Legislation in Minnesota Senate would require quick notice to parents of any fights, bullying at schools
ST. PAUL, Minn. — School safety was in the spotlight in a Minnesota Senate education committee on Wednesday as lawmakers discussed plans to increase the speed and frequency of parental notification of any incident that happens in classrooms or on campus.
A trio of Republican-backed bills got a hearing, including two that aim to increase transparency between school leaders. One proposal would require 24-hour notification of any violence, harassment or bullying to both the parents of the student harmed and the student who instigated it.
Another would flag violent incidents or if there were weapons on school grounds to any parent or guardian who signs up for such messages—regardless if their child or classmates are involved. And it would protect teachers and school staff from retaliation if they report it.
"Speaking as a mother to the transparency part – whether there is a fight at school and it happened with 8th graders or there was a gun in school and it wasn't their classroom, I want to know," said Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, who sponsored one of the bills. "And every parent should have the right to know."
The hearing came just a week after a violent attack at a high school basketball game in New Hope, which led to five teens facing assault charges. Video of the fight circulated online.
Bob Driver, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, worried that the 24-hour mandatory reporting window might be too stringent, since some incidents require more investigation, especially if they involve threats online. Usually disputes can be resolved by end of day, but not all of the time.
"There are situations that require more time to ensure the investigation is accurate," he said.
A separate proposal requiring school staff to report violent fights to police got the most pushback. Supporters said the goal is to ensure there are consequences for unlawful assaults, not lock-up children.
But detractors argued it would cause more harm than good.
"School is where kids learn to grow up. Not suffer adult consequences for having non-formed frontal lobes," said Sen. Erin May Quade, DFL-Apple Valley.
Some testifiers during Wednesday's shared concerns about the rising number of fights and threats of violence. Allison Gans, a second grade teacher in Hibbing, said in the preschool and elementary school-level, the district is encountering more verbal and physically violent outbursts from students, like destroying items in the hallways, throwing books and pencils in the classroom or screaming in class, creating distractions.
Current law limits the district's ability to enforce consequences, she told the committee.
"Our children deserve to be in schools where they feel safe and have the opportunity to learn and our teachers deserve to be in an environment where they feel safe as well and this isn't happening right now," she said.
Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer, who is president of the sheriff's association, testified in November they investigated a threat at a middle school in which kids sent texts to classmates saying there would be a school shooting the next day.
"It turns out the threat was not serious, but we did find an available firearm uncased and accessible by that student," he said.
All bills were tabled for future consideration in a larger education package at the end of the session. That's when lawmakers will put the final touches on the next two-year budget, which must pass to avert a government shutdown.
