Friends,
We've reached the end of the first half of the 2018 Session as we break for Easter & Passover. We've capped the first break by making some key progress toward ensuring all of our students are safe in school. Read about that and more below and have a great weekend celebrating with your family and friends!
School Safety Package
On Thursday, we unveiled a legislative package aimed at putting student safety first. We have taken a multifaceted approach that includes more resources to meet the needs of students and schools statewide which includes everything from hiring more school resource officers, student counselors and mental health professionals to making critical building security upgrades.
We have listened to school officials, teachers, students, and parents in our local communities to bring forward this comprehensive approach to making our students safer. I am especially proud of the inclusion of my proposal to provide reimbursement for school safety audits for schools. 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 following solutions, authored by numerous House members, are currently advancing through the public committee process:
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School resource officers, student support personnel, and other school security programs funded through increased Safe Schools revenue, including a floor level of funding for small schools authored by Reps. Barb Haley, R-Red Wing and Anna Wills, R-Rosemount.
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School building security upgrades, and expanded use of Long-Term Facility Maintenance revenue for security projects, including emergency communications systems authored by Rep. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie.
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School-linked mental health programming to ensure better outcomes for all kids authored by Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley.
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Physical security audit grants to provide state assistance to review facility security and crisis management policies authored by Reps. Randy Jessup, R-Shoreview and Drew Christensen, R-Savage.
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Suicide prevention training for teachers to help educators learn how to engage and assist students experiencing mental distress authored by Rep. Dario Anselmo, R-Edina.
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School-based threat assessment teams established to assess, intervene, and report threats facing students, teachers, and staff authored by Rep. Keith Franke, R-St. Paul Park.
Video Update
Before leaving for break, I recorded a short video message about the key things I have and will continue to work on during the rest of this session. Enjoy!
Savage Health Crisis Center
Last week, my bill to establish a regional crisis center in Savage was heard in the Health & Human Services Committee. House File 3004 will issue bonds up to $1.4 million an amount that will be matched by Scott County for this project.
Our country, our state, and our communities are facing a mental health crisis. We need to make sure communities across the state have the resources to deal with this growing epidemic. This project is planned and ready to break ground. We should move forward, fund this facility, and make sure the residents of Savage and surrounding communities have access to this important resource.
The Scott County facility, to be built in Savage, will house sixteen beds for intensive residential and treatment services. The new facility will provide stabilization and treatment for persons with a primary or secondary mental health diagnosis in lieu of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. The facility will be a regional resource for patients for stays up to 90 days in length.
Savage Mayor Janet Williams and Pam Selvig, Health and Human Services Director for Scott County, were among those testifying in support of this facility.
We need to take this issue seriously and I hope we are able to make this center a reality. I will continue to work to make sure the funding is included in the bonding bill and this worthwhile project moves forward.
As always, please continue to stay in touch to share your thoughts and ideas. You can schedule a time to meet with me in my office anytime by calling my office at (651) 296-9463 or share your thoughts via email by emailing me at rep.drew.christensen@house.mn.
Have a Happy Passover & Easter!
Drew