ST PAUL, Minn. — Republican lawmakers are urging DFL Gov. Tim Walz to bring lawmakers back to the State Capitol to undo a new ban on the use of physical restraints in schools.
They say it's urgent to repeal a part of the Omnibus Education Bill that bars school employees, contractors and agents from using prone holds or any compressive hold on students. The bill passed in May, but the controversy erupted just two weeks ago when law enforcement groups sounded the alarm.
They say they're worried School Resource Officers, or SROs for short, will be liable for criminal charges or excessive force lawsuits for simple grabbing, holding, or tackling students to break up a fight or prevent an expelled student from trespassing. Some law enforcement agencies have already cancelled their SRO contracts over what they consider a confusing statute.
"You can't physically intervene now until it's potentially too late, and if you don't intervene soon enough as a police officer you could be liable," Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany told reporters Wednesday at a press conference hosted by Republican legislators.
"We don’t want to go hands-on with anyone, especially students, but the reality of the world we live is in every day there are dynamic situations, criminal, social-emotional whatever."
The legislation defines prone restraints as holding a student face down, a practice already banned in jails and prisons in Minnesota.
The same section of the bill also specifies that school employees, and contractors, "Shall not inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a pupil’s ability to breath; restricts or impairs a pupil’s ability to communicate distress; places pressure or weight on a pupil’s head, throat, neck, chest, lungs, sternum, diaphragm, back, or abdomen; or results in straddling a pupil’s torso."
Sen. Zack Duckworth, a Lakeville Republican, has already had a one-page bill drafted that would repeal that section of law. He said it's too critical to wait until the next regular session begins in February.
"I’m joining others in calling on the governor to bring Republicans and Democrats together for a special session before school starts, so we can fix this issue, keep our SROs and ensure our kids are safe," Sen. Duckworth told reporters.
"The urgency is real. It’s unacceptable to parents that the legislature would wait six or more months to address this immediate concern."
In a Twitter post, Maren Hulden of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid's Disability Law Center disagreed with the notion of repealing the legislation.
"The Minnesota Legislature was wise to ban it in schools for all kids, and that’s gonna help keep all kids safer," Hulden said in the Twitter video.
"When kids have problems with challenging behaviors in schools there are much better ways to deal with them than physical force, things like de-escalation techniques and positive behavioral supports."
She cited a legal opinion from Attorney General Keith Ellison that officers can still use reasonable force to prevent physical harm or death.
The same education bill does say, "Nothing in this section precludes the use of reasonable force." And that points to another part of the bill that reads, "A school employee, school bus driver, or other agent of a district, in exercising the person's lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary under the circumstances to restrain a student or to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another."
But the law enforcement groups say there's still too much uncertainty about when an officer can intervene in a fight between students. And, as they read the law, they're not allowed to used compressive restraints in any position, including a standing "bear hug" used to control students.
Police say they're also puzzled that the ban on prone restraints applies to SROs already on school property but not to officers from outside campus responding to an emergency.
"I think that’s ridiculous because now our SROs who know the students and have the relationship with them and are able to invest the time to de-escalate are being told to back up and wait for the patrol officers to come in and manage it," Chief Podany remarked.
He said the legislature removed the word "or" from the part of the statute dealing with reasonable force. It had said officer can use reasonable force to restrain a student OR to prevent bodily harm or death. Now it simply says force can be used to restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death.
The Democrats who chair the education policy and finance committee Wednesday issued a joint statement, which read in part, "We are united in our commitment to ensuring a safe, supportive, and healthy learning environment for students and everyone who works in our Minnesota schools. We value the role that School Resource Officers play in keeping schools safe, and Governor Walz’s administration is working diligently to ensure that districts and law enforcement have the guidance they need to do their jobs effectively"