A new bill introduced at the Minnesota Senate Education Committee would force public school districts to expel any students who assault a teacher.
The bill, known as the Teacher Protection Act, was introduced by Senator Dave Brown (R-Becker). The proposed law states:
“A school board must expel a student who assaults a teacher. The duration of the expulsion is at the discretion of the school board…A student expelled under this section cannot be placed in the classroom of the assaulted teacher unless the teacher agrees to the placement.”
Senator Brown said the goal of the bill is to keep teachers safe, especially considering how often we’re hearing about assaults in the classroom these days.
“This bill protects our public school teachers,” said Sen. Brown said. “We’ve had expulsion if you bring a firearm to school, you’re automatically expelled for one year. If you bring a toy firearm to school, that’s a misdemeanor. So we can do things to protect our teachers when they’re teaching the classroom.”
Pros and Cons
Sen. Brown and his supporters believe the bill might help prevent assaults by telling students that they will be expelled if they lay hands on a teacher, but not everyone is in favor of the bill. A mother of an autistic student voiced her concerns at a committee meeting last week that the bill may punish developmentally or behaviorally challenged students. The mother was worried that her child or teens who can’t control themselves may find themselves expelled for acting out during an accidental impulse. The committee mentioned that assault, as defined the the bill, may not apply in those instances because for an assault to occur, there needs to exist intent.
A vote was tabled for the time being, but it seems unlikely that the Republican senator’s bill will gain much traction this legislative session.
