary education teacher, special education teacher who is responsible for teaching reading, kindergarten through grade 12 English as a second language teacher, grade 4 through 12 classroom teacher responsible for foundational reading skills instruction, teacher who provides instruction to students in a state-approved alternative program, or a teacher who is responsible for selecting literacy curriculum materials for grades 6 through 12, and is licensed under section 122A.182, for their first licensure renewal must demonstrate that they are registered for, currently taking, or have completed evidence-based structured literacy training consistent with training approved by the Department of Education. A Tier 2 teacher may demonstrate evidence of progress in meeting the subject matter reading standards for reading in administrative rule through evidence-based structured literacy coursework or through employer verification. The training required must be in progress before the first renewal of the Tier 2 license is granted. 

Starting July 1, 2027, a Tier 2 early childhood education teacher, elementary education teacher, special education teacher who is responsible for teaching reading, kindergarten through grade 12 English as a second language teacher, grade 4 through 12 classroom teacher responsible for foundational reading skills instruction, teacher who provides instruction to students in a state-approved alternative program, or a teacher who is responsible for selecting literacy curriculum materials for grades 6 through 12, who demonstrates field-specific teaching experience to complete the coursework requirements under section 122A.183, subdivision 2, clause (5), must demonstrate they have completed evidence-based structured literacy training required under subdivision 5 before the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board issues the Tier 3 license. The board must not deny a Tier 3 license to an educator who has made progress toward completion, but has not completed, the required training. 

Starting July 1, 2027, a teacher with a kindergarten through grade 12 reading endorsement or kindergarten through grade 12 English as a second language license from the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board must demonstrate to the school’s relicensure committee they have completed evidence-based structured literacy training equivalent to the training required in subdivision 5. 

Do you have a “contact us” website that we can share publicly on TRL Compass?

Website: Minnesota READ Act

Contact:

Email: Minnesota READ Act

651-582-8800

Please describe and link to any other work you would like to share that relates to the science of reading

In Process – Culturally Responsive Guidance and Materials

MDE and CAREI are committed to Culturally Responsive Education. A deeper analysis will occur in 2024-2025 to increase the level of scrutiny deserving of cultural competency and inclusivity.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 120B.123, subdivision 7 (f) states, “the department must ensure the models are reviewed by a contracted third party for culturally responsive guidance and materials, and make those findings available to districts once the review process is complete.

A Request for Proposal is being developed to contract with a third party for guidance on the curricula that has been reviewed for evidence-based structured literacy practices.

In Process – Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing Working Group

The READ Act requires MDE to establish a Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Working Group to make recommendations on literacy training, screeners, and curriculum for students who cannot fully access sound-based approaches such as phonics. A final report is due January 15, 2025. Therefore, during the 2024-2025 school year, screening is optional for students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) or deafblind (DB). Screening may be conducted if deemed appropriate by the IEP team based on a student’s level of hearing and use of assistive technology.

Use the interactive state map to find descriptions of state-level policy adoption, guidance, and practices related to the science of reading. State policy may include legislation incorporating training or practices related to the science of reading or state education agency guidance regarding policy, professional development, curricula, instruction, or assessment.

Filter by specific topic area(s) to find state-specific work: 

The Reading League expresses gratitude to our collaborators and associates within the state education agencies for sharing their state-specific data. This data will undergo semi-annual updates, contingent upon the availability and resources of the respective state agencies. For any inquiries, clarifications, or updates, please reach out to compass@thereadingleague.org.