Education (K-12)

Last reviewed May 2026

Minnesota Information

Minnesota Government 

• Minnesota Board of Teaching
• Minnesota Department of Education 
  • Data Center - A central portal to the Department's publications and data.
  • Minnesota School Finance History, 1849-
  • School Finance - Reports and data about financing Minnesota's public schools.
• Financing Education in Minnesota - A publication of the Minnesota House of Representative's Fiscal Analysis Department.
• History of Education Finance Shifts, FY1983-2020 - One of many K-12 education reports produced by the Minnesota Senate Counsel, Research, & Fiscal Analysis.
• Minnesota School District Maps - Created by the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office.
• Minnesota School Finance: A Guide for Legislators - One of many K-12 education reports produced by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department.
• Minnesota SLEDS (Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System) - Managed jointly by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minnesota Department of Education, and Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Governed by the Minnesota P-20 Education Partnership.

Minnesota Organizations

• Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD) 
• Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) - Connecting the resources of the University of Minnesota with local, state, and national school improvement initiatives. Maintains the Minnesota Reads database.
• Education Minnesota - A union of Minnesota educators
• Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) - Dedicated to the improvement of alternative education and program options. Maintains a School Database. 
• Minnesota Association of School Business Officials (MASBO) 
• Minnesota Independent School Forum
• Minnesota Rural Education Association (MREA) 
• Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA)
• Minnesota Service Cooperatives - A joint powers organization comprised of nine regional educational service agencies.
• Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) - Nonprofit association providing support for extracurricular activities in Minnesota’s schools.

Federal Information

• Search for Schools and Colleges -  Searchable database of public schools, private schools, and colleges. A product of the National Center for Education Statistics. 
• U.S Census Bureau - Provides information on a variety of educational topics, from educational attainment to school costs and financing.
• U.S. Department of Education 
  • National Center for Education Statistics - Search for statistics or for specific publications, or go directly to Annual Reports which links to such reports as The Condition of Education and The Digest of Education Statistics.
  • The Nation's Report Card - The results of National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Articles, Databases, and Organizations

• American Federation of Teachers (AFT) - An affiliated international union of the AFL-CIO.
• Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators - An annual report that provides comparable indicators on education systems throughout the world.
• Education Commission of the States (ECS) - An organization created by states for states. Tracks state policy and trending topics in education.
• Education Legislation Bill Tracking - National Conference of State Legislatures database. 
• Education Next - Access current and archived issues.
• Education Policy Analysis Archives/Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas/Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas (EPAA/AAPE) - Access current and archived issues. 
• Education Week - Access current and archived issues.
• ERIC Database - Bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million education citations dating back to 1966. 
• National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) - "A nonpartisan research and advocacy group committed to restructuring the teaching profession.” Maintains the teacher contract database.
• School Superintendents Association (AASA) 
• Thomas B. Fordham Institute - A non-profit think tank dedicated to advancing educational excellence in America's K-12 schools.

Selected Education Issues

Charter Schools

• Charter School Resource Center - Information about Minnesota's charter schools including the Minnesota Charter School Handbook; from the Center for School Change.
• Charter Schools - A publication about Minnesota's charter schools by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department.
• Charter Schools - A guide created by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
• Minnesota Department of Education: Charter Schools - Information about charter school authorizers and a list of charter schools.
• MN Association of Charter Schools

Choice and Vouchers

• Center for Education Reform - Supports reforms that empower parents and allow educators to innovate and transform student learning.
• The Constitutionality of Education Vouchers Under State and Federal Law - A report by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department.
• edChoice - Includes the ABCs of School Choice guide.
• Education - Includes curriculum resources and state rankings; from the Heritage Foundation.
• Education Law Center: Vouchers - Includes updates about voucher proposals in Congress and in state legislatures.
• Educational Vouchers - A guide created by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
• Minnesota Department of Education: School Choice - Information about Minnesota's school choice options.
• RAND Corporation: Education Reform - Evaluates school reform models and conducts case-study analyses of individual schools and school systems to identify areas of improvement and highlight best practices and effective reform efforts.
• School Vouchers - A report by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department. 

Civic Education

• Civic Education: Are Students Learning How to be Good Citizens? - An issue of the publication, CQ Researcher.
• Teaching Civics - The Minnesota-based organization supports educators with an ever-growing repository of current, professionally vetted, and unbiased civics, law-related education, and government lesson plans and materials. Includes information about the Minnesota civics test.

Homeschools, Nonpublic, and Online Learning

• Aurora Institute - Formerly the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Includes resources on online learning laws and operating online learning programs.
• eSchool News - Monthly publication covering education technology in all its aspects.
• Dual Enrollment Programs for High School Students - A report by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department.
• Homeschools - Report by the Minnesota Legislature's House Research Department. 
• Minnesota Department of Education: Home School Education - Includes information about home schools.
• Minnesota Department of Education: Nonpublic and Homeschools - Reporting requirements.
• Minnesota Department of Education: Online Learning - Information on curriculum and programs.
• Minnesota Homeschoolers' Alliance - Information on homeschooling basics including Minnesota law and forms.
• Minnesota Learning Commons - “A partnership between Minnesota's public education systems to support educators teaching in online, blended, and digital learning environments.”
• State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) 

Special Education

• Annual Disability Statistics Collection - Statistics about children served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B. 
• Minnesota Department of Education: Special Education - Information on special education programs in Minnesota. Includes information about Minnesota parental rights.
• National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDE)

Standards and Testing

• ACT Datasets - Interactive tools intended to answer questions and provide meaningful insights to help students, parents, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders make informed decisions and improve education and career outcomes.
• Minnesota Academic Standards - A guide created by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
• Minnesota Department of Education: Statewide Testing - Information about the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) and the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS).
• National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) - Focuses on inclusion of students with disabilities, English learners, and English learners with disabilities in instruction and assessments. Includes State Policies Map.
• SAT Data - Current and archived SAT data provided by The College Board.

• See Also Children's Issues
• See Also Education (Early Childhood)

The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Minnesota Legislature.