Minnesota

Minnesota has a fairly widely used open enrollment system. According to the Minnesota Department of Education, more than 86,000 Minnesota students, or 9.9%, are open-enrolled. That utilization comes despite significant legislative weaknesses. The Reason Foundation graded Minnesota an F (51/100): some open enrollment policies exist, but important rules for a truly open, accessible system are missing. Minnesota forbids charging tuition to public school students and has voluntary inter- and intradistrict open enrollment, with weak transparency and data-reporting rules.

Interdistrict transfers must use a standardized state application. Districts may not ask for information beyond that form — including disciplinary history, special education status or needs, birth date, gender, race, ethnicity, and academic or other student records. Once a student is accepted into a nonresident school, they may attend through high school graduation without reapplying. If applicants exceed capacity, a lottery is held. Siblings of successfully open-enrolled students receive priority.

School districts set their own acceptance criteria within state limits. Criteria may include the capacity of a program (excluding special education services), class, or school building. The school board may not reject applications for a grade level if nonresident enrollment at that grade does not exceed the board’s published limit. Criteria may not include previous academic achievement, athletic or extracurricular ability, disability, English proficiency, previous disciplinary proceedings, or the student’s district of residence.

Minnesota also offers Nonresident Agreements. A student may enroll in a nonresident district outside the open enrollment process if both school boards agree. That path lets districts without official open enrollment policies accept out-of-district students case by case.

Out-of-state students who live in South Dakota–Minnesota and Iowa–Minnesota border districts may fall under specific border agreements that allow interstate open enrollment into Minnesota public schools. The numbers are relatively small, but they are part of Minnesota’s open enrollment system.