House education finance committee lays over Lawrence's safe-schools bill after clash over K'3 suspensions and funding shifts

St. Paul ' The Minnesota House Education Finance Committee on Monday laid over House File 3493, a broad school-safety and funding package authored by Representative Lawrence, after a 12'12 roll-call vote failed to meet the 13-vote threshold to refer the bill to Ways and Means.

Representative Lawrence opened the hearing by describing HF 3493 as a bipartisan, "multi-layered" approach intended "to create a safe learning environment for all students," including public, nonpublic, charter and tribal schools. "Protect every student in every school," he said while urging members to advance the bill so funding and specifics could be worked out later.

The bill would increase flexible safe-schools funding, authorize local anonymous threat-reporting systems, require school safety plans and contains a controversial provision that would allow limited dismissals for kindergarten through grade 3 (up to three days with superintendent approval) and roll back some nonexclusionary-discipline language passed in 2023.

Witnesses were sharply divided. Rachel Hilliard, director of prevention, safety and grants for ISD 728, told the committee her district's anonymous reporting system using Sandy Hook Promise's "Say Something" has produced 173 tips and "saved lives," urging additional safe-schools funding.

"We've had 173 tips since its inception," Hilliard said, and described incidents tied to planned school attacks and suicide ideation.

By contrast, advocates for young children and students with disabilities urged the committee to preserve the 2023 nonexclusionary-discipline protections for K'3 pupils. Jess Webster, a Legal Aid staff attorney representing the Minnesota Disability Law Center, said repeal of those protections would be harmful for the state's youngest learners.

"This is not the legislation we need," Webster said, arguing that removing the prohibition on suspensions for K'3 students risks pushing children out of school.

Several school administrators and district leaders, including Corey McIntyre, superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin, testified in support of the limited K'3 dismissal language as a safety and stabilization tool. McIntyre said his district recorded 142 K'3 classroom evacuations and 157 staff injuries so far this school year, with about 110 of those injuries at the K'3 level, and argued short dismissals allow teams to plan a safe return.

"House File 3493 provides the needed educational benefit and purpose of giving the needed time for the school team to work in partnership with the student's parent or guardian," McIntyre said.

Other concerns centered on funding changes: critics warned the DE amendment would allow districts to move money from the student-support-personnel pot ' funding intended for counselors, social workers, nurses and school psychologists ' into building security or other safety purposes. Licenced professionals and associations said that would worsen shortages of school-based mental-health staff.

Sarah Bernhardt, a nationally certified school psychologist speaking for the Minnesota School Psychologists Association, urged preserving dollars dedicated to hiring and retaining licensed student-support personnel, citing a current school-psychologist ratio of about 1 to 1,047 and workforce shortages that predate this bill.

Proponents replied that HF 3493 would add resources. One member noted the bill includes roughly $50 million in additional flexible safety funding; Representative Baeckburg (member remarks) framed the package as giving "time to plan" and tools to protect staff and students when incidents exceed on-site capacity.

The meeting concluded with a roll-call vote on Representative Lawrence's motion to refer the amended bill to the Ways and Means Committee. The clerk recorded 12 aye votes and 12 no votes; the motion failed for lack of the 13 votes required, and the chair announced HF 3493 as amended was laid over for further consideration.

What happens next: Committee members said they expect more negotiation on funding sources, the scope of K'3 discipline changes, and whether anonymous reporting requirements should be mandatory rather than advisory. Because the motion to refer failed and the bill was laid over, further action will depend on follow-up work among sponsors, stakeholders and committee leadership.

Vote at a glance: Representative Lawrence moved HF 3493, as amended, to refer to Ways and Means; the roll-call recorded 12 ayes and 12 noes and the motion did not prevail.