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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1
An act relating to school safety; amending s. 30.15, 2
F.S.; providing that private schools are responsible 3
for specified costs relating to school guardian 4
programs; authorizing sheriffs to waive specified 5
costs for private schools; prohibiting specified funds 6
from being used to subsidize certain costs; 7
authorizing certain persons to be certified as school 8
guardians without completing certain training 9
requirements; revising specified training requirements 10
for school guardians; requiring school districts, 11
charter schools, private schools, and sheriffs to 12
report specified information relating to school 13
guardians and school guardian programs to the 14
Department of Law Enforcement within specified 15
timeframes; requiring the Department of Law 16
Enforcement to maintain a list of school guardians and 17
school guardian trainings; providing for the removal 18
of specified persons from such list; providing 19
requirements for such li st; prohibiting sheriffs who 20
fail to report specified information from receiving 21
certain reimbursement; prohibiting school districts, 22
charter schools, and private schools that fail to 23
report specified information from operating school 24
guardian programs for the following school year, 25
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unless the school district, charter school, or private 26
school has submitted the required information; 27
requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to report 28
certain information to the Department of Education by 29
specified dates of each school year; authorizing the 30
Department of Law Enforcement to adopt rules; amending 31
330.41, F.S.; prohibiting the operation of a drone 32
over public and private schools and the recording of 33
video of such schools; providing criminal penalties; 34
providing exemptions; amending s. 943.082, F.S.; 35
requiring district school boards and charter school 36
governing boards to ensure specified instruction 37
relating to the mobile suspicious activity reporting 38
tool be provided to students within a specified 39
timeframe; providing requirements for such 40
instruction; amending s. 985.04, F.S.; requiring the 41
superintendent of schools, or his or her designee, to 42
notify specified chiefs of police or public safety 43
directors of certain postsecondary institutions of 44
specified alleged acts by children dual enrolled at 45
such institutions within a specified timeframe; 46
amending s. 1001.212, F.S.; requiring the Office of 47
Safe Schools to develop and adopt a specified report 48
relating to compliance and noncompliance with school 49
safety requirements by a specified date; requiring the 50
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office to provide such report to specified persons; 51
requiring the office to conduct specified inspections 52
triennially and investigate certain noncompliance; 53
providing requirements for the provision of specified 54
information from such inspections and investigations; 55
requiring the office to provide certain quarterly 56
reports to specified persons; requiring the office to 57
provide bonuses to certain persons who comply with 58
specified requirements; requiring the office to refer 59
certain personnel to specified persons; requiring the 60
office to notify specified personnel electronically of 61
certain requirements; requiring the office to evaluate 62
the methodology for the safe schools allocation and, 63
if necessary, recommend an alternative methodology for 64
specified purposes by a specified date; amending s. 65
1006.07, F.S.; requiring schools, including charter 66
schools, to maintain a specified record relating to 67
certain drills; providing that school safety 68
specialist duties may be completed by his or her 69
designee; providing that certain school safety 70
specialist duties are in conjunction with the district 71
school superintendent; requiring school safety 72
specialists to conduct specified annual inspections, 73
investigate specified reports of noncomplia nce, and 74
report certain noncompliance and violations to 75
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specified individuals and the district school board; 76
requiring school districts and charter school 77
governing boards to comply with certain school safety 78
requirements by a specified date; providing rep orting 79
requirements for violations of certain school safety 80
requirements; requiring district school boards and 81
charter school governing boards to adopt a progressive 82
discipline policy for specified personnel who commit 83
specified violations; amending s. 100 6.12, F.S.; 84
requiring specified agreements relating to school 85
resource officers to identify the entity responsible 86
for maintaining specified records; providing 87
requirements before the appointment of a school 88
guardian; requiring the Department of Education to 89
provide certain information to the Department of Law 90
Enforcement; repealing specified training requirements 91
for safe-school officers; subject to legislative 92
appropriation, requiring the Department of Law 93
Enforcement to provide grants to sheriffs' office s and 94
law enforcement agencies for specified purposes 95
relating to school safety in private schools; 96
providing requirements for such grants; requiring the 97
Department of Law Enforcement to develop a specified 98
form and provide such form to grant recipients; 99
providing requirements for the use of such funds; 100
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providing a limit on the amount of funds an applicant 101
may receive; providing an effective date. 102
103
