Bill > HF405

This bill establishes a Skills Path Program in Minnesota designed to create clear pathways for high school students to enter careers in skilled trades and employment-based training. The program allows eligible secondary schools (including public, tribal, and nonpublic schools) to partner with postsecondary institutions to develop two-year programs that combine secondary and postsecondary credits with employment-based training. The program will focus on industries such as manufacturing, construction, healthcare, information technology, agriculture, transportation, child care, law enforcement, and energy. The commissioner of education will develop an application process for schools to become designated skills path programs and will award up to ten grants of $50,000 annually to support program implementation. These grants can be used for marketing, coordinating academic and work-based learning, reimbursing student expenses like tuition and books, and other program coordination activities. Students participating in these programs will be counted in the school district's average daily membership for state aid purposes, and schools may grant academic credit for program participation. The bill includes an appropriation of $500,000 for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to administer the grant program, with the same base funding continuing in subsequent years.

Education

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF0405&ssn=0&y=2025