NEW

MASE Members Are Welcome at MASA Leadership Groups

The following Leadership Groups that are offered by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA) are open to all MASE members—you do not need to hold MASA membership. This is a wonderful benefit of belonging to MASE.

• Women's Leadership Sessions — with Dr. Stacie Stanley: Register here

• BIPOC Leadership Sessions — with Dr. Bernadeia Johnson: Register here

• LGBTQ+ Leadership Sessions — with Dr. Teri Staloch: Register here

MASA is also offering a webinar on Oct. 8 that may be of interest. From Requirement to Readiness: Navigating Minnesota’s New School Safety Law will be presented by two representatives of the Sandy Hook Promise along with three Minnesota school administrators. Join Sandy Hook Promise to break down what the new law means for schools, learn how the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System can support compliance and implementation, and hear directly from Minnesota district leaders about their experience bringing the program to their school communities.

MDE Convenes Task Force to Review Statewide Standardized Tests & Recommend Modernization

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has announced a new 28-member task force charged with reviewing Minnesota’s standardized testing and assessment framework and identifying recommendations for future modernization and reform. MDE’s Testing and Assessment Task Force comes on the heels of a national conversation about standardized testing efficacy.

Currently, Minnesota’s assessment system relies on single-administration standardized tests that provide limited instructional value. Feedback from educators, school leaders, students, parents, and elected officials of all political persuasions reflects consensus on the need for a more adaptive, timely, and informative system that is relevant to modern curriculum, promotes alternative pathways to learning, and provides more actionable data. Learn more about the task force on MDE’s Statewide Testing page on their website.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on October 9, 2026.

• Testing and Assessment Task Force Application

• Testing and Assessment Task Force Student Application

ONGOING

PELSB-Approved Statewide Job Board

The Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) has received notice that EdPost will retire effective Dec. 1, 2026, and will no longer be available for posting employment opportunities after that date. Some EdPost users may have received communication indicating that districts should utilize Handshake for further employment postings.

While Handshake can be used to post positions, PELSB reminds districts that since July 1, 2024, Minnesota School Jobs, MNSchoolJobs.org (MSJ) is the exclusive PELSB-approved statewide job board provider. Districts that offer a position to a teacher who will hold a Tier 1 license or an out-of-field permission (OFP) must post the position on MNSchoolJobs.org to meet the 15- or 60-day posting requirement.

MASE Finance Academy Update

If you tried to register for the MASE Virtual Finance Academy Bundle and received an error message, we apologize for the issue! We found the problem and you can now register for this and any of the other Finance Academy sessions.

Having Trouble Logging in?

Reminder: If you’re having trouble logging into the MASE website, please don’t create a new record. Contact the MASE office, and we should be able to get you back in within 24 to 48 hours (not counting weekends or holidays).

Diane McCarron Is Retiring

MASE Past President Diane McCarron is retiring from her position at SpEd Forms. To celebrate Diane’s 47-year commitment to education, SpEd Forms is hosting a Come and Go Dessert Party for her on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 3:30-5:30 p.m., at O’Madden’s Pub at Madden’s on Gull Lake. If you download the flyer, you can click to leave Diane an electronic message.

America’s Support System for Disabled Pupils Is Broken

Excerpted from an article in The Economist, Sept. 3, 2026

Few policy reform commissions draw up a list of recommendations only to implore lawmakers 
to ignore them. Yet that is where Minnesota’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Special Education finds itself. Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall, state lawmakers asked the commission to identify nearly $250 million in savings on special education. In August, the commission released provisional recommendations and unanimously urged the legislature not to enact any of them.

It reflects a national dilemma: educating disabled children is a popular policy, but the sums required under current laws are eye-watering. Across the country, school districts are pulling money from general-education funds to pay for pupils with special needs.

OLA Special Education Director Survey

The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA)—an independent, nonpartisan audit and evaluation office within the legislative branch of Minnesota state government—is currently conducting an evaluation, Autism Spectrum Disorder Services in Public Schools: Student Identification and Coordination with EIDBI Services.

On September 14, Special Education Directors across the state received an email from OLA (via Snap Surveys) asking for your participation in a survey pertaining to this evaluation. This survey, in addition to an upcoming survey of school staff, will be critical in helping OLA understand the state’s work in this area. We encourage you to complete OLA’s survey and ask that you encourage any of your staff who receive a survey from OLA to do the same.

