Conference Committee Works Past ‘Grievous Error,‘ Approves SRO Bill
A Minnesota House-Senate conference committee voted Tuesday on a bill that aims to get school resource officers (SROs) back into schools.
Legislation approved last year caused about 40 police departments — including Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, New Hope and Plymouth — to pull their officers out of schools.
Lawmakers set out this session to approve an “SRO fix bill” that led to a bipartisan committee vote Tuesday morning.
The committee was tasked with reconciling differences in House and Senate versions of the bill, most notably an amendment tacked on Monday by the Senate. That amendment would have allowed educators to restrain students to prevent them from stealing or damaging school property.
Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth, said the amendment created further complications calling it “a grievous error.”
“The entire point of this bill in this entire exercise was to reduce the lack of clarity and not create conflicts,” said Westlin. “And I would also say what this literally did is it expanded the use of prone restraints in our schools, not constrict them. A considerable amount of work and effort went into this bill and I am glad we’re addressing this now.”
The bipartisan conference committee ended up approving the House version of the bill. During a press conference Monday attended by CCX News, Governor Tim Walz said he was confident he would be able to sign the bill in the coming days.
Bill Outlines SRO Policy
Legislation approved last year in an education bill sought to ban prone restraints on children in schools. But critics of the legislation say it created confusion during incidents when students were put in harm’s way and SROs needed to control unruly situations. Police departments say they wanted assurances their officers wouldn’t be prosecuted for trying to do their job.
The updated legislation no longer defines school resource officers as an “agent of the school.” That means SROs can abide by similar rules as police do outside of schools when it comes to using certain prone restraints. The bill also requires SROs to undergo standardized training developed by the governor-appointed Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.
Republicans on Tuesday called the conference committee vote a “hard-fought compromise.”
“We’ve worked hard, we’ve worked together, we found compromises,” said Rep. Jeff Witte, R-Lakeville, a retired police officer.
Senator Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove said the bill fix could have been avoided altogether last year if it wasn’t “rushed through” in an education bill, denying input from law enforcement.
“The bill passed today repairs the damage from last year’s bill,” said Limmer in a statement to CCX News. “While this should have been corrected in a special session or simply repealed – the result will ultimately result in safer schools.”
The vote in the House last week was 124-8. Those against, all DFL members, felt all prone restraints should be banned on students no matter the situation.
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