ST. PAUL – On Wednesday, State Rep. Drew Christensen's (R - Savage) proposal to provide state reimbursement for schools who complete security audits was heard in the Education Finance Committee. The grant program will be established and operated by the Department of Public Safety.
"Everyone recognizes we must do more to protect our students," said Rep. Christensen. "The state government funding security audits will allow schools to know what vulnerabilities there are and what upgrades can be made to properly protect students. This is a concrete step we can take today to make our children safer."
The Commissioner of Public Safety will establish the eligibility and criteria for the audits and the audit must be done by a consultant with a professional certification. Schools will be allowed to have the security assessments done through private contracts who maintain security assessment credentials, or any other entity the commissioner of public safety deems appropriate.
"Some schools have done similar security assessments already, but many schools are on tight budgets and cannot afford to do these important security audits to assess threats. These audits will give schools the information they need to identify improvements and better protect students," added Christensen.
The Senate version, SF 3068, is authored by Senator Carrie Ruud.
House File 3885 was referred to the Public Safety Committee.
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