ST. PAUL - Minnesota education officials would compile reports about student violence against teachers and teachers would have the authority to remove any student from a classroom if deemed to be a safety threat under a proposed House bill.
A state House education committee Tuesday considered legislation written after a series of student attacks on teachers. The bill will be discussed again later this spring.
"A teacher that feels a situation is unsafe ... will have the ability to have the child removed from the classroom," Rep. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, said about her bill.
It also requires the Education Department to report on student-on-teacher violence, something not now known. Also, teachers would be told when students in their classes have a violent past.
"A teacher needs to be prepared for all situations that arise in a classroom," Eden Prairie teacher Angie Roesner said.
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The measure also would establish a fund for victims of school violence who have no other means to pay medical bills.
An Education Department representative opposed the bill, saying an existing task force is looking into a solution to student violence and it should continue.
But Rep. Linda Slocum, D-Richfield, responded: "We talk a lot, but need to take action."