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 104
105
Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 106
30.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 107
30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations. — 108
(1) Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or 109
by deputy, shall: 110
(k) Assist district school boards and charter school 111
governing boards in comply ing with, or private schools in 112
exercising options in, s. 1006.12. A sheriff must, at a minimum, 113
provide access to a Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach 114
Scott Beigel Guardian Program to aid in the prevention or 115
abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises, as 116
required under this paragraph. Persons certified as school 117
guardians pursuant to this paragraph have no authority to act in 118
any law enforcement capacity except to the extent necessary to 119
prevent or abate an active assailant incident. 120
1.a. If a local school board has voted by a majority to 121
implement a guardian program, the sheriff in that county shall 122
establish a guardian program to provide training, pursuant to 123
subparagraph 2., to school district, charter school, or private 124
school employees, either directly or through a contract with 125
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another sheriff's office that has established a guardian 126
program. 127
b. A charter school governing board in a school district 128
that has not voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian 129
program may request the sheriff in the county to establish a 130
guardian program for the purpose of training the charter school 131
employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the charter 132
school governing board may contract with a sheriff that has 133
established a guardian program to provide such training. The 134
charter school governing board must notify the superintendent 135
and the sheriff in the charter school's county of the contract 136
prior to its execution. 137
c. A private school in a school district that has not 138
voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian program may 139
request that the sheriff in the county of the private school 140
establish a guardian program for the purpose of training private 141
school employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the 142
private school may contract with a sheriff from another county 143
who has established a guardian program to provide such training. 144
The private school must notify the sheriff in the private 145
school's county of the contract with a sheriff from another 146
county before its execution. The private school is responsible 147
for all training and screening-related costs for a school 148
guardian program. The sheriff providing such training must 149
ensure that any moneys paid by a private school are not 150
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commingled with any funds provided by the state t o the sheriff 151
as reimbursement for screening -related and training -related 152
costs of any school district or charter school employee. 153
d. The training program required in sub -subparagraph 2.b. 154
is a standardized statewide curriculum, and each sheriff 155
providing such training shall adhere to the course of 156
instruction specified in that sub -subparagraph. This 157
subparagraph does not prohibit a sheriff from providing 158
additional training. A school guardian who has completed the 159
training program required in sub -subparagraph 2.b. may not be 160
required to attend another sheriff's training program pursuant 161
to that sub-subparagraph unless there has been at least a 1 -year 162
break in his or her appointment employment as a guardian. 163
e. The sheriff conducting the training pursuan t to 164
subparagraph 2. for school district and charter school employees 165
will be reimbursed for screening -related and training -related 166
costs and for providing a one -time stipend of $500 to each 167
school guardian who participates in the school guardian program. 168
f. The sheriff may waive the training and screening -169
related costs for a private school for a school guardian 170
program. Funds provided pursuant to sub -subparagraph e. may not 171
be used to subsidize any costs that have been waived by the 172
sheriff. 173
g. A person who is certified and in good standing under 174
the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, 175
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who meets the qualifications established in s. 943.13, and who 176
is otherwise qualified for the position of a school guardian may 177
be certified as a school guardian by the sheriff without 178
completing the training requirements of sub -subparagraph 2.b. 179
However, a person certified as a school guardian under this sub -180
subparagraph must meet the requirements of sub -subparagraphs 181
2.c.-e. 182
2. A sheriff who est ablishes a program shall consult with 183
the Department of Law Enforcement on programmatic guiding 184
principles, practices, and resources, and shall certify as 185
school guardians, without the power of arrest, school employees, 186
as specified in s. 1006.12(3), who: 187
a. Hold a valid license issued under s. 790.06. 188
b. Complete a 144-hour training program, consisting of 12 189
hours of training to improve the school guardian's knowledge and 190
skills necessary to respond to and de -escalate incidents on 191
school premises certified nationally recognized diversity 192
training and 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm safety and 193
proficiency training conducted by Criminal Justice Standards and 194
Training Commission-certified instructors, which must include: 195
