Saint Paul, MN —The Minnesota House of Representatives last Monday approved a bill to improve school safety after a change in law last year resulted in school resource officers (SROs) to be removed from many schools throughout the state. State Representative Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers, issued the following statement reacting to Monday’s vote:
“The safety of students, teachers, staff, and our schools is of the utmost importance for the suburban families I represent,” said Nadeau. “This is an issue that matters to everyone. While it took longer than it needed to, I am nevertheless happy that we were able to come to a bipartisan agreement on legislation that will make sure schools can bring SROs back to continue their outstanding work developing meaningful relationships with students.”
The issue traces back to an omnibus education bill (HF 2497) Democrats enacted in 2023 that imposed prohibitions on the use of force in schools, banning certain physical holds by “an employee or agent of a district, including a school resource officer, security personnel, or police officer contracted with a district."
Language in the new measure provides updates which exclude SROs as employees or agents of a school district, exclude SROs from the prohibitions on prone restraints and physical holds; revise the “reasonable force standard” and mandate school districts and charter schools use only trained SROs and establishes new training and model policy requirements for law enforcement.
The House approved the bill 124-8 and it now awaits action in the Senate.
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