Schools required to develop school safety plans, School Safety Advisory Council established, Minnesota School Safety Center funding provided, and money appropriated.

A bill for an act

relating to public safety; requiring schools to develop school safety plans;

establishing a School Safety Advisory Council; appropriating money to the

Minnesota School Safety Center to improve school safety; proposing coding for

new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 121A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

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[121A.036] SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS.

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Subdivision 1.

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School Safety Center.

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(a) The School Safety Center must:

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(1) develop an evidence-based model school safety plan for use by school boards;

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(2) develop criteria for determining whether a school safety plan is evidence-based;

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(3) review local school safety plans and notify school boards whether their school safety

plans meet the requirements of this section;

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(4) assess whether school facility improvements intended to improve school safety are

evidence-based;

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(5) administer grants for implementing evidence-based school safety plans, to the extent

grant money is available; and

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(6) prepare a report that identifies the schools that have adopted an evidence-based

school safety plan and post the report on the Department of Public Safety's publicly facing

website. The School Safety Center must submit the report to the legislative committees with

jurisdiction over public safety and kindergarten through grade 12 education. The School

Safety Center must update the report by December 1, 2028, and every two years thereafter.

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(b) The School Safety Center may provide consulting services to schools serving students

in kindergarten through grade 12 to develop, improve, or implement an evidence-based

school safety plan.

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(c) To implement the requirements of this section, the School Safety Center must employ

at least two school mental health professionals. Each mental health professional must be a

licensed school psychologist, licensed school social worker, or licensed school counselor.

The School Safety Center may also consult with the comprehensive school mental health

services lead at the Department of Education under section 127A.215.

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Subd. 2.

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Model plan.

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(a) The School Safety Center at the Department of Public Safety,

in consultation with the Department of Education, must maintain and make available to

school boards and charter schools an evidence-based model school safety plan to prevent

human-caused safety incidents.

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(b) For purposes of this section, an activity, strategy, or intervention is "evidence-based"

if it:

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(1) demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other

relevant outcomes based on:

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(i) strong evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented experimental

study;

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(ii) moderate evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented

quasi-experimental study; or

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(iii) promising evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented

correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias; or

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(2)(i) demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive

evaluation that the activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes

or other relevant outcomes; and

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(ii) includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of the activity, strategy, or intervention.

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(c) The School Safety Center must post the model plan on its website no later than

September 1, 2026. The School Safety Center may make available to school boards

evidence-based school safety plans developed by third parties.

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Subd. 3.

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Local school safety plan.

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(a) A school board of a district or charter school

must adopt an evidence-based school safety plan to prevent human-caused safety incidents

that meets the minimum requirements of the model plan developed under subdivision 1. A

school safety plan may include a crisis management policy under section 121A.035. A

school board must submit the plan to the School Safety Center for approval no later than

May 1, 2028. The School Safety Center must review each plan and notify a school board

whether the plan is approved as an evidence-based plan no later than August 1, 2028.

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(b) A school safety plan must include a description of the school's efforts to create a

positive school climate and support student mental health.

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(c) A school board that does not submit a plan for review or that submits a plan that is

not approved as evidence-based must notify parents, students, and staff no later than August

15, 2028, that the school board has not adopted an evidence-based school safety plan. The

notice must:

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(1) be written in plain language and be available to all parents and other school

community members;

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(2) identify the deadline for submitting the plan for review to the School Safety Center;

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(3) state that the school board has not adopted an evidence-based school safety plan by

the deadline;

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(4) explain the purpose of an evidence-based school safety plan; and

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(5) provide the name and contact information of the school employee designated to

receive questions or concerns regarding school safety plans.

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(d) A school board that has not adopted an evidence-based school safety plan by August

30, 2028, must adopt a school safety plan developed in partnership with the School Safety

Center. The school board may amend the School Safety Center plan subject to approval by

the School Safety Center.

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(e) A nonpublic school is encouraged to develop an evidence-based school safety plan

and consult with the School Safety Center on evidence-based approaches to improving

school safety.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective the day following final enactment.

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Sec. 2.

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[121A.0361] SCHOOL SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL.

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Subdivision 1.

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Council established.

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(a) The School Safety Advisory Council is

established as an advisory council to the School Safety Center at the Department of Public

Safety. The advisory council consists of the following members:

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(1) three students enrolled in grades 9 through 12;

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(2) two persons under the age of 21 who are survivors of school or community violence;

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(3) two parents of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12;

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(4) one licensed mental health professional not employed by the School Safety Center;

and

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(5) one employee of the School Safety Center.

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(b) The commissioner of public safety, in consultation with the commissioner of

education, must appoint the members of the advisory council by September 1, 2026. The

terms and compensation of the members are governed by section 15.059. The School Safety

Advisory Council does not expire.

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Subd. 2.

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Duties.

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The School Safety Advisory Council must advise the School Safety

Center on school safety needs and opportunities, including making recommendations to

existing school safety approaches.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective July 1, 2026.

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Sec. 3.
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APPROPRIATION; SCHOOL SAFETY CENTER.
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$....... in fiscal year 2027 is appropriated from the general fund to the Minnesota School

Safety Center. Of this amount:

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(1) $....... is to develop and distribute an evidence-based model school safety plan;

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(2) $....... is to create a School Safety Advisory Council; and

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(3) $....... is to assist schools in implementing customized school safety and student

mental health plans.

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