State Grants

MN state statute provides funding for approved ABE providers based on a formula comprised of four components. An initial allocation goes to each provider based on school district member community education census count. The remaining funding is divided into three pots, with the majority of funds being allocated based on prior year contact hours, and smaller amounts allocated based on school district member LEP (Limited English Proficiency) counts, and school district member over-25 no-diploma counts.  In recent years approximately $47,000,000 in state ABE funding was distributed annually to approved ABE consortia.

Note: the term “contact hours” refers to instructional time for ABE students. One ABE student receiving one hour of instruction = one contact hour. For more detailed information about contact hours, visit the Policy section of this website and open the Contact Hour policy.

In addition to federal and state funding based on formulas, a number of other grants are available to support ABE programs.