ST. PAUL – With 44 Democrat lawmakers declaring that they do not support a fix to law that has left dozens of schools without school resources officers, state Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, is urging those Democrats who remain undecided to join Republicans in asking Gov. Tim Walz to call a special session and work together on a solution.
Swedzinski said new state law changes what SROs are allowed to do to de-escalate aggressive or violent situations, taking away tools they can use to keep students and teachers safe. In response, over 40 law enforcement agencies have pulled SROs from schools across Minnesota.
“It’s sad we even have to say it, but we all should want students, teachers, and staff to be safe at school,” Swedzinski said. “Unfortunately, new state law enacted by Democrats does the opposite and causes our schools to be less safe with SROs being removed from buildings all around our state. House Republicans stand ready for a special session so we can work on a common-sense solution – the sooner the better.”
House and Senate Republicans have urged Walz to call a special session to clarify the SRO language that is now in law. In response, 44 Democrat lawmakers stated they do not support a special session, preferring to leave the law alone.
Swedzinski said political games should not be played with student and teacher safety, and urged Democrats to do the right thing and join Republicans in addressing law enforcement’s concerns with the new law and brining SROs back to the schools that have lost them.
“It’s a disgrace the DFL trifecta has allowed something as important as school safety to become political by catering to their anti-police extremists,” Swedzinski said. “The longer this problem goes unattended, the more our students, teachers and staff remain at risk. I’m calling on my DFL colleagues to join House Republicans so we can do what most Minnesotans want by fixing the dangerous problem they created in state law.”
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