On Thursday, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation that will protect students’ right to an excellent education at all times. The bill, Senate File 2, removes any governor’s authority to close schools or alter school schedules via executive order. Decisions about opening and closing will be left in the hands of individual school districts moving forward, where local officials have firsthand knowledge of their students’ needs.

“Research has confirmed that our children are not superspreaders, and as we continue to get more and more of a grip on this pandemic, we must begin to shift our focus to what is best for them,” said Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake). “Since the onset of COVID, Governor Walz has used his authority to be the sole decider. This decision should never have been exclusively his. With a network of 300 unique school districts, we should have always been working to empower local administrations to make the right choices for our kid’s futures.”

The bill says the governor may not use executive order authority to issue any order or to authorize the commissioner of education to alter school schedules, curtail school activities, or order schools closed.

Gov. Walz’s executive orders closing schools have been among his most questioned and controversial orders of the outbreak.

There is mounting evidence, including research from the CDC, that schools pose a minimal risk of spreading the coronavirus. A fall Reuters report that studied 191 countries also found no clear link between school reopenings and coronavirus surges. In addition, Axios looked at several studies and found schools are not Covid hotspots, and the Atlantic Magazine wrote that kids are not superspreaders and that it’s time to reopen schools. The New York Times reported on evidence that schools, especially elementary schools, are not “stoking community transmission.”

On Wednesday, Governor Walz revised his Safe Learning Plan but still holds state authority to change education plans going forward.

 “This is yet another example of slow-rolling reform,” Senator Draheim continued. “As stated before, our children are the least at risk but suffering the most. Governor Walz’s approach maintains bureaucratic control, which isn’t what our kids need.”