ST. PAUL – With 44 Democrat lawmakers declaring they do not support a fix to law that has left dozens of schools without school resources officers, state Rep. Ben Davis, R-Mission Township, 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.
Davis 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.
“I continue discussing this issue with area officials, share their concerns and am calling on a single-subject special legislative session so we can fix this broken state law as soon as possible,” Davis said. “This was not a mistake – Democrats made this ill-advised change to state law on purpose last session. We cannot allow the fringe DFL radicals and their anti-police rhetoric keep the Legislature from doing what most Minnesotans want. We must fix this serious safety problem Democrats created in our schools.”
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.
Davis 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.
“This should not be a political issue and it is shameful for Democrats to put politics above our school safety,” Davis said. “This is personal to me, as a father. House Republicans are simply asking the governor and legislative Democrats to work with us on a common-sense solution so we can provide a more welcoming environment for our SROs and other first responders who bear the immense responsibility of keeping our students and staff safe.”
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