Ensuring equity across Minnesota requires revising education policy

This story was produced as part of ThreeSixty Journalism’s 2025 Opinion and Commentary Workshop for youth, in partnership with Sahan Journal and MinnPost. ThreeSixty is a multimedia storytelling program for Minnesota youth, focused on contributing to more accurate narratives and representative newsrooms.

Across Minnesota, public high school students are losing access to advanced online courses due to local policies that discourage out-of-district enrollment. This is not just a local issue — it is a statewide equity problem that demands a policy change, because it denies students opportunities that state law was designed to protect. To ensure equal educational access, we need to revise Minnesota education policy.

Last year, there were no Advanced Placement (AP) classes available to first-year students in my district, St. Michael-Albertville. I elected to supplement my schedule with an online AP course taken out-of-district from another Minnesota public school, and I was able to do so because of the 2024 Minnesota Online Instruction Act, which allows K-12 students to access supplementary online courses. 

Related: This is Minnesota’s moment to champion true school choice

I was also able to take this course because I sought it out independently, but my interest alone was not enough. I had to navigate several policy barriers, including identifying the opportunity to take an online course, finding a workspace, as well as an inequitable grade-weighting policy. This made me wonder: were these policies designed to support or deter me? Students like me who try to take online courses face barriers that feel intentionally designed to encourage in-district enrollment.

The pattern of school districts using obstructive policies to dissuade alternate enrollment has also been shown with Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) courses. According to the College in High School Alliance, “given the loss in K–12 funding when students elect to participate in PSEO, there is an incentive for high schools to try and limit the number of students choosing to take PSEO. That can manifest itself in high schools . . . erecting other artificial barriers to disincentivize participation.”

In 2024, Minnesota students raised this issue to legislators because they felt local policies around PSEO needed change. Beatrice Handlin, Vice President of People for PSEO, stated to House legislators that “by not having equitable grade weighting policies across courses that are equitable, a student’s GPA no longer reflects their achievement accurately, which can impact scholarships, class rank, employment, and college acceptance.” Legislators responded to this and other issues with significant revisions of the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Act to increase educational equity.

Lawmakers anticipated similar district behavior with online courses and added a clause to the Online Instruction Act stating that “an enrolling district may not restrict or prevent a student from applying to take supplemental online courses.” As seen with the PSEO student testimony, my experience is not the first instance where Minnesota schools have knowingly crafted policies in attempts to dissuade students from accessing outside academic coursework that would negatively affect their budget. For example, my district’s policy is to weight grades for AP courses; however, I did not receive grade weighting for my online AP course because it was accessed out-of-district. The district acknowledged that academic rigor was equivalent to in-district options, while continuing to withhold the weighted grade. 

While it is understandable that the decreased funding schools across Minnesota are experiencing make it harder to balance budgets, hindering student opportunities is not a solution to the problem.

When students face obstacles in taking AP, college level, or out-of-district courses, it often results in reduced college readiness and greater student debt. With the skyrocketing costs of postsecondary education, shaving off a semester can save students tens of thousands of dollars.

Schools do not have the capacity to offer every course, so out-of-district classes permit students to explore their interest areas. These courses also give students the opportunity to discover what they want to do after high school and allow them to take classes better tailored to their career aspirations. This should excite high schools; their purpose is for students to graduate prepared for success. 

Schools that have lower budgets, smaller student populations, or that are in rural areas often have fewer resources available to them, so students’ ability to access the same courses that are available in other districts guarantees greater equity across socioeconomic status and location. Having the opportunity to take out-of-district courses is an equity issue, and students with limited in-district options face a disproportionate impact.

Related: Dual credit options like PSEO is a way to close opportunity gaps

In the revision of the PSEO Act, legislators used extremely plain language, providing equitable grade weighting, workspaces, and education around PSEO courses. We need revision to the Online Instruction Act beyond the unenforceable “restrict or prevent” language to prevent inequities like those provided for in the PSEO Act, with equally explicit wording that local policies cannot bypass.

Having the opportunity to take an out-of-district course was impactful because it helped me set a foundation of study habits and note-taking that has sparked success and encouraged pursuit of additional AP courses this year. It is an opportunity for all students across Minnesota to have a right to access. 

Minnesota law needs to be revised to ensure that district policies are supportive, not preventive. The availability of educational opportunities varies widely across Minnesota. Out-of-district courses help minimize student debt, provide additional postsecondary options, allow exploration of interest areas, and ensure greater equity across the state. Students need Minnesota legislators to revise current laws and ensure true equity, because access is not access if there is an asterisk.

The post Ensuring equity across Minnesota requires revising education policy appeared first on MinnPost.