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Dear Neighbor,
Republican legislators invited school staff, law enforcement and others to the Capitol for a meeting Wednesday as we seek solutions to fix a law that has left dozens of?Minnesota schools without?school?resource officers.?
The issue centers on a change in state law Democrats enacted last spring which limits how SROs are allowed to de-escalate aggressive or violent situations, taking away tools they can use to keep students and teachers safe. Concern and confusion ensued with the start of the new school year, causing dozens of law enforcement agencies to pull SROs from?schools across Minnesota.?
The issue has been further muddled by public officials offering?contradictory opinions?of what the new law means, including differing interpretations from Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.?
This lack of clarity and differing interpretations underscores the importance of a legislative fix, but Democrat leaders have ignored repeated requests from Republicans to conduct public hearings to seek solutions.
This problem isn?t going away until all SROs are able to return to buildings where they had been staffed. We need to listen to school officials and law enforcement, and come back into a special session to fix the language in the new legislation. The safety of our children and school staff is too important to risk further delays.
Testimony presented during the committee illustrated how the new law is compromising school safety. An official from the Riverbend Education District in South Central Minnesota said, ?My staff is on a daily basis, having their classrooms completely destroyed by students. We have police officers in town going, ?Not our area, we don?t get involved.'? A retired teacher indicated, ?I can?t imagine being a teacher when things get a little riled up. And there?s not an SRO to calm that situation down.??
I appreciate everyone who took the time to share their perspectives during the listening session. They did well to shed some light on the subject and I hope the legislative majorities receive the message so we can soon fix this problem once and for all in a special session.
Sincerely,
Paul
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