Dear Neighbors,
Happy Easter
Happy Easter! The legislature is starting our Easter/Passover break, and I look forward to being back in the area and to attend church this Sunday. Have a great Easter weekend.
School Safety
Earlier today, my Republican colleagues in the House unveiled our priorities to keep schools safer. Having talked to many teachers, parents, and administrators from our area, I’ve learned about some of the gaps we have to fill in order to increase safety in our schools. Our package of bills addresses some of these needs like investing in school mental health programs, facility security upgrades, and security audits of school buildings.
These provisions include:
- 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.
Please Contact Me
If you’d like to discuss our school safety proposal, or any other state issue, please contact me. I can be reached at rep.dave.baker@house.mn or you can call 651-296-6206.
Have a good weekend and a great Easter,
Dave