SF3943

Purpose

• The bill makes broad updates to higher education law to improve how programs are funded and reported, adds protections and accommodations for pregnant and parenting students, updates eligibility for certain state aid programs, and strengthens reporting to the Legislature. It also repeals a prior option-enrollment act.

Main Provisions

• Definitions and eligibility related to parenting and pregnancy

  • Defines “parenting student” as a student who is the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 (or a dependent child under 18).
  • Defines “pregnancy or related conditions.”
  • Expands which postsecondary institutions are covered (including public state institutions and certain private institutions with on-campus offerings).

• Accommodations and protections for pregnant and parenting students

  • Institutions may not force a leave, restrict study, require changes to major, or deter course participation solely because of pregnancy or parenting status.
  • Institutions must provide reasonable modifications similar to those offered for temporary medical conditions. Examples include safe accommodations related to health and safety, excused absences for medical needs, and the ability to make up missed work.
  • If a medical leave or disability policy exists, it should be available and applicable to pregnancy-related issues and parenting needs.
  • Students may take a medically necessary leave and return in good academic standing, without reapplying for admission if they were in good standing when leaving (with conditions to protect degree progress).
  • Institutions must allow early or flexible registration for pregnant or parenting students on the same basis as other student groups.

• Policy on discrimination and accessibility

  • Each institution must adopt a policy addressing pregnancy and parenting discrimination, including a Title IX coordinator’s contact information.
  • Policy details must be easy to find on the institution’s website and shared annually with faculty and staff.

• Reporting requirements for student aid and programs

  • The Office of Higher Education must provide annual, detailed public and legislative reports on many student aid programs, including:
  • Funds appropriated and expended
  • Applicants, recipients, and award amounts
  • Demographic data (race/ethnicity, gender, income, family type, dependency status, etc.)
  • Retention, completion, debt, and time-to-completion metrics
  • Data must be disaggregated by program, institution, and other relevant factors, with a view toward evaluating outcomes and program effectiveness.
  • Several existing aid programs and reporting sections are updated to include these reporting requirements or align with the new framework.

• American Indian Scholars and related programs

  • Changes to eligibility or reporting related to American Indian Scholars programs and associated financial aid reporting.

• Foster grants, child care grants, and teacher candidate grants

  • Reporting and eligibility criteria for foster grants, child care grants, and teacher candidate grants are updated, including data on awards, eligibility, and program outcomes.

• North Star Promise and other scholarship programs

  • Reporting and participation data for North Star Promise (and related scholarship programs) must be provided, including status, enrollment, and outcomes.

• Repeal of a prior act

  • Repeals a preexisting statute related to the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act.

• Administration and compliance

  • The University of Minnesota is specifically requested to comply with new protections and reporting requirements, in addition to other public postsecondary institutions.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Expanded protections for pregnant and parenting students, including guaranteed accommodations, medical leave options, and access to instructional materials and recordings when absence is excused.
• New or strengthened duties for institutions to adopt and publish clear pregnancy/parenting discrimination policies with accessible Title IX contact information.
• System-wide, annual, and annualized multi-year reporting requirements for a broad set of student aid programs, including detailed demographic, outcome, and financing data.
• Revisions to eligibility and reporting for multiple aid programs (child care grants, foster grants, teacher candidate grants, etc.) to align with the new reporting framework and outcome metrics.
• Repeal of a prior enrollment-options-related statute, removing that specific framework from the code.

Implementation Considerations

• The Office of Higher Education will play a central role in collecting, compiling, and reporting data to legislative committees, with data disaggregated by multiple demographic and program factors.
• Institutions must balance providing accommodations with preserving the fundamental outcomes of courses and programs.
• Compliance is expected from both the University of Minnesota and other eligible postsecondary institutions.

Relevant Terms - parenting student - pregnant student - pregnancy-related conditions - reasonable modifications - excused absence - medical leave - good academic standing - early registration - Title IX coordinator - discrimination policy - postsecondary institution - University of Minnesota - Minnesota State Colleges and Universities - American Indian Scholars program - foster grants - child care grants - North Star Promise - consolidated student aid reporting - data disaggregation - retention - completion - average award - total award - grant eligibility - licensure areas - rural teacher grant - teacher candidates - licensure shortage areas - data reporting to legislature - higher education finance and policy - preexisting enrollment options act (repealed)