Two years after a controversial discrepancy over the use-of-force law in Minnesota led to police departments pulling resource officers from schools, there could be a renewed effort to increase police presence in places of learning.

Since lawmakers clarified the bill and departments sent resource officers back to schools after a multi-month hiatus, Minnesota has created a unified, statewide training for all SROs.

Yet Rudy Perez, interim chief of Golden Valley police and senior advisor to the National Association of School Resource Officers, says there could be an even bigger push to address school safety this legislative session.

"I'm in a place where I've seen the pendulum shift," said Perez on Friday. "The best way to maintain school safety is have someone who's properly trained, properly selected, properly equipped. Law enforcement officers."

At Osseo High School, Maple Grove resource officers Tony Mollen and Missy Parker spent the first seven months of the 2023 school year outside the building. The two said they'd end up going to school sporting events to connect with students.

In light of the attack at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Mollen and Parker say they're focused on what it would mean to protect the school's 2,400 students.

"We both have kids. We can't not take that stuff personal," Mollen said. "It's a reminder that's always there in the back of our minds, that we know bad things can happen. It hits a lot closer when it's this close to our community."

"It's something that's never going to leave your mind, you're always going to think about, 'We're ready, we're prepared. We know what we'd need to do,'" Parker said. "I think there's always a perception that the police are in there to do police things. We're going to arrest kids, take them to jail. That's not why we're here."

Perez says the focus on adding SROs to schools statewide could extend to both public and private institutions.

"We have to have deep conversations with legislators, and legislators have to have the ability to say, 'We are willing to provide somebody to address these issues when they arise,'" he said.