1. Seizure-Safe Schools¶
Status: active since 2026. Flagship initiative.
The gap¶
Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 121A.24) has required every public and charter school to have a seizure action plan and trained staff since the 2022-23 school year. Nobody checks. We reviewed the public websites of all 329 regular school districts and found that about 7 in 10 post no seizure-specific plan a family or a substitute teacher could find. The gap tracks district size rather than rurality, which makes it a capacity problem.
A plan that is not posted can still exist, and most districts that answered our follow-up said theirs do. The audit measures whether a family can find one, which is a different question.
The full method, the charts, the county map and the reliability check are in The Audit: Mapping the Gaps.
What we are doing this year¶
- Contacting every no-plan district, in order of need, with a free drop-in packet: a seizure action plan template in four languages, board policy language, a first-aid poster.
- Asking each district one question once staff are back: do you now have a plan on file for each student with a seizure disorder and a trained adult at each school? A yes, with a count, is how we measure this initiative.
- Asking the Minnesota School Boards Association to cite 121A.24 in its model policy, the one most small districts adopt word for word. Today it does not. MSBA's general counsel replied in September 2026 that the association is deciding whether the language belongs in the medication policy or the crisis-management policy that already covers cardiac response plans, and is consulting the Department of Health. No date is set.
- Adding a language layer: 25 no-plan districts have ten percent or more English learners, about 15,000 students. They get the Spanish, Hmong, and Somali templates first.
- Re-auditing all 329 districts in spring 2027 and publishing the before-and-after map.
Explore: which no-plan districts need translated plans first¶
Hover a bar for the county and the number of English learners. These 25 districts, all without a findable seizure plan, get the Spanish, Hmong, and Somali templates first.
More interactive tools for this initiative: Find Your District, the Seizure First Aid Simulator, and the Call 911? Decision Trainer.
Numbers so far¶
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Districts audited | 329 of 329 |
| Districts with a findable seizure plan | 97 (29.5%) |
| Districts contacted directly | 41 (July 2026), all others in progress |
| Districts that confirmed a plan and trained staff by email | 13 (as of September 16, 2026) |
| Districts that adopted a plan after our outreach | 1 |
| Reliability of the audit (blind re-check of 30 districts) | 90% agreement, kappa 0.82 |
What a district told us¶
One district had no formal plan when our first email arrived. A staff member covering the health office used the packet to put one in place, and wrote back:
In their words
Your initial email that came in August was such a blessing! As I had been working through things, I had discovered that we (the district) did indeed have three students with seizure disorders and we had no formal plan in place, nor did I have the time to dedicate to finding what we would need on top of my other regular duties.
With the help of your packet, I can say that we now have a plan in place for all students and that staff know what to do. I am grateful to you for all of the work you put into this packet! It is a wonderful resource and one that I plan to keep handy for reference in the future.
District staff member, a Minnesota public school district, September 2026. Shared with permission; name and district withheld.
Check yourself¶
1. What share of Minnesota districts post a findable seizure plan?
About 30 percent (97 of 329). About 70 percent post none, most of them only a general medication policy that never mentions seizures. Posting and having are different things: many districts keep individual plans on file and train staff without putting anything online, as most districts that answered our follow-up emails told us.
2. What predicts whether a district posts a plan: being rural, or being small?
Being small. Once enrollment is in the model, rurality is no longer significant. The gap is a capacity problem, which is why small districts need the work done for them.
3. Does 'no plan found online' mean a district is breaking the law?
No. We measure public findability, not compliance. A district may have an internal plan. That is why we ask each district directly before counting anything.
For schools¶
The free packet is at For Schools: In Practice. If your district already has plans and trained staff in place, tell us and we will correct your entry on the map.