(I) Eighty hours of fire arms instruction based on the 196
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission's Law 197
Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 198
10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than 199
associated with academy training. Program p articipants must 200
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achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training. 201
(II) Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol. 202
(III) Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction 203
using state-of-the-art simulator exercises. 204
(IV) Sixteen hours o f instruction in active shooter or 205
assailant scenarios. 206
(V) Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics. 207
(VI) Four hours of instruction in legal issues. 208
c. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 209
psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 210
Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 211
evaluation to the sheriff's office. The Department of Law 212
Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff's office with 213
mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this 214
paragraph. 215
d. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent 216
random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 217
112.0455 and the sheriff's office. 218
e. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 219
inspection, and firearm qua lification on at least an annual 220
basis. 221
222
The sheriff who conducts the guardian training or waives the 223
training requirements for a person under sub -subparagraph 1.g. 224
shall issue a school guardian certificate to persons individuals 225
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who meet the requirements of this section to the satisfaction of 226
the sheriff, and shall maintain documentation of weapon and 227
equipment inspections, as well as the training, certification, 228
inspection, and qualification records of each school guardian 229
certified by the sheriff. A person An individual who is 230
certified under this paragraph may serve as a school guardian 231
under s. 1006.12(3) only if he or she is appointed by the 232
applicable school district superintendent, charter school 233
principal, or private school head of school. 234
3.a.(I) Within 30 days after issuing a school guardian 235
certificate, the sheriff who issued the certificate must report 236
to the Department of Law Enforcement the name, date of birth, 237
and certification date of the school guardian. 238
(II) By September 1, 2024, each s heriff who issued a 239
school guardian certificate must report to the Department of Law 240
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and certification date of 241
each school guardian who received a certificate from the 242
sheriff. 243
b.(I) By February 1 and September 1 of e ach school year, 244
each school district, charter school, and private school must 245
report to the Department of Law Enforcement the name, date of 246
birth, and appointment date of each person appointed as a school 247
guardian. The school district, charter school, and private 248
school must also report to the Department of Law Enforcement the 249
date each school guardian separates from his or her appointment 250
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as a school guardian. 251
(II) By September 1, 2024, each school district, charter 252
school, and private school must repor t to the Department of Law 253
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and initial and end -of-254
appointment dates, as applicable, of each person appointed as a 255
school guardian. 256
c. The Department of Law Enforcement shall maintain a list 257
of each person appointed a s a school guardian in the state. The 258
list must include the name and certification date of each school 259
guardian and the date the person was appointed as a school 260
guardian, including the name of the school district, charter 261
school, or private school in whic h the school guardian is 262
appointed, any information provided pursuant to s. 1006.12(5), 263
and, if applicable, the date such person separated from his or 264
her appointment as a school guardian. The Department of Law 265
Enforcement shall remove from the list any pe rson whose training 266
has expired pursuant to sub -subparagraph 1.d. 267
d. Each sheriff must report on a quarterly basis to the 268
Department of Law Enforcement the schedule for upcoming school 269
guardian trainings, including the dates of the training, the 270
training locations, a contact person to register for the 271
training, and the class capacity. The Department of Law 272
Enforcement shall publish on its website a list of the upcoming 273
school guardian trainings. The Department of Law Enforcement 274
must update such list quar terly. 275
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e. A sheriff who fails to report the information required 276
by this subparagraph may not receive reimbursement from the 277
Department of Education for school guardian trainings. Upon the 278
submission of the required information, a sheriff is deemed 279
eligible for such funding and is authorized to continue to 280
receive reimbursement for school guardian training. 281
f. A school district, charter school, or private school 282
that fails to report the information required by this 283
subparagraph may not operate a school guardian program for the 284
following school year, unless the school district, charter 285
school, or private school has submitted the required 286
information. 287
g. By March 1 and October 1 of each school year, the 288
Department of Law Enforcement shall notify the Depa rtment of 289
Education of any sheriff, school district, charter school, or 290
