Dear Friend and Neighbor,

Many people were deeply worried about the sudden changes over the past year that caused school resource officers (special-duty police) to no longer be present to protect teachers and students in Minnesota public schools. 

Last year’s law disallowed restrictive procedures, including even bear hugs, when a student is attacking another student or damaging property, except in extreme cases. As a result, local law enforcement withdrew their officers. Before that, our school district would contract with local law enforcement to provide security for middle and high schools.

I am pleased to share that the SROs will be back in Anoka-Hennepin schools starting Tuesday. On Thursday, March 14, the Senate passed, and the Governor signed a bipartisan fix to last session’s SRO law. This legislation has the support of Minnesota law enforcement and eliminates the overly restrictive language that hinders their ability to act in dangerous situations. This compromise reflects the value they bring to school safety. 

Their absence was a great concern of mine.

It has been a very successful program to both prevent school violence and address violent student behaviors, including threats of physical harm, assaults, and weapons. Instead, emergency situations were handled on a 911 basis. The risk in this was that a delay of just minutes could create an avoidable disaster. Fortunately, this issue was resolved in a bipartisan way.

Sincerely,

Jim