The issue of whether Minnesota students can return to the classroom this fall is taking center stage at the Minnesota Capitol, where the Republican-controlled Senate voted Monday to end Governor Tim Walz’s emergency authority. Roseville Democrat John Marty asked, “Where does that leave the superintendents? Where does it leave the teachers? Somebody has got to decide and we’re saying, oh, let’s take away the governor’s authority to do that because we know better, and we might someday make those decisions.” Rochester Republican Carla Nelson responded, “Schools can resume classes in the manner that they see fit, except for the governor’s executive orders.”
Although the Senate voted to rescind Walz’s emergency authority, the measure won’t clear the Democrat-controlled Minnesota House.
Nelson says the governor not making the decision — classroom, distance learning or a combination — until July 27th is “a recipe for disaster.”