HF4510

Purpose

• Establishes a Minnesota community schoolyards grant program to create parklike outdoor spaces at elementary or secondary schools.
• Aims to strengthen local ecological systems, provide hands-on learning resources, improve physical and mental health and wellbeing for students and community members, and foster nature play, recreation, and social opportunities.
• Designed to be accessible to the broader community outside of school hours and to support cross-curricular learning across science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

Grant Program Structure

• The program has two grant components:
  • Planning and design grant program (up to $150,000 per recipient).
  • Capital construction and improvement grant program (up to $850,000 per recipient).
• Funds are managed by the Commissioner and ultimately paid to eligible applicants.

Eligible Applicants and Partnerships

• Eligible applicants: local governments or school districts (including American Indian schools).
• A communityuse partner must be involved in a communityuse agreement with the eligible applicant. Partners are either local governments or school districts.
• A communityuse agreement enables community use of the schoolyard outside of school hours and defines roles, hours, and maintenance responsibilities.

Planning and Design Grant Program (Subdivision 5)

• Recipients must develop a professional plan and construction documents through a community-centered participatory design process involving students, educators, and community members.
• Planning documents must address:
  • Education and health goals (physical, mental, social health).
  • Ecological, environmental, biodiversity, and recreation goals.
  • Accessibility, safety, and licensing standards.
  • School enrollment and property size details.
  • A concept plan that includes features like natural playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, walking trails, heat mitigation, pollinator and food gardens, cultural features, and calm spaces.
  • Identification of community partners and a long-term maintenance plan.
• The planning process should identify and involve community partners with expertise in outdoor learning spaces.

Capital Construction and Improvement Grant Program (Subdivision 8)

• Eligible applicants may apply for capital grants without first applying for planning/design grants.
• Applications must include professional plan/design/construction documents produced through community-centered participatory design.
• Must provide evidence of a communityuse agreement with a communityuse partner.

Communityuse Agreements and Hours (Subdivisions 4 and 5)

• Applications must include a communityuse agreement that at minimum covers:
  • Roles and responsibilities for operation, use, safety, and maintenance.
  • Hours of operation for community use outside school hours.
  • Documentation of community use and a formal partnership with a partner organization (nonprofit, Tribal Nation, or entity with outdoor learning expertise).
  • Documentation of matching funds or in-kind contributions.
• The plan may reference national mapping resources (e.g., Trust for Public Lands) to help identify top locations for schoolyards.

Matching Funds and Funding Sources (Subdivision 7)

• For proposed construction projects exceeding $500,000: at least 10% of the total construction budget must be provided as matching funds at the time of award.
• For proposed construction projects exceeding $1,000,000: at least 25% of the total construction budget must be provided as matching funds at the time of award.
• Matching funds can come from state or nonstate resources available to the school or local government.

Commissioner Responsibilities and Timeline (Subdivision 9)

• By January 1, 2027, the Commissioner must:
  • Establish timelines for planning/design and capital construction grants.
  • Set application processes, criteria, and award procedures.
  • Accept, review, and select applications and distribute grant funds.
  • Establish reporting requirements and timelines for grant recipients.

Reporting Requirements (Subdivision 10)

• Grant recipients must report at minimum:
  • Grant money received for planning/design and for capital construction.
  • The number of students affected by the grant.
  • How the funds were spent.
  • A plan for community access and use of the schoolyard outside of school hours after completion (as contained in the communityuse agreement).
• By January 15, 2030, the Commissioner must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the appropriate legislative committees with a summary of recipient reports.

Appropriation and Funding (Section 2)

• An appropriation from the general fund to the Department of Education is provided for the Community Schoolyards Grant Program for the fiscal year designated.
• The appropriation is divided between the planning/design grant program and the capital construction/improvement grant program.
• Some funds are available for grant administration; the base funding covers fiscal years 2028 and 2029.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Creates a new, dedicated Community Schoolyards Grant Program under Minnesota Statutes (section 124D.332) with two distinct grant components (planning/design and capital construction/improvement).
• Establishes formal requirements for communityuse agreements and communityuse partners to enable after-hours community access to schoolyards.
• Introduces a community-centered participatory design process as a governing approach for planning and construction.
• Sets matching fund requirements for construction projects and requires long-term maintenance planning.
• Establishes reporting obligations and a formal timeline for program rollout and oversight by the Department of Education.

Relevant terms section will follow.

Relevant Terms - community schoolyards grant program - planning and design grant program - capital construction and improvement grant program - communityuse partner - communityuse agreement - eligible applicant - local government - school district - American Indian school - community-centered participatory design - outdoor learning spaces - natural playgrounds - outdoor classrooms - heat mitigation - stormwater management - pollinator and food gardens - cultural and interpretive features - long-term maintenance plan - matching funds / in-kind contributions - Trust for Public Lands map - Commissioner of Education - reporting requirements - appropriation - capital construction funding - accessibility and safety standards