private school that has not complied with the reporting 291
requirements of this subparagraph. 292
h. The Department of Law Enforcement may adopt rules to 293
implement the requirements of this subparagraph, including 294
requiring additional reporting information only as necessary to 295
uniquely identify each school guardian reported. 296
Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 330.41, Florida 297
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6), and a new subsectio n 298
(5) is added to that section to read: 299
330.41 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. — 300
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(5) PROTECTION OF SCHOOLS. — 301
(a) A person may not knowingly or willfully: 302
1. Operate a drone over a public or private school serving 303
students in any grade from voluntary prekindergarten through 304
grade 12; or 305
2. Allow a drone to make contact with a school, including 306
any person or object on the premises of or within the school 307
facility. 308
(b) A person who violates paragraph (a) commits a 309
misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 310
775.082 or s. 775.083. A person who commits a second or 311
subsequent violation commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, 312
punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 313
(c) A person who vi olates paragraph (a) and records video 314
of the school, including any person or object on the premises of 315
or within the school facility, commits a misdemeanor of the 316
first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 317
775.083. A person who commits a sec ond or subsequent violation 318
commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in 319
s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 320
(d) This subsection does not apply to actions identified 321
in paragraph (a) which are committed by: 322
1. A person acting under the prior written consent of the 323
school principal, district school board, superintendent, or 324
school governing board. 325
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2. A law enforcement agency that is in compliance with s. 326
934.50 or a person under contract with or otherwise a cting under 327
the direction of such law enforcement agency. 328
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 329
943.082, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 330
943.082 School Safety Awareness Program. — 331
(4) 332
(b) The district school board shall promot e the use of the 333
mobile suspicious activity reporting tool by advertising it on 334
the school district website, in newsletters, on school campuses, 335
and in school publications, by installing it on all mobile 336
devices issued to students, and by bookmarking the w ebsite on 337
all computer devices issued to students. Within the first 5 days 338
of each school year, each district school board and charter 339
school governing board must ensure that instruction on the use 340
of the mobile suspicious activity reporting tool known as 341
FortifyFL is provided to students. The instruction must be age 342
and developmentally appropriate and include the consequences for 343
making a threat or false report as described in ss. 790.162 and 344
790.163, respectively, involving school or school personnel's 345
property, school transportation, or a school -sponsored activity. 346
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 347
985.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 348
985.04 Oaths; records; confidential information. — 349
(4)(a) Notwithstanding any other pr ovision of this 350
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section, when a child of any age is taken into custody by a law 351
enforcement officer for an offense that would have been a felony 352
if committed by an adult, or a crime of violence, the law 353
enforcement agency must notify the superintendent of schools 354
that the child is alleged to have committed the delinquent act. 355
If the child is a dual enrolled student at a postsecondary 356
institution, the superintendent of schools, or his or her 357
designee, must notify the chief of police or the public safety 358
director of the postsecondary institution at which the student 359
is dual enrolled within 1 business day after receiving the 360
initial notification. 361
Section 5. Subsection (14) of section 1001.212, Florida 362
Statutes, is amended, and subsections (17) and (18) are added to 363
that section, to read: 364
1001.212 Office of Safe Schools. —There is created in the 365
Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office 366
is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The 367
office shall serve as a central repository for best practices, 368
training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters 369
regarding school safety and security, including prevention 370
efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness 371
planning. The office shall: 372
(14)(a) By August 1, 2024, de velop and adopt a Florida 373
school safety compliance inspection report to document 374
compliance or noncompliance with school safety requirements 375
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mandated by law or rule and adherence to established school 376
safety best practices to evaluate the safety, security, and 377
emergency response of the school. Upon the adoption of the 378
report and upon any revisions to the report, the office shall 379
provide a blank copy of the report to each district school 380
superintendent and charter school administrator. 381
(b) Monitor compliance with requirements relating to 382
school safety by school districts and public schools, including 383
charter schools. The office shall conduct unannounced 384
inspections of all public schools, including charter schools, 385
while school is in session, triennially and investigate reports 386
of noncompliance with school safety requirements. Within 3 387
school days after the unannounced inspection, the office shall 388
provide a copy of the completed Florida school safety compliance 389
inspection report, including any photographs or other evidence 390
of noncompliance, to the school safety specialist, the school 391
principal or charter school administrator, as appropriate, and 392
the district school superintendent. The school safety specialist 393
or charter school administrator shall acknowledge r eceipt of the 394
report in writing within 1 school day after receipt. The office 395
shall reinspect any school with documented deficiencies within 6 396
months. The school safety specialist or charter school 397
administrator, or his or her designee, must provide the of fice 398
with written notice of how the noncompliance with s. 399
1006.07(6)(f) has been remediated within 3 school days after 400
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receipt of the report. 401
(c) Provide quarterly reports to each district school 402
superintendent and school safety specialist identifying th e 403
number and percentage of schools, including charter schools, 404
inspected or reinspected during that quarter and the number and 405
percentage of inspected schools that had no school safety 406
requirement deficiencies. The school safety specialist shall 407
present each quarterly report to the district school board in a 408
public meeting. Annually, during the first quarter of every 409
school year, the school safety specialist shall report to the 410
district school board in a public meeting the number of schools 411
inspected during the preceding calendar year and the number and 412
percentage of schools in compliance during the initial 413
inspection and reinspection. 414
(d) Provide a bonus in an amount determined in the General 415
Appropriations Act, at the conclusion of the initial unannounce d 416
inspection conducted during the triennial period, to the school 417
principal or charter school administrator of each school that 418
complies with all school safety requirements. 419
(e) Refer any instructional personnel as defined in s. 420
1012.01(2) and any admini strative personnel as defined in s. 421
1012.01(3) who knowingly violate s. 1006.07(6)(f) to the 422
district school superintendent or charter school administrator, 423
as applicable, for disciplinary action if such action has not 424
already been commenced by the distric t school superintendent or 425
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charter school administrator upon receipt of the Florida school 426
safety compliance inspection report. The district school 427
superintendent or charter school administrator must notify the 428
office of the outcome of the disciplinary pro ceedings within 3 429
school days after the conclusion of the proceedings. 430
(17) Annually, at the beginning of the school year, notify 431
all administrative and instructional personnel by electronic 432
mail of the requirements of s. 1006.07(6)(f). 433
(18) By December 1, 2024, evaluate the methodology for the 434
safe schools allocation in s. 1011.62(12) and, if necessary, 435
make recommendations for an alternate methodology to distribute 436
the remaining balance of the safe schools allocation as 437
indicated in s. 1011.62(12) report incidents of noncompliance to 438
the commissioner pursuant to s. 1001.11(9) and the state board 439
pursuant to s. 1008.32 and other requirements of law, as 440
appropriate. 441
Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) and paragraph 442
(a) of subsection (6) of sec tion 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are 443
amended, and paragraph (f) is added to subsection (6) of that 444
section, to read: 445
1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 446
discipline and school safety. —The district school board shall 447
provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the 448
attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 449
attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 450
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welfare of students, including: 451
(4) EMERGENCY DRILLS; EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. — 452
(a) Formulate and prescribe policies and procedures, in 453
consultation with the appropriate public safety agencies, for 454
emergency drills and for actual emergencies, including, but not 455
limited to, fires, natural disasters, active assailant and 456
hostage situations, and b omb threats, for all students and 457
faculty at all public schools of the district composed of grades 458
K-12, pursuant to State Board of Education rules. Drills for 459
active assailant and hostage situations must be conducted in 460
accordance with developmentally app ropriate and age-appropriate 461
procedures, as specified in State Board of Education rules. Law 462
enforcement officers responsible for responding to the school in 463
the event of an active assailant emergency, as determined 464
necessary by the sheriff in coordination with the district's 465
school safety specialist, must be physically present on campus 466
and directly involved in the execution of active assailant 467
emergency drills. School districts must notify law enforcement 468
officers at least 24 hours before conducting an ac tive assailant 469
emergency drill at which such law enforcement officers are 470
expected to attend. Each school, including charter schools, must 471
maintain a record that is accessible on each campus or by 472
request of the Office of Safe Schools of all current school year 473
