Minnesota is poised to give school resource officers clearer authority to use force

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota lawmakers are on the brink of a compromise that will give police officers working in schools clearer authority to use force.

Minnesota responded to the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer with a series of police accountability measures, including restrictions on the use of force such as a ban on chokeholds. But part of a broad education law enacted last year prompted about 40 police departments in the state to pull their officers from schools. They said new restrictions on the use of face-down restraints, which can hinder breathing, make it impossible to do their work.

The Minnesota House voted 124-8 on Monday to approve an amendment, backed by law enforcement, aimed at ensuring school officials can use sensitive restraints on students, although school staff would remain prohibited from doing so. It would also require better training and setting a model policy for the duties of police working in schools. It would also expressly prohibit officials from being used to impose disciplinary action for violations of school policy.

“I hope we can get them all back to school now that this stuff is resolved today,” said Republican Rep. Jeff Witte of Lakeville, a retired Burnsville police officer who was a school resource officer for four of them. I think this will obviously keep our schools, our students and our teachers safe, but it will also give our parents some peace of mind.”

The bill’s lead author, Democratic Rep. Cedrick Frazier of New Hope, said the training requirements and model policy development are for him the “core piece” of the legislation, and that the process will provide opportunities for both community groups and the law. enforcement to intervene.

The issue was one of the most controversial during the three-week legislative session. Some activist groups opposed a change in the law, citing it as a problem for student safety. But the compromise was approved by the final House committee last week with unanimous bipartisan support, after negotiations among Democrats, Republicans and law enforcement reached a consensus. Frazier said the Senate is just waiting for the final version.

Groups representing the state’s police chiefs, sheriffs and rank-and-file officers endorsed the compromise language in a letter to lawmakers last week, saying they “feel a sense of urgency to resolve this issue so that the SROs who are currently unable to are in school, can return as soon as possible.”

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association listed at least 41 school districts that lost their officers last fall. The group doesn’t have current numbers, but spokeswoman Leslie Rosedahl said “only a few” departments have returned their officers, even after Attorney General Keith Ellison issued guidance last year saying the new education law did not prevent police from “reasonably ‘ use force to prevent injury or death.

Minnesota school districts are not required to have school staff, and most did not even before Floyd’s killing thrust Minnesota into the international spotlight and forced a reckoning with racism and police brutality. The Minneapolis school district was one of many across the country to eliminate them after Floyd’s death over concerns that armed officers in schools were disproportionately arresting students of color.

The Los Angeles Unified School District laid off more than 100 of its officers in 2020. Denver schools decided to bring them back last year amid a rise in school violence after previously agreeing to phase them out. But it’s difficult to put a number on how many school systems across the country have made changes after Floyd’s death, said Mac Hardy, director of operations for the National Association of School Resource Officers.

The emphasis on training in the new Minnesota legislation resonates with Hardy. Officers assigned to schools must be properly trained, especially on working in a school environment, he said.

Hardy, who previously worked as both a teacher and a school resource officer, said officers need to understand the adolescent brain to understand how students react in stressful situations and how to de-escalate conflict. He added that the selection of officers is also important because they must enjoy being around children and want to be assigned to schools.