If you have any questions about the evaluation, please contact the evaluation manager, Caitlin Badger, at Caitlin.Badger@state.mn.us or 651-297-1917.

Minnesota Setting IV Program Leaders’ Meetings

October 8, 2026 | 8:30–10 a.m.

Minnesota Setting IV program leaders are invited to participate in a series of virtual meetings designed to bring leaders from federal Setting IV programs together to connect, ask questions, discuss topics of shared interest, and exchange resources, ideas, and strategies.

These meetings provide an opportunity to learn from colleagues across the state, share experiences, and collaborate around the unique opportunities and challenges of leading Setting IV programs.

2026–27 Meeting Dates:

• October 8, 2026 | 8:30–10 a.m.

• December 10, 2026 | 8:30–10 a.m.

• February 11, 2027 | 8:30–10 a.m.

• April 8, 2027 | 8:30–10 a.m.

Order Your MASE Gear Now for Fall Events!

MASE offers a variety of T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, and other merchandise. Show your MASE spirit at our Fall Leadership Conference and other events! Merchandise will be shipped directly to you. Here are just a few of the options available with cooler weather in mind:

MDE Special Education Funding Training Webinars

Registration is open for seven webinars running until October 21. Presentation material and information on joining the webinar will be sent to registered participants the day before each training.

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

NEW

Are You Ready to BINGO?!?

The Minnesota Special Education Leadership Foundation (MNSELF) will have a Bingo fundraiser on Thursday, October 22, 2026, starting at 7:25 p.m. in the Ballroom at the Town Hall Conference Center at Madden's on Gull Lake. Join us for this fun event at the MASE Fall Conference!

MNSELF Purpose: MNSELF promotes opportunities for leaders in special education by supporting innovative professional development to enhance leadership skills.

MNSELF is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3): a charitable nonprofit organization created to raise funds to sponsor leadership training for current and aspiring directors of special education.

Doors will open at 7:25 p.m., with Bingo games beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each and include 10 games of Bingo. Tickets will be available at the MNSELF booth in Town Hall Conference Center Lobby on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Participants may purchase additional games. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase at the door on Thursday evening.

There will be fabulous prizes—including designer handbags, nifty coolers, gift cards, and more. Additionally, there will be door prizes and a great raffle ticket prize!

Enjoy an evening with colleagues while supporting the mission of MNSELF. Participation is limited to 150 attendees, and tickets are expected to sell out quickly!

Please see the Bingo Flyer 2026 and bingo rules.

ONGOING

December 1 Federal Child Count

The special education child count data reporting process through the Minnesota Automated Reporting Student System (MARSS) will begin in September. There are five MARSS submissions reporting deadlines: September 17, 2026, October 15, 2026, November 12, 2026, December 10, 2026, and January 7, 2027. After the final deadline in January, there is no appeal process for fall data. Please make federal special education child count a priority. We strongly encourage districts to report students receiving special education services by the initial reporting deadline to assure that all students who are eligible for and receiving special education services get counted. Child count reporting is final with fall data and not updated with year-end data.

Make Comments on Proposed Cuts to Head Start

The following information was shared by a MASE member, who received it from a Head Start Mental Health consultant.

The federal government is proposing to gut Head Start by taking away many of the essential performance standards. These performance standards are what make Head Start a quality early childhood program that encompasses so many aspects of helping low-income children grow, learn, and be ready for kindergarten. It sets them up for a future of educational success by breaking the cycles of poverty at its root cause.

Our current government is proposing these changes under the guise of “reducing barriers” by deregulating the program and making it more focused on each State’s determination and rules. Anyone who knows anything about Head Start knows this is a total disaster and just a way to slowly eliminate the program all together.

Some of the proposed changes entail:

• Removal of requirements for staff credentials and training

• Removal of parent committee involvement

• Removal of early childhood screenings and assessments

• Removal of health status care and dental care

• Removal of requirements focused on collaboration and communication with parents and caregivers

• Removal of early childhood mental health consultant and mental health support

• Removal of staff breaks

• Removal of student-to-teacher ratios

• Removal of CLASS (classroom assessment scoring system to make sure our teachers are high quality)

• Mandating English-only instruction

If any of these stand out to you as an issue you care about, please comment on the government proposal before the deadline of Oct. 6. Comments matter; they have to read and respond to all before any changes can go into effect. The more we can reiterate the vital work of Head Start, the better chances we have to save the best aspects of the program.

