HF 1901

1st Engrossment - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 03/24/2025 03:44pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; modifying provisions for school safety; providing anonymous
threat reporting system grants to schools; requiring reporting on active shooter
incidents and active shooter threats; modifying reporting to the Minnesota Fusion
Center; requiring a report; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes
2024, sections 121A.038, subdivision 7; 121A.06; 299C.055.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.038, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Violence prevention.

(a) A school district or charter school conducting an
active shooter drill must provide students in middle school and high school at least one
hour, or one standard class period, of violence prevention training annually.

(b) The violence prevention training must be evidence-based and may be delivered
in-person, virtually, or digitally. Training must, at a minimum, teach students the following:

(1) how to identify observable warning signs and signals of an individual who may be
at risk of harming oneself or others;

(2) the importance of taking threats seriously and seeking help; and

(3) the steps to report dangerous, violent, threatening, harmful, or potentially harmful
activity new text begin , including providing information about the Department of Public Safety's statewide
anonymous threat reporting system and any local threat reporting systems new text end .

(c) By July 1, 2024, the commissioner of public safety and the commissioner of education
must jointly develop a list of evidence-based trainings that a school district or charter school
may use to fulfill the requirements of this section, including no-cost programming, if any.
The agencies must:

(1) post the list publicly on the Minnesota School Safety Center's website; and

(2) update the list every two years.

(d) A school district or charter school must ensure that students have the opportunity to
contribute to their school's safety and violence prevention planning, aligned with the
recommendations for multihazard planning for schools, including but not limited to:

(1) student opportunities for leadership related to prevention and safety;

(2) encouragement and support to students in establishing clubs and programs focused
on safety; and

(3) providing students with the opportunity to seek help from adults and to learn about
prevention connected to topics including bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and
suicide.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 121A.06, is amended to read:

121A.06 REPORTS OF DANGEROUS WEAPON INCIDENTS new text begin AND ACTIVE
SHOOTER INCIDENTS new text end IN SCHOOL ZONES.

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

As used in this section:

new text begin (1) "active shooter incident" means an event involving an armed individual or individuals
on campus or an armed assailant in the immediate vicinity of the school;
new text end

new text begin (2) "active shooter threat" means a real or perceived threat that an active shooter incident
will occur;
new text end

deleted text begin (1) deleted text end new text begin (3) new text end "dangerous weapon" has the meaning given it in section 609.02, subdivision 6;

deleted text begin (2) deleted text end new text begin (4) new text end "school" has the meaning given it in section 120A.22, subdivision 4; and

deleted text begin (3) deleted text end new text begin (5) new text end "school zone" has the meaning given it in section 152.01, subdivision 14a, clauses
(1) and (3).

Subd. 2.

new text begin Dangerous weapons new text end reports; content.

School districts must electronically
report to the commissioner of education incidents involving the use or possession of a
dangerous weapon in school zones. The deleted text begin form deleted text end new text begin report new text end must include the following information:

(1) a description of each incident, including a description of the dangerous weapon
involved in the incident;

(2) where, at what time, and under what circumstances the incident occurred;

(3) information about the offender, other than the offender's name, including the offender's
age; whether the offender was a student and, if so, where the offender attended school; and
whether the offender was under school expulsion or suspension at the time of the incident;

(4) information about the victim other than the victim's name, if any, including the
victim's age; whether the victim was a student and, if so, where the victim attended school;
and if the victim was not a student, whether the victim was employed at the school;

(5) the cost of the incident to the school and to the victim; and

(6) the action taken by the school administration to respond to the incident.

The commissioner shall provide an electronic reporting format that allows school districts
to provide aggregate data.

new text begin Subd. 2a. new text end

new text begin Active shooter reports; content. new text end

new text begin (a) A school district, charter school, or
cooperative unit under section 123A.24, subdivision 2, that serves students must electronically
file an after-action review report for active shooter incidents and active shooter threats to
the Minnesota Fusion Center. The report must include the following information:
new text end

new text begin (1) a description of each incident or threat;
new text end

new text begin (2) how the active shooter threat was communicated, including whether the threat was
communicated through social media or email;
new text end

new text begin (3) information about the individual, other than the individual's name, including the
individual's age; whether the individual was a student and, if so, where the individual
attended school; and whether the individual was under school expulsion or suspension at
the time of the incident;
new text end

new text begin (4) the immediate cost of the incident to the school, if any;
new text end

new text begin (5) the action taken by the school administration to respond to the incident or threat,
including any referrals to law enforcement or mental health professionals; and
new text end

new text begin (6) the law enforcement agency or agencies with jurisdiction over the school, even if
the incident did not result in a referral to law enforcement.
new text end

new text begin (b) Reports required under paragraph (a) must be submitted on a form provided by the
Minnesota Fusion Center and in a manner consistent with the reporting school's safety plan.
The Minnesota Fusion Center must consult with the Minnesota School Safety Center in
creation of the reporting form.
new text end

Subd. 3.

Reports; filing requirements.

