MN HF59

Defines "distance learning" as remote teaching with daily interactions between students and licensed teachers, including online and telephone access during normal school hours and days.

Authorizes school boards to choose on-site instruction, distance learning, or hybrid models for the 2020-2021 school year, with on-site instruction complying with COVID-19 prevention guidelines from the Department of Health.

Establishes a parent-based distance learning program allowing eligible students to receive educational materials and equipment from their school while parents provide instruction, with students continuing to count toward school funding.

Permits four-day school weeks and fewer than 165 instructional days for 2020-2021 only, and allows high school distance learning programs to begin before Labor Day.

Appropriates $15,000,000 from the coronavirus relief federal fund for a broadband access grant program to provide wireless or wire-line internet access to students lacking connectivity for distance learning.