ST. PAUL 鈥� After more than a month of confusion on a new law governing police force in schools, Minnesota law enforcement agencies are mixed on resuming school resource officer programs.
As classes resumed across the state last month, more than 40 agencies suspended their school resource officer programs in response to a new law that changed the definition of 鈥渞easonable force鈥� in schools.
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As of Friday, Oct. 6, at least seven have resumed, though some say they鈥檙e holding out until lawmakers return to the Capitol this winter to make changes to the law.
Minnesota law enforcement agencies were concerned the new law placed restrictions on use of force like face-down restraints and introduced what they called ambiguity about when force was appropriate.
But after months of calls for clarity, and talk of a special legislative session to tweak the law, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued an updated opinion that cleared concerns for state police groups alarmed by the change.
Now some agencies in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota have resumed programs, though the process hasn鈥檛 been without bumps.
鈥淚t took a long time for people to figure out how to stop their contract,鈥� said Leslie Rosedahl, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. 鈥淚 think you'll see a few more drip back in, but I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l see everybody.鈥�
Ellison鈥檚 Sept. 20 opinion clarified that the law only applies to actions like face-down restraints and chokeholds when death or serious injury is not imminent. State police associations such as the MPPOA found the clarification workable.
But days later, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued an opinion of her own contradicting Ellison鈥檚, further complicating the matter for law enforcement in that jurisdiction and casting uncertainty over the issue once again for others across the state.
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Soon after the Hennepin opinion, MPPOA issued updated guidance to law enforcement, encouraging agencies to work closely with local prosecutors and other authorities before resuming SRO programs and to advise caution to rank-and-file officers working in schools.
鈥淭he new guidance from Hennepin County Attorney Moriarty makes it crystal clear the only way to adequately address this issue and return school resource officers to school is an urgent legislative fix,鈥� association Executive Director Brian Peters in a statement last week.
Who鈥檚 returning? Who isn鈥檛?
Ellison鈥檚 opinion holds more power than Moriarty鈥檚, something the Hennepin County attorney admitted in her own opinion. But a big concern for law enforcement was the possibility of different interpretations from Minnesota鈥檚 87 county attorneys creating a patchwork of standards across the state.
It doesn鈥檛 appear it'll be an issue in Moorhead, where police announced their plans to return to the classroom this week and officially resumed activities on Friday, Oct. 6. Chief of Police Shannon Monroe said Ellison鈥檚 opinion cleared the air and the Hennepin County opinion is not of concern to authorities in his area.
鈥淚t will have a wet blanket effect, I think, on those departments that were looking at going back into schools in Hennepin County,鈥� Monroe said. 鈥淏ut for us out here, she can't override the attorney general's opinion. She can have her differing opinions, but the only way (statewide interpretation) can change is if she ends up with a case that she brings to court.鈥�
Twin Cities law enforcement agencies and suburban school districts that resumed school resource officer activity following Ellison鈥檚 opinion include the Ramsey County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, Apple Valley, Eagan, Mounds View, White Bear Lake and Woodbury.
Outstate agencies besides Moorhead are also working toward reinstating officers or have already done so. The Blue Earth County Sheriff鈥檚 Office, based in Mankato, announced plans to reinstate its program on Sept. 26. Brainerd鈥檚 police chief is optimistic his agency鈥檚 SRO program can resume soon as well, the Brainerd Dispatch reported this week.
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Other law enforcement agencies have been more cautious. In the state鈥檚 northeast, the St. Louis County Sheriff has not sent officers back to schools. St. Louis County Undersheriff Jason Akerson said the law needs to be fixed by legislators before his agency considers resuming the program. In the northwest, Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks are also planning to wait.
That means they鈥檒l have to wait until at least February when state lawmakers return to the Capitol for the 2024 legislative session. Democratic-Farmer-Labor majority leadership in the House and Senate have committed to hearings on the issue in the first weeks of the session.
Some metro agencies have also remained cautious. This week, the Twin Cities suburb of Brooklyn Park said it wouldn鈥檛 be sending officers to schools. The city lies within Hennepin County.
Roughly 30 other agencies, such as the Willmar and St. Cloud police departments, have not announced plans yet.
New statute
Concerns about the new school police force law emerged in August, shortly after it went into effect. Moorhead, which started school two weeks earlier than the rest of the state due to construction on its high school, was the first to suspend its SRO program in late August. Others followed.
New language on use-of-force in schools passed as part of a large education bill passed by the DFL-majority Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz this spring.
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The language that triggered law enforcement concerns was one word that changed in the statute on force. Originally, it said school officers could use force to 鈥渞estrain a student or to prevent bodily harm or death." In the updated statute, officers can use force to "restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death."
It also states school resource officers cannot "inflict any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a pupil's ability to breathe; 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."
As police departments withdrew from schools, groups including MPPOA, the Minnesota Sheriff鈥檚 Association, the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and legislative Republicans pushed for a special session to change the law.
Walz, Ellison, and DFL legislative leaders were ultimately able to reassure the police groups with Ellison鈥檚 opinion and a pledge to explore a permanent solution in the upcoming session.
Walz, a Democrat, had initially said he would be open to a special session to address the school resource officers issue. Lawmakers couldn鈥檛 return to the Capitol without his action.
But after a group of 44 Democratic-Farmer Labor senators and representatives signed a letter saying they opposed changing the law, Walz said the issue could wait until February.
Some other legislative DFLers, including Moorhead Sen. Rob Kupec, say a permanent fix to the law is needed.
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Editor's note: This story was updated Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7 to add other schools that won't resume SRO programs until the law changes.
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