SF 3803 Minnesota Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Denial of education based on immigration status prohibition provision

SF 3803 prohibits Minnesota public schools from denying free K-12 education based on a student’s or their parent’s immigration status, aligning with the U.S. Supreme Court’s *Plyler v. Doe* ruling. It bans schools from collecting unnecessary immigration status information, threatening to disclose such details to authorities, or creating policies that effectively exclude students due to immigration concerns. The bill also establishes a civil cause of action, allowing students or families to sue if denied educational access for these reasons. It directly affects all K-12 students and families in Minnesota public schools, charter schools, and districts.

Issues: ✓ Education ✓ Immigration

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Last action Apr 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduction → 1st Engrossment · 4 edits · Mar 2, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was updated from its introduction to its first engrossment, incorporating several substantive changes to protect students' rights regardless of immigration status. Key modifications include expanding the definition of who can be discriminated against to cover both actual and perceived citizenship status, clarifying that school resource officers are not considered law enforcement agents for the purposes of this bill, and adding new sections to allow private civil lawsuits against schools that violate the law.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly cover discrimination based on both actual and perceived citizenship or immigration status, and it was clarified to exclude school resource officers from the definition of law enforcement agents.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Law enforcement agent' was changed to explicitly exclude school resource officers, ensuring they are not subject to the restrictions placed on other law enforcement.

ELIGIBILITY

Protections against discrimination were broadened to cover both 'actual and perceived' citizenship or immigration status, offering stronger safeguards against bias.

ENFORCEMENT

New sections were added to establish a civil cause of action, allowing aggrieved parties to file lawsuits in court to seek damages and injunctive relief if a school violates the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The bill now explicitly prohibits schools from disclosing information related to a child's actual or perceived citizenship status to any other person or entity.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Comm report: To pass as amended and re-refer to Judiciary and Public Safety

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

Referred to Education Policy

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

Introduction and first reading

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors