Minnesota lawmakers hit the ground running to redress controversial SRO law
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota lawmakers are on the second day of work for the 2024 session at the State Capitol, and already there is a bill making moves that could make a big impact on school safety.
A Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party lawmaker wants to add some clarity to last year's school resource officer law, which led to many police departments pulling their SROs from schools.
The new law on education enacted last spring was more than 340 pages, but it was only a few select words about school safety that led to dozens of police departments pulling their student resource officers.
Officials worried a rule banning the use of certain holds and restraints unless there's an imminent threat to bodily harm or death was too ambiguous.
"We're all public servants. That includes law enforcement. We have to be responsive to what those that we serve want to see from us," Rep. Cedric Frazier, DFL-New Hope, said.
Frazer's proposed bill, which already cleared one committee on Monday night, seeks to clear the confusion.
READ MORE: GOP lawmakers hear from teachers, law enforcement in hopes of changing SRO law
H.F. 3489 removes the word "imminent" and also takes out language specific to SROs when it comes to holds and restraints. Frazer's proposal also starts a process to develop new standards for SRO training, conduct, and other guard rails.
"School discipline has been taken off the table for our SROs to engage in this. SROs will tell you they don't want to engage in that. That's not their role," Frazier said.
The bill is headed to a second committee on Tuesday night, but a group of students and teachers came to the capitol on a school day to urge lawmakers to pump the brakes.
The group, Solutions Not Suspensions, warned against any perceived green light for being physical with students.
"Beause I get to come to school with a little less worry. I get to focus on my lesson rather than, 'Oh man, I'll have to pay attention to that kid on the ground,'" high school student Adia Hickman said.
A companion bill is also up for discussion in the Minnesota Senate. The first committee hearing is on Wednesday.
Attorney General Keith Ellison has twice issued opinions on the SRO law, most recently at the start of the school year. He said the language as-is does permit some "reasonable force" on students to prevent injury or death.
