St. Cloud Area School District, Police Resume School Resource Officer Program

(KNSI) – School resource officers will soon be walking the halls again in St. Cloud Area School District buildings after the police department ended its suspension of the SRO program

According to a press release, the decision to restart the program before a Legislative fix did not come lightly and was in response to many factors.

The several opinions of the Attorney General, the most recent guidance from the League of Minnesota Cities, the work by the Minnesota Chief’s Association, along with guidance from local county attorneys and city lawyers have provided enough clarification and legal support to make the transition possible.

During the program’s suspension, the school and police worked to ensure the safety of students and staff was not compromised and that police resources were available.

Officers were pulled from more than 40 school districts in Minnesota, including District 742, just before the start of the year after the Legislature changed the wording on what kind of force SROs would be allowed to use on students. Some felt the wording opened up officers to lawsuits if they physically intervened unless a student or staff member was facing imminent death.

The SROs will report for duty on Monday, November 6th.

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