MN SF2495

Increases the default living and miscellaneous expenses allowance for state grants from 115% to 121% of federal poverty guidelines for a one-person household in Minnesota for nine months

Creates the State Grant Plus scholarship program providing an additional 25% of a student's state grant award to eligible students who receive state grants but do not qualify for North Star Promise scholarships, beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year

Establishes competitive grant programs for nonprofits to increase FAFSA completion rates and for postsecondary institutions to improve retention and graduation rates of Pell grant eligible students, with priority given to institutions serving high percentages of Pell-eligible students

Appropriates $90,000 per year in FY2026 and FY2027 for the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership (MnEEP) and provides funding for multilingual and culturally relevant communications from the Office of Higher Education

Creates two working groups: one to recommend long-term strategies for sustainable higher education funding (report due July 1, 2026) and one to update the state's higher education attainment goal (report due January 15, 2026)