and prior school year drills conducted pursuant to this 474
subsection, including the names of law enforcement personnel 475
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present on campus for each active assailant emergency drill. 476
District school board policies must include commonly used alarm 477
system responses for specific types of emergencies and 478
verification by each school that drills have been provided as 479
required by law, State Board of Education rules, and fire 480
protection codes and may provide accommodations for drills 481
conducted by exceptional stude nt education centers. District 482
school boards shall establish emergency response and emergency 483
preparedness policies and procedures that include, but are not 484
limited to, identifying the individuals responsible for 485
contacting the primary emergency response a gency and the 486
emergency response agency responsible for notifying the school 487
district for each type of emergency. The State Board of 488
Education shall refer to recommendations provided in reports 489
published pursuant to s. 943.687 for guidance and, by August 1 , 490
2023, consult with state and local constituencies to adopt rules 491
applicable to the requirements of this subsection which, at a 492
minimum, define the terms "emergency drill," "active threat," 493
and "after-action report" and establish minimum emergency drill 494
policies and procedures related to the timing, frequency, 495
participation, training, notification, accommodations, and 496
responses to threat situations by incident type, school level, 497
school type, and student and school characteristics. The rules 498
must require all types of emergency drills to be conducted no 499
less frequently than on an annual school year basis. 500
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(6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES. —Each district 501
school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures 502
for the prevention of violence on sch ool grounds, including the 503
assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior 504
poses a threat to the safety of the school community. 505
(a) School safety specialist. —Each district school 506
superintendent shall designate a school safety specialist f or 507
the district. The school safety specialist must be a school 508
administrator employed by the school district or a law 509
enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's office located in 510
the school district. Any school safety specialist designated 511
from the sheriff's office must first be authorized and approved 512
by the sheriff employing the law enforcement officer. Any school 513
safety specialist designated from the sheriff's office remains 514
the employee of the office for purposes of compensation, 515
insurance, workers' compensation, and other benefits authorized 516
by law for a law enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's 517
office. The sheriff and the school superintendent may determine 518
by agreement the reimbursement for such costs, or may share the 519
costs, associated wit h employment of the law enforcement officer 520
as a school safety specialist. The school safety specialist must 521
earn a certificate of completion of the school safety specialist 522
training provided by the Office of Safe Schools within 1 year 523
after appointment an d is responsible for the supervision and 524
oversight for all school safety and security personnel, 525
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policies, and procedures in the school district. The school 526
safety specialist, or his or her designee, shall: 527
1. In conjunction with the district school supe rintendent, 528
annually review school district policies and procedures for 529
compliance with state law and rules, including the district's 530
timely and accurate submission of school environmental safety 531
incident reports to the department pursuant to s. 1001.212(8 ). 532
At least quarterly, the school safety specialist must report to 533
the district school superintendent and the district school board 534
any noncompliance by the school district with laws or rules 535
regarding school safety. 536
2. Provide the necessary training and resources to 537
students and school district staff in matters relating to youth 538
mental health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, 539
including active shooter training; and school safety and 540
security. 541
3. Serve as the school district liaison with local public 542
safety agencies and national, state, and community agencies and 543
organizations in matters of school safety and security. 544
4. In collaboration with the appropriate public safety 545
agencies, as that te rm is defined in s. 365.171, by October 1 of 546
each year, conduct a school security risk assessment at each 547
public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 548
developed by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s. 549
1006.1493. Based on the assessment findings, the district's 550
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school safety specialist shall provide recommendations to the 551
district school superintendent and the district school board 552
which identify strategies and activities that the district 553
school board should implement in order to addres s the findings 554
and improve school safety and security. Each district school 555
board must receive such findings and the school safety 556
specialist's recommendations at a publicly noticed district 557
school board meeting to provide the public an opportunity to 558
hear the district school board members discuss and take action 559
on the findings and recommendations. Each school safety 560
