St. Cloud school resource officers will return amid 'clarification and legal support'

ST. CLOUD — School resource officers here will return to their posts Monday following a two-month pause in the program prompted by confusion over a recent law change.

St. Cloud Police Department was one of several in the state to suspend its SRO program at the beginning of the school year over a new state law that banned the use of some physical holds of students, including prone restraints and "any form of physical holding that restricts or impairs a pupil's ability to breathe or ... communicate distress."

But the confusion arose over a word change that led many of the state's police chiefs, county attorneys and sheriffs to interpret the statute as preventing officers from restraining students unless they're about to inflict harm on themselves or others, causing concern that SROs would be forced to react to situations contrary to training or policy.

Many Minnesota Republicans and law enforcement officials pushed Gov. Tim Walz to hold a special session to amend the law. Then, in late September, Attorney General Keith Ellison released a legal opinion stating the interpretations that the law restricts any physical intervention are incorrect and that officers "simply must avoid the restraints identified" in the new language.

Some confusion and hesitation remains, but DFL legislative leaders have pledged to hold a hearing at the start of the next legislative session.

"The decision for the city of St. Cloud to reinstate the SRO program, prior to a legislative fix, did not come lightly and was in response to many factors," read a news release issued Wednesday by St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, St. Cloud Area School District Superintendent Laurie Putnam and St. Cloud Police Chief Jeff Oxton.

The St. Cloud leaders said Ellison's statement, as well as guidance from state organizations and local county and city attorneys, has "provided enough clarification and legal support to make this transition possible."

During the suspension, the department assigned officers to cover calls for service in the district and at other school-related events, Oxton said.

St. Cloud's SRO program dates back at least three decades and has grown from one school resource officer to six officers and a sergeant who provide in-school programming and security services at district-related games and events.