For the second time this week, a school safety bill failed in the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee.
“Everyone in this room, everyone across the state agrees that kids need to be safe,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Prior Lake. “The testifier that talked about coming, that kids shouldn’t be carrying fear in their backpacks, we all agree to that.”
Bakeberg and other Republicans on the committee voted against a DFL school safety bill on Thursday, just as all Democrats on the committee voted against a Republican bill on Tuesday.
The DFL bill would mandate school districts to adopt a “model school safety plan” developed by the Department of Public Safety.
It would require schools to adopt an anonymous threat reporting system, create stricter penalties and regulations for possessing firearms on school grounds, and $4 million for additional student support programs.
“Unlike the bill we heard on Tuesday, House File 4893 (the DFL bill) does not merely suggest schools adopt these important systems but requires them to do so,” said Rep. Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins, the bill author.
Republicans criticized the bill for not giving local school districts enough freedom to develop their own safety plans.
“I see more mandates, more mandates, more mandates and less funding, and it really saddens me,” said Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea.
A Republican bill that failed to pass on Tuesday included a proposal for $50 million in school safety funding, allowing schools to adopt the model statewide safety plan but not mandating it, and “school facility grants” to help fortify schools against gun violence.
Republicans also propose extending school safety funding to private schools and schools on reservations. The DFL bill focuses on public schools.
Despite two failed efforts, both sides say they will continue seeking a compromise before the session ends next month.
