Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The Legislature has returned from its week-long break for the Easter and Passover holidays. I hope that you were able to spend time with family and loved ones.
With about a month and a half remaining in the 2018 legislative session, lawmakers are ready to get to work on the number of issues that remain unresolved.
One issue in particular that I am working diligently on is the topic of school safety. As chair of the Education Innovation Policy Committee, it has long been my mission to ensure that every child in Minnesota has access to a world-class education. Part of that is making sure that students are safe.
Following the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, there has been a national debate about how we can best keep our schools safe. Unfortunately the debate has become divisive as the conversation has shifted away from school safety and focused on gun rights.
As for myself, I am interested in finding solutions that are workable, realistic, and broadly supported. That’s why I am proud of the work House Republicans have done this session on this important issue.
We recently unveiled a multifaceted approach that includes hiring more school resource officers, student counselors and mental health professionals to making critical building security upgrades. In total, House Republicans’ proposal looks to spend nearly $50 million on these critically needed improvements.
While $50 million may seem like a large dollar figure, ultimately our children are our most precious resource and ensuring their safety is of the utmost importance.
Here are some more details regarding the initiatives we are bringing forth:
- 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.
- School building security upgrades, and expanded use of Long-Term Facility Maintenance revenue for security projects, including emergency communications systems.
- School-linked mental health programming to ensure better outcomes for all kids.
- Physical security audit grants to provide state assistance to review facility security and crisis management policies.
- Suicide prevention training for teachers to help educators learn how to engage and assist students experiencing mental distress.
- School-based threat assessment teams established to assess, intervene, and report threats facing students, teachers, and staff.
Additionally, earlier this week Governor Dayton’s political appointees at the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) proposed fines of up to $500 per linear foot for farmers that were not in compliance with state riparian buffer strip laws.
Fortunately, and thanks to outcry from farmers, agriculture groups, and pressure from GOP lawmakers, Governor Dayton and BWSR rescinded the fine proposal.
Despite the fact that the proposed fine was rescinded, this is just another example of an unnecessary attack on farmers by the Dayton administration.
That’s all for this week’s update. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns regarding a matter related to state government. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-6746 or via email at rep.sondra.erickson@house.mn.
Have a great weekend,
Sondra