The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate has passed a resolution urging Governor Tim Walz to exclude public schools from any of his COVID emergency orders — as Minnesotans wait to see whether he’ll allow students to go back to the classroom this fall. Rochester Republican Carla Nelson opposes a statewide “one-size-fits-all” approach. “It is the local school board that can best determine, what is education going to look like in 2020 and 2021,” Nelson says. But Eden Prairie Democrat Steve Cwodzinski voted against the resolution, noting that “our first kid died because of COVID…. And I’m agonizing over whether or not they should be going back to school.”
Because the legislature could adjourn its special session tonight (Mon midnight), this might be lawmakers’ last chance to weigh-in on the issue before Governor Walz announces his decision — he says by July 27th.