ST. PAUL – The Minnesota House on Monday approved a bill which Rep. Bernie Perryman, R-St. Augusta, said aims to improve school safety after a change in law caused school resource officers to be removed from schools throughout the state.
“The bill we approved shows we can do good work when we put politics aside and do what’s right by the people of Minnesota,” Perryman said. “This issue went on far too long because of partisan games, but things came together much better when the majority party finally acknowledged it had created a problem in our schools and started working with Republicans and law enforcement officers on a bipartisan solution. Students overwhelmingly say they want SROs in schools and parents want their children to enjoy a safe learning environment. I’m glad our colleagues across the aisle finally got with it and joined Republicans to get the job done. Our schools will be safer for us having passed this bill and that’s the least we can do for our children, teachers and staff.”
The issue traces back to an omnibus education bill (HF 2497) Democrats enacted into law in 2023, imposing new 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 (H.F. 3489) 124-8 and it now awaits action in the Senate.
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