specialist, through the district school superintendent, shall 561
report such findings and school board action to the Office of 562
Safe Schools within 30 days after the district school board 563
meeting. 564
5. Conduct annual unannounced inspections, using the form 565
adopted by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s. 566
1001.212(14), of all public schools, including charter schools, 567
while school is in session and investigate reports of 568
noncompliance with school safety requirements. 569
6. Report violations of paragraph (f) by administrative 570
personnel and instructional personnel to the district school 571
superintendent or charter school administrator, as applicable. 572
(f) School safety requirements. — 573
1. By August 1, 2024, each school district and charter 574
school governing board shall comply with the following school 575
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safety requirements: 576
a. All gates or other access points that restrict ingress 577
to or egress from a s chool campus shall remain closed and locked 578
when students are on campus. A gate or other campus access point 579
may not be open or unlocked, regardless of whether it is during 580
normal school hours, unless: 581
(I) Attended or actively staffed by a person when st udents 582
are on campus; 583
(II) The use is in accordance with a shared use agreement 584
pursuant to s. 1013.101; or 585
(III) The school safety specialist, or his or her 586
designee, has documented in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment 587
Tool portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools that the 588
gate or other access point is not subject to this requirement 589
based upon other safety measures at the school. The office may 590
conduct a compliance visit pursuant to s. 1001.212(14) to review 591
if such determination is appropria te. 592
b. All school classrooms and other instructional spaces 593
must be locked to prevent ingress when occupied by students, 594
except between class periods when students are moving between 595
classrooms or other instructional spaces. If a classroom or 596
other instructional space door must be left unlocked or open for 597
any reason other than between class periods when students are 598
moving between classrooms or other instructional spaces, the 599
door must be actively staffed by a person standing or seated at 600
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the door. 601
c. All campus access doors, gates, and other access points 602
that allow ingress to or egress from a school building shall 603
remain closed and locked at all times to prevent ingress, unless 604
a person is actively entering or exiting the door, gate, or 605
other access point or the school safety specialist, or his or 606
her designee, has documented in the Florida Safe Schools 607
Assessment Tool portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools 608
that the open and unlocked door, gate, or other access point is 609
not subject to this req uirement based upon other safety measures 610
at the school. The office may conduct a compliance visit 611
pursuant to s. 1001.212(14) to review if such determination is 612
appropriate. All campus access doors, gates, and other access 613
points may be electronically or manually controlled by school 614
personnel to allow access by authorized visitors, students, and 615
school personnel. 616
d. All school classrooms and other instructional spaces 617
must clearly and conspicuously mark the safest areas in each 618
classroom or other instru ctional space where students must 619
shelter in place during an emergency. Students must be notified 620
of these safe areas within the first 10 days of the school year. 621
If it is not feasible to clearly and conspicuously mark the 622
safest areas in a classroom or ot her instructional space, the 623
school safety specialist, or his or her designee, must document 624
such determination in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 625
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portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools, identifying 626
where affected students must shelter in place. The office shall 627
assist the school safety specialist with compliance during the 628
inspection required under s. 1001.212(14). 629
630
Persons who are aware of a violation of this paragraph must 631
report the violation to the school principal. The school 632
principal must report the violation to the school safety 633
specialist no later than the next business day after receiving 634
such report. If the person who violated this paragraph is the 635
school principal or charter school administrator, the report 636
must be made directl y to the district school superintendent or 637
charter school governing board, as applicable. 638
(g) Progressive discipline policy. —Each district school 639
board and charter school governing board shall adopt a 640
progressive discipline policy for addressing any inst ructional 641
personnel as defined in s. 1012.01(2) and any administrative 642
personnel as defined in s. 1012.01(3) who knowingly violate 643
school safety requirements. 644
Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsections 645
(3) and (6) of section 1006.12, Fl orida Statutes, are amended to 646
read: 647
1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school. —For 648
the protection and safety of school personnel, property, 649
students, and visitors, each district school board and school 650
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district superintendent shall partner with law enforcement 651
agencies or security agencies to establish or assign one or more 652
safe-school officers at each school facility within the 653
district, including charter schools. A district school board 654
