By Brian Bakst

MPR News/90.1 FM

Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday he’ll outline a school safety proposal next week that will include financial support for school districts to shore up building security and to extend mental health help quickly to expelled students.

Dayton spent the past several days in Washington where the recent Florida high school shootings were a major topic of discussion among federal leaders and the nation’s governors. The DFL governor met with key members of his cabinet and top lawmakers Tuesday to start discussing ideas, from gun proposals to intervening with troubled students.

While he wants Congress to act to prevent similar tragedies, Dayton said states must also do their part.

“I think Minnesotans — I think people across the country — are saying you may not be able to do everything. But you’ve got to do some things that are going to make a real difference,” Dayton told reporters.

Besides funding, Dayton also indicated the plan may call for students who are expelled from school to be automatically referred to social service workers for a threat assessment and to figure out what help they might need.

“If somebody is behaving badly enough that they’re going to be expelled from school or basically forced to leave school, that’s a signal right there,” Dayton said. “Even if you don’t believe they’re at risk to go murder other people, they’re in serious emotional distress.”