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.

“Governor Walz has approached this virus with pure authoritarian control since day one,” said Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch).  “It was the wrong approach when our focus should have been to empower our local authorities, provide critical information, and trust administrators to make decisions that best fit their communities. We know that our children pose a minimal risk for spreading the virus. Despite this, Walz has not completely relinquished his authority. Now is the time to restore local control so that the people most educated about their schools’ and students’ needs can make the right choices.”

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.

“I agree with Walz when he says, “It’s time for students to be back’,” Senator Koran continued. “At this point, some students have gone almost a year without any in-person instruction, which is inexplicable. Unfortunately, Walz’s approach continues to lag behind the data and does nothing to address Minnesota’s teachers’ unions who continue to be the biggest impediment to in-person learning in some districts.”