Special Populations
Supporting the success of special populations is a core expectation of the Perkins V legislation and a central focus of Minnesota’s Career and Technical Education mission. Postsecondary institutions play a critical role in ensuring that learners from these groups have equitable access to high-quality career pathways, informed transition planning, and the academic and technical supports needed to complete their programs and achieve meaningful employment.
This section leads to the Postsecondary Transitions Handbook and provides guidance, tools, and recommended practices for identifying the needs of special populations, implementing evidence-based supports, and strengthening collaboration across secondary, postsecondary, and workforce partners to improve learner outcomes.
Perkins V Special Populations for Reporting: Data Sources
Minnesota State
August 23, 2019
Data table listing each Perkins V special population and the identified source of data used for postsecondary reporting in Minnesota State systems (e.g., ISRS, FAFSA, Accuplacer, ESL enrollment).
| Special Population | Identified Source of Data for Postsecondary Reporting |
|---|---|
| Individuals with disabilities | ISRS.PS_DISAB_DEMO (permanent disability indicated/not denied that overlaps the cohort timeframe). |
| Individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including low-income youth and adults | Includes students who were Pell-Eligible and/or were recipients of Pell, BIA, or SEOG (Fed Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant) financial aid awards during the cohort timeframe. |
| Individuals preparing for non-traditional fields | Include students who, in the cohort data, have a first major and/or award listed that is Perkins eligible and nontraditional AND the individual earned more than zero cumulative college level credits AND the individual’s gender is the same as the program’s nontraditional gender. |
| Single parents, including single pregnant women | Include student if Accuplacer item #27 or FAFSA are indicative (marital status indicates single or divorced/widowed AND FAFSA item #51 indicates the individual has or will have children who will receive more than half of their support from them for the next year). |
| Out-of-workforce individuals | Include student if Accuplacer item #28 or FAFSA are indicative (marital status indicates single or divorced/widowed AND FAFSA item #102 indicates individual or spouse are dislocated workers). |
| English learners | Include student if is enrolled in an ESL course during the cohort timeframe OR Accuplacer items #20 and/or #21 indicate another language was learned first or another language is spoken most often at home AND individual is enrolled in a developmental reading or writing course during the cohort timeframe OR cohort code 5000 (limited English) is applied to the student’s record with dates overlapping the cohort timeframe. |
| (New for postsecondary) Homeless individuals described in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a) | Applies only to YOUTH enrolled during the cohort timeframe. If the individual is a youth and FAFSA items #56, 57 or 58 indicate the individual is/was homeless or at risk of being homeless, include. |
| (New for all) Youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system | Applies only to YOUTH enrolled during the cohort timeframe. If the individual is a youth and FAFSA item #53 indicates the individual’s parents are both deceased and individual was in foster care or was a dependent or ward of the court, include. |
| (New for all) Youth with a parent who – i. Is a member of the armed forces (as such term is defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code); and ii. Is on active duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d)(1) of such title) |
No identified source. Most financial aid awards or related questions only identify if the person is a spouse or dependent of someone in the active military or is himself/herself in the active military or a veteran. There is not enough detail in our data sources to identify individuals who are YOUTH and the child of someone who is currently a member of the armed forces and on active duty. |
| (New for postsecondary) Migrant students | No identified source. The definition in ESEA refers to children who are or who have parents who are migratory workers and have moved from one school district to another or moved within a single district from one administrative area to another, etc. This is not information collected in a standard way for postsecondary students. |
Youth = individuals not younger than 14 and not older than 24 (state-defined)
System Research, Academic and Student Affairs