ST. PAUL — A DFL-proposed bill supporting student mental health and student safety is the latest to fail in a Minnesota House committee, after not earning enough votes on Thursday afternoon, April 16.
It comes just days after a similar Republican-led school safety plan failed in the House.
House Bill 4893, a DFL-led school safety bill that would support funding for school safety measures, such as anonymous threat reporting systems, faced a similar end that most school safety bills have had in the Minnesota House this session.
“With there not being the necessary 13 votes to move the bill out of committee, the motion fails,” said Cheryl Youakim, DFL-Hopkins.
The Republican-led school safety plan that was stalled on Tuesday, April 14, also encouraged schools to implement an anonymous threat reporting system, but did not require it.
The DFL-led bill on Thursday added sustained funding for support personnel aid, and more gun restrictions, which the Republican bill did not include.
“Evidence also shows the importance of having a school safety plan that goes beyond doors and drills as well as an anonymous threat reporting system to allow students, staff and administrators to coordinate reports of concerning behavior, unlike the bill we heard on Tuesday, House file 4893 does not merely suggest a school adopt these important systems, but requires them to do so,” Youakim said.
It demonstrates the slight disconnect both Minnesota parties have, after lawmakers made school safety and gun safety a priority this session after the Annunciation school shootings and the murder of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in 2025.
Republicans have focused on safe school measures in response to the Annunciation shooting, while the DFL has focused on gun control.
In the Senate, Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, is seeing bills pass more frequently, but the same trends continue.
“There are members that see that this is not going to actually solve the problem, and so I don’t anticipate that we’ll see any of the gun legislation move across, but at the same time, we’ve got three, four weeks left to session that a lot of things can happen,” Johnson said.
Contributed / Minnesota Legislature
Johnson said some of these bills may be included in larger bills later in the session. Friday, April 17, is the deadline to introduce bills for the House and Senate.
