Rural and low-income schools

The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded the Minnesota Department of Education $194,956 on July 1, 2026, under the Rural Education program (CFDA 84.358), a formula grant supporting activities to improve the quality of teaching and learning in rural schools. The award obligates $194,956 and runs through September 30, 2027, with place of performance in Lauderdale, Minnesota. As a state educational agency, the Minnesota Department of Education distributes Rural Education funds to eligible local educational agencies within the state on a formula basis. Eligible LEAs are those in which the total number of students in average daily attendance is less than 600 or where each school is located in a county with a total population density of less than 10 persons per square mile, and all schools are designated as rural by the National Center for Education Statistics using the school locale methodology established at the time of the Every Student Succeeds Act's enactment, or the LEA is located in an area the state defines as rural.