NEW

Fiscal Year 2027 Pathway Preparation Grant Materials and Information Session

The Pathway Preparation Grant (PPG) was appropriated for $400,000 dollars by the Minnesota legislature for state fiscal year 2027, for distribution by Minnesota's Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB).

Application materials for state fiscal year 2027 and an updated question-and-answer document have been posted on PELSB's Pathway Preparation Grant page.

A virtual information session will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 4 p.m. via WebEx.

Webinar topic: Pathway Preparation Grant Information Session

Registration link

MDE Ed-Fi Updates, April 6 | Read More

ONGOING

MDE Special Education Fiscal Monitoring Office Hours

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) Special Education Fiscal Monitoring Team will hold one final office hours session for the 2025-2026 school year.

These sessions are for special education directors, business managers, and related special education and business staff who are responsible for compliance, procedures, or submitting documentation to MDE during special education fiscal monitoring. Please share this announcement with applicable staff.

Thursday, April 23, 2026, 11 a.m.-noon Office Hours

Email SPED Fiscal Monitoring Team with questions.

MDE Load of State Fiscal Year 2026 Final Federal Allocations

The SFY 2026 final allocations have been loaded into the Minnesota Education Grant System (MEGS) for the following Finance Codes (FIN).

MASE Elections: Vote by Monday Evening

The MASE office has sent emails to our Active and MASA+MASE Joint Active members with a link to our ballot for President-Elect and Secretary. If you hold one of these voting memberships but did not receive an email, please email laurie.pumper@mnase.org. Voting ends at 6 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 13, and we will announce the results by the end of this month.

CASE Updates from Melissa Schaller

• Look for information, including how to register, in the CASE Member Update  regarding the CASE Annual Membership Meeting. This is scheduled for Friday, May 1 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

• If you are attending the CASE Academy of Law and Leadership, April 21-23 in Atlanta, Georgia, don't forget to sign up for CASE Night on Wednesday, April 22.

NOTES: MDE Special Education Update archive: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/sped/news

NEW

🎉 BEST Bingo Night Yet Is HERE! 🎉

Get ready to turn up the energy at the Minnesota Special Education Leadership Foundation (MNSELF) Bingo Extravaganza, our most exciting fundraiser yet, all in support of learning for leaders!

📍 Townhall Ballroom
📅 Thursday, May 14, 2026
🕖 7:15 PM kickoff (don’t be late… the first game starts right away!)

This is not your average bingo night. It’s 10 high-energy rounds packed with laughter, friendly competition, and seriously amazing prizes. Your $20 ticket includes two cards per game, plus the option to add more chances to win if you're feeling lucky.

✨ What to expect:

·       🎯 10 fast-paced Bingo rounds

·       🎁 Designer handbags (Michael Kors, Kate Spade & Portland Leather!)

·       🧊 Other prizes from Fjallraven, Portland Gear, and Hulkin. Also gift cards, including a special bucket from Menards!

·       🎟️ Raffle drawings with exclusive prizes

·       🍹 Cash bar + wait staff service to keep you in the game

Whether you're in it for the purses, the prizes, or just a fun night with colleagues, there’s something for everyone.

💥 Tickets will go FAST! Grab yours early and be part of a night that brings the fun while supporting a mission that matters.

Let’s pack the room, raise some funds, and make this the BEST Bingo Night yet! 🌟

BINGO $20 for 2 packs: https://square.link/u/vYCyUJwN

BINGO $10 for 1 pack: https://square.link/u/wf2zlHO8

You will also have the opportunity to enter a raffle for a money tree!

$5 for 1 ticket: https://square.link/u/rqnaWrME

If you have any questions, please contact:

Tanya Tacker, ttacker@rrsec.org

Christian Wernau, cwernau@zumbroed.org

Nicole Bolduan, nbolduan@gced.k12.mn.us

ONGOING

MASE BIPOC Special Education Leaders Affinity Space

April 22 | MASE Headquarters Building, St. Louis Park

Directors of Special Education, Coordinators, Special Education Supervisors, Central Office Leaders, Aspiring Special Education Leaders, and others who identify as a leader of color in Special Education: You are invited to join other Special Education leaders of color from across Minnesota! The MASE Equity Committee invites you to join us on April 22 to build relationships, share leadership experiences, name the realities of leading while navigating systems, and identify the supports you want us to create.

Get Ready…Your Final Chance to Gear Up for BINGO! 🎉

We’ve had some orders come in, but we know more of you are ready to join the fun at the MASE Best Practices Conference. Let’s make this event even more memorable with a sea of MNSELF Bingo shirts and sweatshirts!

MNSELF is offering exclusive Bingo apparel so you can show your spirit, connect with colleagues, and fully join the energy of the event. Whether you go bold with a sweatshirt or keep it classic with a tee, this is your moment to be part of something fun and shared.

Order your gear TODAY:

Visit Rambow at www.rambow.com and enter the form code: MNSELF

🗓 Store closes: Sunday, April 12, 2026
📦 Pick-up: Your order will be ready for you at the conference

Let’s show up strong, have some fun, and make Bingo one of the highlights of the conference. Don’t wait—place your order and be part of it!

2026 Special Education Law & Leadership Conference

Tuesday, April 14 | 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center

Registration is open for the annual Special Education Law & Leadership Conference presented by Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney, P.A. The day includes keynote presentations from Marisa Franco, Ph.D., and Anne Gearity, Ph.D., as well as 12 breakout topics.

Last Day for Early Registration Rates for MASE Best Practices Conference!

Register today for early registration rates!

If you need more reasons to attend:

• Check out our breakout session information.

• Keynotes Phyllis Wolfram (CASE Executive Director) and Sherlonda Sharp (speaker, consultant, and comedian) are sure to share insightful and impactful presentations.

• More than 320 people have already registered to attend our conference—sign up now to join us!

Our sponsor and exhibitor opportunities are also going quickly! All exhibit space has been sold. Many other great options for visibility remain—including Mobile App Sponsorship, Keynote Sponsorships, Lunch Sponsorships, and Coffee Break Sponsorships!

Members, Tell Us about Yourself

We are bringing back the MASE Member Spotlights! We have some new questions and we’re hoping to hear from some of our members. We will feature Member Spotlights in this newsletter and in our social media posts so that members get to know more about one another. Thanks to those who have already responded!

Join Us for Our Next SLICE of Collaboration Session: Record Retention

Tuesday, April 21 | 12 p.m.

The topic for our next SLICE webinar is Record Retention, with presenters from Area D. Join us at Noon for informal conversations with your colleagues from across the state. These sessions are open to members only. You'll receive the link to join in your confirmation e-mail.

Reminder: You must login to our website to see the registration button for this event.

You can register for additional SLICE sessions on the MASE website—check our Calendar.