Skraba statement on school resource officer bill

The Minnesota House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill to improve school safety after a change in law last year resulted in school resource officers (SROs) to be removed from many schools throughout the state.

State Representative Roger Skraba, R-Ely, issued the following statement reacting to Monday’s vote: “I am pleased that we were able to come to a bipartisan solution to this issue so that schools across Minnesota and in our region can bring School Resource Officers back,” said Skraba.

The House approved the bill 124-8 and it now awaits action in the Senate.

“While it is disappointing that it took this long to come to a resolution, I am nevertheless happy and proud to support this legislation that will help make sure Minnesota’s schools are safe and that students can learn in a comfortable environment,” said Skraba.

The issue traces back to an omnibus education bill (HF 2497) Democrats enacted in 2023 that imposed prohibitions on the use of force in schools, banning certain physical holds by “an employee or agent of a district, including a school resource officer, security personnel, or police officer contracted with a district.”

Language in the new measure provides updates which exclude SROs as employees or agents of a school district, exclude SROs from the prohibitions on prone restraints and physical holds; revise the “reasonable force standard” and mandate school districts and charter schools use only trained SROs and establishes new training and model policy requirements for law enforcement.