Minnesota State Academies

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The Minnesota State Academies are two separate schools, the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind and the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, both established by the legislature in 1863. They are public residential schools for Minnesota children with special needs, serving students from birth to age 21. They are operated by the state.

The schools are located about a mile apart in Faribault, on bluffs above the Cannon River. Two special state highways connect the campuses to Minnesota State Highway 60 and downtown Faribault: 299 goes north to the Academy for the Deaf; 298 goes south to the Academy for the Blind.

The Minnesota Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is an extension of the Academy for the Blind. It serves people of all ages everywhere in Minnesota with a collection of hundreds of thousands of items. It is funded by the state and federal governments.