CASE Updates from Melissa Schaller

Abraham Thinking

Abe Saffer, Director of Governmental Relations for CASE, hosted the first Abraham Thinking on September 8. The purpose of these sessions is to keep you up to date on policy and politics in Washington, D.C., and around the country, provide an opportunity to ask policy and legislative questions you may have, and to share what is happening with CASE. This is scheduled on the second Tuesday of each month from 4-5pm CST. Register on the CASE website.

This month, Abe shared three themes in Washington, D.C.: uncertainty, systematic constraints, and polarization. Some details include the physical movement of Education Department staff to other agency buildings. This is occurring even though no details are being released about the plans to implement IAAs. There has been some congressional action on IAAs, one in the House to codify IAAs, but not the moves of OSERS and OCR, and another in both the House and Senate to stop the IAAs affecting the Education Department. While it is not believed these will pass, the authors are appropriators—so we could see action with budget bills.

In news on federal education funding, I'm including a few screen grabs (see our blog post) that summarize what’s happening. While 17% is the closest to full (40%) funding we've ever reached, with the exception of one year during the recession, currently we sit at about 10.9%.

Look for potential new rules from OMB and changes to EDGAR regarding federal grants. If you are interested in federal grants available, the place to look will be grants.gov.

What can you do?

Check out the new CASE Legislative Action Center at casecec.org/action-center. You must be logged in.

Contact your legislators!

Share your stories! The CASE office is collecting membership testimonials. Please fill out the form and forward it to three of your CASE friends, asking them to do the same.

Renew Your Membership

With MASE membership renewals in progress through Sept. 30, we strongly encourage you to keep or add a CEC/CASE Professional Basic Membership as part of your renewal! If the CEC/CASE membership is not included in your invoice, please contact Laurie Pumper at the MASE office to get your record updated; it’s a quick process. Less than half of our Active Members currently have opted in (or out) for CEC/CASE membership—let’s get our numbers up!

CASE Conference

Registration for the CASE Conference is open. The conference takes place November 11-13 in Providence, Rhode Island. It would be awesome to have a Minnesota contingent attend. Consider adding this to your calendar. Check out details on the CASE website. If you are attending, there will be a state unit night—so don't forget to bring your MASE gear. If you are interested in CASE gear, check out their sale.

MASE Annual Meeting

Friday, November 20 | Noon-1 p.m. | Webinar

Learn what MASE has been working on in the past year—and what our priorities are for the year ahead in this one-hour webinar. This event is open to members and non-members at no cost.

Nearly 300 People Are Registered—Don’t Miss Out!

With nearly 300 people already registered for our conference at Madden’s, time is running out for you to reserve your spot at the event!

Be sure to check out our breakout session schedule. Here are a few of the sessions that are confirmed:

• The Superintendent-Special Education Director Partnership: Leading Well Together Under Pressure

• Navigating Compliance in Early Childhood and School-Age Evaluations

• Outside Providers: Teletherapy, ABA, and What's FAPE Got to Do With It?

Sponsorship Opportunities for Fall Leadership Conference

Our sponsors and exhibitors make a significant contribution to the quality of the event—with your help, we are able to enhance our professional development opportunities. At this year’s conference, we expect over 300 special education leaders from school districts and charter schools throughout Minnesota.

All our exhibit booths are sold! You can still boost your visibility at the conference with a sponsorship. We’ve already sold several of our top tier sponsorships, but here are some opportunities that are available right now:

• Mobile App Sponsor: Logo and link on MASE Fall Leadership Conference website and recognition on conference signage; includes 2 attendee registrations for the conference

• Thursday Social Sponsor: Logo and link on MASE Fall Leadership Conference website and recognition on conference signage, may provide branded napkins and stir sticks; includes 1 attendee registration for the conference

• Lunch Sponsor: Logo and link on MASE Fall Leadership Conference website and recognition on conference signage; includes 1 attendee registration for the conference

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!