On June 16, 2026, Martin Luther College (MLC) shared that Minnesota’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) reviewers lacked sufficient evidence from MLC to meet discipline-specific content standards and recommended that all 16 of MLC’s education programs be discontinued from licensure eligibility. MLC was encouraged to appeal the decision and attended the June 26 board meeting to speak against the recommendation. However, PELSB voted to discontinue Minnesota licensure eligibility for MLC’s teacher education programs. A full statement from MLC can be found at https://mlc-wels.edu/pelsb-update/.
WELS Board for Ministerial Education (BME) is committed to providing pastors, teachers, and staff ministers to serve in the congregations and schools of WELS. As such, WELS BME has been working with MLC’s administration and governing board since first learning of PELSB’s recommendation to discontinue licensure eligibility. WELS BME recognizes that PELSB was justified in its concerns, which include the length of time that MLC had been given to correct the situation.
Moving forward, WELS BME is working with MLC to identify the issues in its systems and procedures and assist them in implementing a plan to address these issues. MLC has already begun to address the issue through their work on Project Sunrise. The school has taken the step to improve its assessment and reporting on academic data by establishing the position of Vice Provost for Assessment and Excellence recently filled by Professor Paul Grubbs. Professor Grubbs will be directly responsible for overseeing the licensure office. MLC also is seeking out consultants experienced in educational assessment. The goal is to restore licensure eligibility to MLC, and if possible, before the 2026 freshman class reaches graduation to avoid a break in the ability of these students to be licensed. WELS BME remains fully committed to working with MLC to provide the highest skilled and qualified teachers for our schools.
MLC graduates continue to be highly trained, fully equipped ministers of the gospel who are servant-hearted and highly qualified to serve in our WELS schools. They are well prepared in the subjects that they will teach and in the instructional skills needed to lead successful classrooms. Even though this is a concerning setback for our ministerial training school, WELS BME is confident that MLC leadership has already begun to take the steps necessary to resolve this situation. We trust that our success rests in the hands of God, who will provide his blessings in his time and in his way.
