‘Big Sigh of Relief’ As SROs Return to Schools
School Resource Officers (SROs) are no longer barred from using physical holds on students in schools, according to a new bill signed into law earlier this month. Now, many departments are returning SROS back to the building.
Many police departments — including Maple Grove, Plymouth and Brooklyn Park — pulled officers out as the school year began in 2023.
Now, SROs from all three departments are planning to return.
Brooklyn Park SROs have already returned to campuses, while Maple Grove and Plymouth SROs will return in early April.
For all three departments, this return is a welcome change.
“It is a big sigh of relief for us,” said Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden. “We did the best we could with the hand that we were dealt during the beginning of this school year.”
Background
Last year, the Minnesota Legislature passed a bill barring school staff, including school resource officers, from using force in schools.
The bill faced immediate backlash, and in response, police departments across the state pulled their SROs out of the schools.
Department leaders across the northwest suburbs agreed: their biggest concern was the lack of clarity in the law.
Leaders issued multiple clarifying opinions after the law passed, but for many police chiefs, that wasn’t enough.
Fadden said many of the issued opinions conflicted with each other, and he didn’t want to put anyone at risk.
“We made the decision, at the time, to temporarily suspend our school resource officer program until the law could see some clarification,” Fadden said.
After pulling SROs out of the schools, Fadden assigned Plymouth officers to neighborhood beats. Fadden said 911 calls to schools increased, as officers weren’t there to handle conflicts on-site.
“Many issues that our school resource officers, when they’re in the schools every single day, can deal with when its still a small little thing — like redirect and help offer advice before it becomes a bigger issue,” Fadden said.
Looking Ahead
After months of discussion at the state capitol, a revised bill made it through the legislature. The bill originated locally. It was authored by Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope), and Sen. Bonnie Westlin (DFL-Plymouth).
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley testified in St. Paul as the SRO clarification bill went through the legislature.
Gov. Tim Walz signed it into law on March 14. Fadden said the new legislation is clear enough to send officers back in.
“We are excited to get our school resource officers back into the schools, and working and maintaining those relationships that have been missing for most of the school year,” Fadden said.
Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner echoed Fadden’s statement.
“I am pleased the legislature passed the recent law to return to one use-of-force standard for all police officers that includes school resource officers,” Werner said in an email. “Maple Grove’s dedicated SROs again have clear statutory authority to carry out their responsibilities to keep students, staff and our school community safe.”
The revised bill does not allow staff to use corporal punishment, which includes physical holds or prone restraint.
But now, an “employee or agent of a district” does not include a school resource officer. That means officers may use restraint if necessary.
The bill change also includes a list of duties for SROs. Those include fostering a positive school climate, enforcing laws and educating students and staff on law enforcement topics.
Required Instruction
Fadden said one important part of the bill is the instruction requirement.
Beginning September 2025, the bill says “a peace officer assigned to serve as a school resource officer must complete a training course that provides instruction on the learning objectives identified in subdivision 4.”
Subdivision four lists a number of training requirements, including an understanding of juvenile brain development, de-escalation techniques and responding to mental health crises in a school setting.
Fadden said Plymouth school resource officers already attend the National Association of School Resource Officers training. Brooklyn Park officers also attend the training.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said he hopes to help the state develop a model policy for that training by next September.
“It is really good raining for our officers to build that high aptitude to work with kids in schools, and that’s exactly what this training does,” Bruley said. “I was very happy to see this included in the law change.”
