ANOKA, Minn. — Five schools in the state's largest district will be without school resource officers (SROs) after complaints from law enforcement leaders over recent changes made to a statewide education bill prohibiting the use of certain physical holds.
Officials with the Anoka-Hennepin Public School District confirmed Thursday that the Anoka County Sheriff's Office won't be stationing deputies at the schools they've previously patrolled due to the recent provisions. According to ACSO, those schools include Andover High School, Oak View Middle School, Andover Elementary, Crooked Lake Elementary School and Rum River Elementary School.
"The safety and security of all students and staff remains of utmost importance to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office," said Tierney Peters, community relations coordinator with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, in a statement. "While there will not be SROs present in the Anoka-Hennepin School District schools located within the City of Andover, deputies will still have a presence near the schools and quickly respond to emergency needs the schools may have. Additionally, they will continue to positively interact and engage with our community’s youth. Sheriff Wise looks forward to continuing conversations with lawmakers in order to reestablish this partnership in the future."
Back in May, Gov. Tim Walz signed an education bill with amendments that barred school-based resource officers from placing students in certain physical holds, including the prone restraint and "comprehensive restraint on the head, neck, and across most of the torso."
Law enforcement leaders expressed concerns with the new restrictions, saying they will dramatically impact the ability for them to do their jobs. On Wednesday, officials with the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) wrote a letter to member officers calling the new law "ambiguous and unclear."
"The unintended consequences of this new law limit the lawful authority of SROs to keep children safe at school and those contracted with school districts to provide safety to the students and staff," the letter reads. "SROs are counted on to support students and staff safety and must have a clear understanding and meaningful procedures and training in place before the implementation of any laws."
The Anoka-Hennepin district partners with six law enforcement agencies to provide one SRO at each high school and middle school.
"Anoka-Hennepin Schools will continue to work collaboratively with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office and all area law enforcement partners to find solutions to address the concerns of law enforcement and continue to keep students and staff safe," Executive Director of Communication and Public Relations Jim Skelly said in a statement.
On Thursday, Moorhead Police also announced that they won't provide SROs to the city's public schools.
"Until a solution is identified – and the more than 30-year-old collaboration with Moorhead Area Public Schools can be resumed – the City of Moorhead Police Department has reassigned its School Resource Officers back to patrol duty," the department said in a message.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a legal opinion earlier this week clarifying his interpretation of the recent amendments to statewide school discipline laws, saying the amendments don't limit the types of force used if they are utilized to prevent bodily harm or death.
However, if a physical hold is used, it must be considered "reasonable." Ellison said if there is no threat of bodily harm or death, then the school staff or agent should refrain from using physical holds.
Jeff Potts, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, released a statement in response to Ellison's opinion asking for more clarity.
"Our number one priority continues to be keeping students and staff members inside schools across our state safe," Potts said. "Although we are grateful for the Attorney General's expertise and thoughtful opinion, we still aren't confident that can be accomplished by the new law."
As for the decision by the Anoka County Sheriff's Office to remove some school resource officers, Potts said in an interview that he was not surprised.
"I think there's still a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity about the law," Potts said. "I think there are going to be police departments and school districts that are uncomfortable, and until this gets resolved they may not be deploying their SROs."
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