SRO law ‘fix’ advances in MN Senate, hits snag in House

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KEYC) – A hot debate over School Resource Officers was sparked last fall and continues to be a topic of discussion among members of the Minnesota legislature. The original confusion came over a line relating to use of force by SROs.

While the language initially led several districts to pull SROs out of schools, many have since returned following guidance from the Attorney General.

Tuesday night, the Minnesota House Education Policy Committee voted to lay over the DFL’s proposed solution, citing a need for more discussion with stakeholders.

The move led House Republicans to motion the bill to be recalled on Wednesday.

“This has once again delayed getting our SROs back in the schools to ensure that schools, students, and staff are safe,” said Minority Leader Lisa Demuth.

Republicans seem determined to get a fix done as soon as possible, but DFLers say they want to do things right.

“[Our process is] we bring a bill, we have committee hearings, we take in the information that is given to us, we modify those bills if we believe that information is going to help make the bill better,” said Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL - New Hope)

Frazier maintains that additional conversations with stakeholders show the bill needs more work.

“We represent the people of the state and the people in the state are chiming in on this topic,” he said, “and we’re listening to those conversations and will adjust the bill as appropriate and keep moving forward.”

Over in the Senate, the bill passed through the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

Despite confidence from the DFL, Republicans feel it needs more clarifying language.

“In my opinion, the bill that we had before us today was not ready. It was not as far along as maybe it has progressed in the house,” said Senator Zach Duckworth (R - Lakeville).

Duckworth himself introduced several amendments during the meeting. Ultimately, his caucus sees issues with certain wording.

“One is [the use of the word] “shall” versus the word “may,” and the flexibility that will afford police officers and their ability to step in and prevent or stop harm occurring,” Duckworth said.

While the house may be facing a minor delay it seems there’s still a commitment to getting the bill done quickly.

“I will be in contact with the other side as soon as we are ready to move but we are still moving quickly, and we just want to make sure that we’ve heard from the stakeholders,” said Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL - Shoreview).

While the bill was tabled for now in the House Education Committee, it’ll now move to the Judiciary Committee in the Senate.

That committee is expected to be its final stop before it hits the floor for a vote, but if referred, other committees could also hear the legislation.

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