ST. PAUL — A 2025 law mandating a $250 million cut to special education is prompting bipartisan pushback at the Minnesota Capitol, as school districts warn of widespread negative impacts.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law establishing a Blue Ribbon Commission, tasking it with finding $250 million in special education cuts by October 2026, with reductions set to take effect in July 2027. The commission says it needs more time to complete its work. But the law states the cuts are mandatory, regardless of whether specific reductions are identified.
A bill authored by Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, would give the commission more time and eliminate the automatic funding cut. The measure was unanimously advanced in the House Education Finance Committee on April 14 and is headed to another committee for further consideration.
A total of $420 million in cuts to schools, including $250 million from the Blue Ribbon Commission and $50 million recommended by Gov. Tim Walz, passed last year.
The pullback in state funding comes as districts across the state report budget shortfalls and a rise in the number of students needing special education. Minnesota special education funding has climbed from $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion over the past five years. As the state faces a projected budget deficit in the coming years, lawmakers largely agree they must curb costs.
Laura Jean, who serves on the Blue Ribbon Commission, testified at the education committee meeting that changes to special education should be phased in over the next few years.
“If the Blue Ribbon Commission is forced to move forward recommending the $250 million in cuts, all children across the state will suffer,” Jean said.
Roughly 1 in 5 students in Minnesota receives services through special education programs. As funding decreases, school districts must still meet federally mandated requirements intended to uphold the quality of special education. Less funding for special education means school districts pull more from other areas to cover the gaps. School board members across the state warned in the hearing that cuts will affect every student's access to programming and resources.
In addition to nearly a dozen in-person testifiers, 214 people submitted testimony expressing their support for his bill, Bakeberg said.
Under a 2023 law, the state currently pays 50% of the gap between the cost of special education services and the amount covered by federal and state aid. The funding is guaranteed until July 2027, but the years that follow are uncertain.
Cathy Nathan, who testified on behalf of the Rochester School Board and the Minnesota School Boards Association, said a $250 million cut would erase the improvements the funding enabled and return school districts to an unsustainable funding model. Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, who co-presented the bill with Bakeberg, said the state will end up paying for the impact of the loss of resources down the road.
Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, said reversing the $250 million in deductions would create a hole in the current budget, but she voted yes on the bill, calling it a “message statement” to signal disapproval of the original mandated cuts.
“This was a position from last year's bill that had bipartisan angst between both Chair [Ron] Kresha and me,” Youkim said. “We did not want it to be part of our bill, but it was the cost of passing an education bill that was desperately needed to fund our K-12 schools.”
Hollee Saville, vice chair of the St. Michael-Albertville school board, spoke about her son, who received early childhood special education and is now a high school honor roll student enrolled in college classes.
“That happened because the system worked,” Saville said. “I can't imagine what would have happened if those services had been reduced. Cuts to special education don't solve budget problems.”
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
