Protection and advocacy of individual rights (pair)

The Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services awarded $283,137 to Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance on October 1, 2025, under the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (PAIR) program (CFDA 84.240), a formula grant supporting protection and advocacy systems that defend the legal and human rights of individuals with disabilities ineligible for services from other protection and advocacy programs or whose problems fall outside the scope of the Client Assistance Program.

Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit law firm, delivers legal representation, benefits counseling, administrative and criminal justice advocacy, systemic change initiatives, and educational programming to vulnerable populations across Minnesota, with particular focus on individuals with disabilities. The award period runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026, with place of performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The program operates under a statutory non-supplanting requirement and restricted indirect cost rate framework specified in 34 CFR 76.563–76.569.