Governor Reverses Course on Possibility of Special Session to Clear Up Education Law Confusion

(KNSI) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says he is now open to the possibility of calling a special session for discussion on changes to a new law that has sidelined school resource officers across the state.

Districts and police departments, including St. Cloud, have severed ties and pulled SROs from buildings due to what police call ambiguous language in school discipline laws passed as part of the education bill. The law limits or prohibits school resource officers from physically intervening, separating fighting students and holding or restraining an aggressor. Police say how the law is written could open them to criminal prosecution or civil liabilities.

Previously, the governor has said, “We all need to agree that kneeling on the necks of students is not OK,” and accused police of misinterpreting the rules. Attorney General Keith Ellison was asked for clarification, but at least one local official we spoke with said the opinion did nothing to quell confusion. Ellison wrote force used by an SRO to de-escalate a situation or restrain an aggressor in any situation must be reasonable. Authorities say the word “reasonable” is subjective, and what is reasonable and who determines it isn’t clear.

At a back to school event Tuesday, the governor was asked about the issue again, and he said, “We all want a solution,” but added right now, he’s not sure what that looks like but is “certainly open to anything that provides a solution” even if it means the Legislature works it out.

House Minority Leader Representative Lisa Demuth (R – Cold Spring) held a news conference with police officials last week, laying out their issues with the law and asking for a special session. The governor is the only person who can call lawmakers back to the Capitol while they aren’t meeting.

At that point, the governor said no, meaning it would be February when the Legislature reconvenes before anything could be changed. Demuth said that’s too long to wait and school safety must be a top priority. “This is about allowing our school resource officers to use the de-escalation tools that they are trained in, because we know that we all in Minnesota want schools that are safe and successful for all of our students.”

Senator Aric Putnam (D – SD14) agreed with Demuth and chimed in, saying, “We definitely need to do something about this that’s definitive to bide us over until we get back in February. If that’s calling a special session to fix it now, if it’s some other kind of order or some other kind of statement. Those things are all things that we can do, but we have to do something because simply saying it’s not a problem is not a solution.”

Sen. Putnam says SROs can’t do their job if they constantly worry about being sued or facing criminal charges. “Which is why we just need to make sure that the language is clear. So that there aren’t any kind of unintended consequences that create this difficulty, I don’t want an SRO having to consult a lawyer before they pull a kid off another kid.”

St. Cloud Area School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Putnam wrote a letter to students and parents after the decision to sever the Joint Powers Agreement was announced Friday, saying the district is committed to school safety and has a multi-faceted approach to keeping buildings secure.

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