Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to clarify and amend the existing laws related to parental curriculum review in Minnesota schools. It aims to ensure that parents, guardians, and adult students have the opportunity to review and potentially object to the instructional materials used in schools.

Main Provisions

• Parental Review and Objection: The bill allows parents, guardians, or students over the age of 18 to review the educational materials provided by schools. If they disagree with the content, they can request an alternative form of instruction.
• Alternative Instruction: If a parent, guardian, or adult student objects to the instructional materials, they can arrange for alternative instruction. This can be content provided by the school or materials developed by the parent, guardian, or student themselves.
• Costs of Alternative Instruction: The school is not obligated to cover any costs associated with the alternative instruction that parents, guardians, or students arrange independently.
• No Penalties for Alternative Instruction: Students who opt for alternative instruction will not face any academic penalties solely for making such a request.
• Individual Requests and General Access: Requests for alternative instruction are individual and do not influence or limit the instructional material available to other students.
• Inclusion of Online Materials: The bill specifies that instructional materials encompass both traditional and online or digital media used within any school curriculum.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• This bill expands the current legislation to explicitly include online and digital materials as part of the educational content subject to parental review and objections.
• It reiterates and emphasizes that opting for alternative instruction should not result in academic penalties for students.

Relevant Terms

parental curriculum review, alternative instruction, educational materials, instructional materials, online materials, student penalties, curriculum objection, school board responsibilities, digital media in education