ST. PAUL – A bill designed to strengthen safety in schools is making progress in the Minnesota House. The proposal is supported by State Representative Jason Rarick (R-Pine City).
“We’ve heard so much discussion about guns; our focus has to be on school safety on all kinds of violent incidents, including suicide and bullying,” Rarick said. “I think threat assessment teams can help make a positive difference.”
The plan requires school districts to establish a threat assessment team. Members of the team can come from various school safety areas of expertise, and they must assess, intervene, and report students that may pose a safety risk to students, teachers, and staff. The bill also allocates funding to schools so they are able to properly train prospective team members and create them within their school district.
Rarick said the proposal was recently approved in the Minnesota House Education Innovation Policy Committee.
“It was interesting to hear how far-reaching these assessment teams can be and how well it’s worked in other settings in the business community,” Rarick said. “I believe we need to pursue this and am very hopeful it will help our schools.”