must collaborate with charter school governing boards to 655
facilitate charter school access to all safe -school officer 656
options available under this section. The school district may 657
implement any combination of the options in subsections (1) -(4) 658
to best meet the needs of the school district and charter 659
schools. 660
(1) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER. —A school district may 661
establish school resource officer programs through a cooperative 662
agreement with law enforcement agencies. 663
(b) School resource officers shall abide by district 664
school board policies and shall consult with and coordinate 665
activities through the school principal, but shall be 666
responsible to the law enforcement agency in all matters 667
relating to employment, subject to agreements between a district 668
school board and a law enforcement agency. The agreements shall 669
identify the entity responsible for maintaining records relating 670
to training. Activities conducted by the school resource officer 671
which are part of the regular instructional program of the 672
school shall be under the direction of the school principal. 673
(3) SCHOOL GUARDIAN.— 674
(a) At the school district's or the charter school 675
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governing board's discretion, as applicable, pursuant to s. 676
30.15, a school district or charter school governing board may 677
participate in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach 678
Scott Beigel Guardian Program to meet the requirement of 679
establishing a safe-school officer. The following individuals 680
may serve as a school guardian, in support of school -sanctioned 681
activities for purposes of s. 790.115, upon satisfactory 682
completion of the requirements under s. 30.15(1)(k) and 683
certification by a sheriff: 684
1.(a) A school district employee or personnel, as defined 685
under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided 686
under s. 1002.33(12)(a), who volunteers to serve as a school 687
guardian in addition to his or her official job duties; or 688
2.(b) An employee of a school district or a charter school 689
who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school 690
guardian. 691
(b) Before appointing an individual as a school guardian, 692
the school district or charter school shall contact the 693
Department of Law Enforcement and review all information 694
maintained under s. 30.15(1)(k)3.c. related to the individual. 695
(c) The department shall provide to the Department of Law 696
Enforcement any information relatin g to a school guardian 697
received pursuant to subsection (5). 698
(6) CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING. — 699
(a) Each safe-school officer who is also a sworn law 700
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enforcement officer shall complete mental health crisis 701
intervention training using a curriculum developed by a national 702
organization with expertise in mental health crisis 703
intervention. The training must improve the officer's knowledge 704
and skills as a first responder to incidents involving students 705
with emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de -706
escalation skills to ensure student and officer safety. 707
(b) Each safe-school officer who is not a sworn law 708
enforcement officer shall receive training to improve the 709
officer's knowledge and skills necessary to respond to and de -710
escalate incidents on school premises. 711
712
If a district school board, through its adopted policies, 713
procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any 714
safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school 715
district must assign a school resource officer or school safety 716
officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the 717
charter school's share of the costs of the school resource 718
officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school 719
allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s. 720
1011.62(12) and shall be retained by the school district. 721
Section 8. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year and subject to 722
legislative appropriation, the Department of Law Enforcement 723
shall provide grants t o sheriffs' offices and law enforcement 724
agencies to conduct physical site security assessments for and 725
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provide reports to private schools with recommendations on 726
improving such schools' infrastructure safety and security; to 727
assist private schools in devel oping active assailant response 728
protocols and develop and implement training relating to active 729
assailant responses, including active assailant response drills 730
for students and school personnel; and to consult with or 731
provide guidance to private schools in implementing a threat 732
management program similar to the program required under s. 733
1001.212(12), Florida Statutes, for public schools. The 734
Department of Law Enforcement shall develop a site security 735
assessment form for use by sheriffs' offices and law enfo rcement 736
agencies and provide the form, including any subsequent 737
revisions, to the recipient of funds in conducting the duties 738
outlined in this section. Grants awarded under this section may 739
be used to provide reimbursements for personnel costs, software, 740
and other items necessary to assist private schools. The 741
Department of Law Enforcement shall establish the requirements 742
for awarding grants under this section. An applicant may not 743
receive more than 10 percent of the total amount appropriated 744
for the program. 745
Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 746