By July 31 of each year, each public school
shall report incidents involving the use or possession of a dangerous weapon in school zones
to the commissioner. The reports must be submitted using the electronic reporting system
developed by the commissioner under subdivision 2. The commissioner shall compile the
information it receives from the schools and report it annually to the commissioner of public
safety and the legislature.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 299C.055, is amended to read:

299C.055 LEGISLATIVE REPORT ON FUSION CENTER ACTIVITIES.

(a) The superintendent must prepare an annual report for the public and the legislature
on the Minnesota Fusion Center (MNFC) that includes general information about the MNFC;
the types of activities it monitors; the scale of information it collects; the local, state, and
federal agencies with which it shares information; and the quantifiable benefits it produces.
None of the reporting requirements in this section supersede chapter 13 or any other state
or federal law. The superintendent must report on activities for the preceding calendar year
unless another time period is specified. The report must include the following information,
to the extent allowed by other law:

(1) the MNFC's operating budget for the current biennium, number of staff, and staff
duties;

(2) the number of publications generated and an overview of the type of information
provided in the publications, including products such as law enforcement briefs, partner
briefs, risk assessments, threat assessments, and operational reports;

(3) a summary of audit findings for the MNFC and what corrective actions were taken
pursuant to audits;

(4) the number of data requests received by the MNFC and a general description of those
requests;

(5) the types of surveillance and data analysis technologies utilized by the MNFC, such
as artificial intelligence or social media analysis tools;

(6) a description of the commercial and governmental databases utilized by the MNFC
to the extent permitted by law;

(7) the number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) received and processed by the
MNFC;

(8) the number of SARs received and processed by the MNFC that were converted into
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension case files, that were referred to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or that were referred to local law enforcement agencies;

(9) the number of SARs received and processed by the MNFC that involve an individual
on the Terrorist Screening Center watchlist;

(10) the number of requests for information (RFIs) that the MNFC received from law
enforcement agencies and the number of responses to federal requests for RFIs;

(11) the names of the federal agencies the MNFC received data from or shared data
with;

(12) the names of the agencies that submitted SARs;

(13) a summary description of the MNFC's activities with the Joint Terrorism Task
Force; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(14) the number of investigations aided by the MNFC's use of SARs and RFIs deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ;
new text end

new text begin (15) the number of tips received through the Department of Public Safety's anonymous
threat reporting system, including the See It, Say It, Send It application, and the number of
those tips that the MNFC processed; and
new text end

new text begin (16) the number of active shooter incident reports received from school districts pursuant
to section 121A.06, subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), a summary of the reports, and the number
of reports that were converted into Bureau of Criminal Apprehension case files, that were
referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or that were referred to local law enforcement
agencies.
new text end

(b) The report shall be provided to the chairs and ranking minority members of the
committees of the house of representatives and senate with jurisdiction over data practices
and public safety issues, and shall be posted on the MNFC website by February 15 each
year beginning on February 15, 2024.

Sec. 4. new text begin APPROPRIATION; ANONYMOUS THREAT REPORTING SYSTEM
GRANTS.
new text end

new text begin (a) $....... in fiscal year 2026 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of public safety for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in
consultation with the Minnesota School Safety Center, to issue anonymous threat reporting
system grants to school districts, charter schools, or cooperative units.
new text end

new text begin (b) A school district, charter school, or cooperative unit under Minnesota Statutes, section
123A.24, may apply for a grant in the form and manner specified by the Division of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management may establish grant application timelines and may award grants
in more than one round. Grants may be awarded in an amount not to exceed $....... per
district, charter school, or cooperative unit. Grants are contingent on recipients providing
at least a 50 percent match from nonstate funds in accordance with paragraph (c). Grants
must be awarded to schools located in all geographic regions of the state with at least half
of the grants awarded to school districts, charter schools, and cooperative units with
administrative offices located outside of the 11-county metropolitan area.
new text end

new text begin (c) Grant funds may be used to fund expenses associated with the development, purchase,
implementation, operation, and maintenance of an anonymous threat reporting system,
including staff compensation. Grant funds may also be used to compensate staff who are
responsible for responding to threats received through the system.
new text end

new text begin (d) Before a grant is awarded, the district, charter school, or cooperative unit must provide
documentation acceptable to the director of the Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management on how the grant will be used, including identification of how
staff will be responsible for responding to threats received through the anonymous threat
reporting system.
new text end

new text begin (e) The Department of Public Safety may retain up to ten percent of the appropriation
for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to administer the grants
and for the Minnesota School Safety Center to provide districts, charter schools, and
cooperative units technical assistance.
new text end

new text begin (f) By February 15 following each year a grant is awarded under this section, the
Minnesota School Safety Center, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management, and Department of Public Safety must report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over kindergarten through grade
12 education and public safety on how grant money was awarded and distributed. The report
must identify the grant recipients and how the grant money was used by each recipient.
new text end

new text begin (g) This is a onetime appropriation. This appropriation does not cancel but is available
until June 30, 2028.
new text end