Minnesota Passes Law Allowing SROs to Use Prone Restraints
Additionally, the law also requires officers who work in Minnesota public schools to receive specialized training and certification.
Photo via Adobe, by andreykr
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Thursday signed a bipartisan compromise school resource officer (SRO) bill into law.
The bill allows SROs to use prone restraints when students pose a risk to themselves or others, reports MPR News. The law also provides funding for SROs and other law enforcement officers in Minnesota public schools so that they’ll be able to receive specialized training and obtain state certification, reports the Star Tribune. The officer training and certification will be required.
HF 3489 went into effect on Friday and received overwhelming bipartisan support in both legislative chambers.
The passage of the law is in response to previous legislation that restricted an SRO’s ability to restrain children, which prompted about 40 law enforcement agencies to pull their officers from K-12 campuses. The agencies that removed their officers were concerned they could face civil litigation.
That restriction over prone restraints, however, has now been lifted.
According to a press release from Walz’s office, the bill specifically includes:
- Direct funding for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety School Safety Center to conduct free training for SROs
- Specifies duties for SROs focused on fostering a positive school climate
- Requires the POST Board to develop a new SRO model policy
- Provides statutory clarity for law enforcement.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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