Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota Senate Bill SF3159 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to higher education; establishing a Student Basic Needs Advisory Council;
3	3	1.3 requiring a report; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
4	4	1.4 136A.
5	5	1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
6	6	1.6 Section 1. [136A.033] STUDENT BASIC NEEDS ADVISORY COUNCIL.
7	7	1.7 Subdivision 1.Definition.For purposes of this section, "advisory council" means the
8	8	1.8Student Basic Needs Advisory Council established in this section.
9	9	1.9 Subd. 2.Membership.The advisory council consists of 12 members. Eight of the
10	10	1.10members must not be students. Those eight members are appointed by the commissioner
11	11	1.11and must include, to the extent practicable, representatives from Minnesota State Colleges
12	12	1.12and Universities, the University of Minnesota, nonprofit private colleges, Tribal colleges
13	13	1.13and universities, faculty and staff bargaining units, state agencies, and other interested parties
14	14	1.14as determined by the commissioner. Four of the members must be students and must include
15	15	1.15a representative from each of the following, to be designated by the relevant organization:
16	16	1.16the University of Minnesota student senate, the Minnesota State University Student
17	17	1.17Association, the Minnesota State College Student Association, and the Minnesota Association
18	18	1.18of Private College Students.
19	19	1.19 Subd. 3.Duties and powers.The advisory council must:
20	20	1.20 (1) advise the commissioner on the design and implementation of the biennial basic
21	21	1.21needs assessment required by section 136A.034;
22	22	1Section 1.
23	23	25-04803 as introduced03/20/25 REVISOR VH/KR
24	24	SENATE
25	25	STATE OF MINNESOTA
26	26	S.F. No. 3159NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
27	27	(SENATE AUTHORS: OUMOU VERBETEN and Fateh)
28	28	OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
29	29	Introduction and first reading04/01/2025
30	30	Referred to Higher Education 2.1 (2) advise the commissioner regarding the implementation of recommendations in the
31	31	2.2report to the legislature required by Laws 2023, chapter 41, article 1, section 33, subdivision
32	32	2.33;
33	33	2.4 (3) by January 15 of each odd-numbered year, provide the commissioner with a proposed
34	34	2.5work plan to identify, assess, and support students who are experiencing housing and food
35	35	2.6insecurity during the following two years;
36	36	2.7 (4) identify best practices for addressing housing and food insecurity among
37	37	2.8postsecondary students in Minnesota;
38	38	2.9 (5) monitor federal and state policy changes that impact housing and food insecurity
39	39	2.10among postsecondary students in Minnesota;
40	40	2.11 (6) propose legislative changes related to higher education that affect students' basic
41	41	2.12needs;
42	42	2.13 (7) propose policy changes to the commissioner to improve student access to basic needs
43	43	2.14resources; and
44	44	2.15 (8) perform other tasks of an advisory nature as requested by the commissioner.
45	45	2.16 Subd. 4.Officers; meetings.The advisory council must annually appoint a chair and
46	46	2.17vice-chair from among the advisory council's members, and may appoint other officers as
47	47	2.18necessary. The council must meet at least quarterly upon the call of the chair.
48	48	2.19 Subd. 5.Terms; compensation; removal; vacancies; expiration.Compensation,
49	49	2.20removal of members, and filling of vacancies of members must be as provided in section
50	50	2.2115.059, except that council members who are not students must not receive a per diem.
51	51	2.22Members must serve terms of two years, except student members must serve terms of one
52	52	2.23year and one-half of the members of the first advisory council who are not students will
53	53	2.24serve one-year terms. The advisory council is not subject to the expiration date provisions
54	54	2.25of section 15.059.
55	55	2.26 Subd. 6.Expiration of the advisory council.The advisory council expires on June 30,
56	56	2.272033.
57	57	2.28 Subd. 7.Reporting requirements.(a) By December 31 of each even-numbered year,
58	58	2.29the commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the
59	59	2.30legislative committees having jurisdiction over higher education policy.
60	60	2.31 (b) The report must include:
61	61	2Section 1.
62	62	25-04803 as introduced03/20/25 REVISOR VH/KR 3.1 (1) the results of the most recent biennial basic needs assessment required by section
63	63	3.2136A.034, including a summary of trends and challenges identified in the assessment;
64	64	3.3 (2) outcomes related to the biennial work plan;
65	65	3.4 (3) recommended policy changes to improve student basic needs security; and
66	66	3.5 (4) proposed legislative actions or funding requests to address identified gaps in student
67	67	3.6support services.
68	68	3.7 Subd. 8.Support and funding.The commissioner may seek and accept private and
69	69	3.8federal funds to support the advisory council's activities, including conducting research,
70	70	3.9implementing best practices, and administering the biennial assessments.
71	71	3.10 Sec. 2. [136A.034] BIENNIAL STUDENT BASIC NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
72	72	3.11 (a) Each even-numbered year, the commissioner must oversee and facilitate a biennial
73	73	3.12basic needs assessment for students at all postsecondary institutions in Minnesota to identify
74	74	3.13key areas of food insecurity and housing insecurity. The commissioner may request that
75	75	3.14the Student Basic Needs Advisory Council or a subset of the council's members assist with
76	76	3.15the design or implementation of the assessment.
77	77	3.16 (b) The assessment must:
78	78	3.17 (1) be tailored to the specific populations surveyed;
79	79	3.18 (2) assess student access to sufficient and quality food;
80	80	3.19 (3) assess student access to safe and reliable housing, including frequency of moves and
81	81	3.20housing affordability; and
82	82	3.21 (4) assess instances of student homelessness.
83	83	3.22 (c) The assessment must incorporate questions adapted from the following sources:
84	84	3.23 (1) the six-question USDA Household Food Security Survey Module;
85	85	3.24 (2) the Adult Well-Being Module of the Survey of Income and Program Participation
86	86	3.25administered by the United States Census Bureau; and
87	87	3.26 (3) Crutchfield, R. M. and Maguire, J., Researching Basic Needs in Higher Education:
88	88	3.27Qualitative and Quantitative Instruments to Explore a Holistic Understanding of Food and
89	89	3.28Housing Security, California State University Office of the Chancellor (2017).
90	90	3Sec. 2.
91	91	25-04803 as introduced03/20/25 REVISOR VH/KR 4.1 (d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c), the Student Basic Needs Advisory Council
92	92	4.2may suggest, and the commissioner may adopt, additional or different methods and sources
93	93	4.3that align with best practices.
94	94	4.4 Sec. 3. STUDENT BASIC NEEDS ADVISORY COUNCIL.
95	95	4.5 (a) By December 31, 2025, the commissioner must appoint and the student organizations
96	96	4.6must designate members of the Student Basic Needs Advisory Council pursuant to Minnesota
97	97	4.7Statutes, section 136A.033, who must serve terms according to Minnesota Statutes, section
98	98	4.8136A.033, subdivision 5.
99	99	4.9 (b) The commissioner must convene the first meeting of the Student Basic Needs
100	100	4.10Advisory Council by January 31, 2026.
101	101	4Sec. 3.
102	102	25-04803 as introduced03/20/25 REVISOR VH/KR