Overview

• Gov. Tim Walz is making calls about a potential special legislative session on gun policy, which a senior official says could begin as soon as September.
• Catholic and independent school leaders warned in an April 14, 2023 letter that nonpublic schools were in urgent need of security funding and asked to be included in state grants, a request they say was never granted.
• Minnesota’s Building and Cyber Security Grant Program and the Safe Schools Program restrict eligibility to districts, cooperatives or charters, though the governor’s office notes private schools receive some state funds and access to safety trainings.
• Lawmakers are considering the SHIELD bill to boost school security resources, and reports say the current draft would not extend the new funding to nonpublic schools.
• The Aug. 27 attack at Annunciation Catholic Church killed two children and injured 18 others, and federal investigators say they are probing it as hate‑motivated domestic terrorism citing anti‑religious writings.