CS/HB 1509 2024
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to public records; amending s. 30.15, 2
F.S.; providing that certain information relating to 3
school guardians which is held and reported by any 4
school district, charter school, private school, or 5
sheriff to the Department of Law Enforcement is exempt 6
from public records requirements; providing for future 7
legislative review and repeal of the exemption; 8
providing a statement of public necessity; pro viding a 9
contingent effective date. 10
11
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
13
Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 14
30.15, Florida Statutes, as amended by HB 1473, 2024 Regular 15
Session, is amended to read: 16
30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations ; public records 17
exemption.— 18
(1) Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or 19
by deputy, shall: 20
(k) Assist district school boards and charter school 21
governing boards in complying with, or private schools in 22
exercising options in, s. 1006.12. A sheriff must, at a minimum, 23
provide access to a Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach 24
Scott Beigel Guardian Program to aid in the prevention or 25
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abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises, as 26
required under this paragraph. Persons certified as school 27
guardians pursuant to this paragraph have no authority to act in 28
any law enforcement capacity except to the extent necessary to 29
prevent or abate an active assailant incident. 30
1.a. If a local school board has vo ted by a majority to 31
implement a guardian program, the sheriff in that county shall 32
establish a guardian program to provide training, pursuant to 33
subparagraph 2., to school district, charter school, or private 34
school employees, either directly or through a contract with 35
another sheriff's office that has established a guardian 36
program. 37
b. A charter school governing board in a school district 38
that has not voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian 39
program may request the sheriff in the county to establ ish a 40
guardian program for the purpose of training the charter school 41
employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the charter 42
school governing board may contract with a sheriff that has 43
established a guardian program to provide such training. The 44
charter school governing board must notify the superintendent 45
and the sheriff in the charter school's county of the contract 46
prior to its execution. 47
c. A private school in a school district that has not 48
voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian pro gram may 49
request that the sheriff in the county of the private school 50
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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
establish a guardian program for the purpose of training private 51
school employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the 52
private school may contract with a sheriff from another c ounty 53
who has established a guardian program to provide such training. 54
The private school must notify the sheriff in the private 55
school's county of the contract with a sheriff from another 56
county before its execution. The private school is responsible 57
for all training and screening -related costs for a school 58
guardian program. The sheriff providing such training must 59
ensure that any moneys paid by a private school are not 60
commingled with any funds provided by the state to the sheriff 61
as reimbursement for scr eening-related and training -related 62
costs of any school district or charter school employee. 63
d. The training program required in sub -subparagraph 2.b. 64
is a standardized statewide curriculum, and each sheriff 65
providing such training shall adhere to the co urse of 66
instruction specified in that sub -subparagraph. This 67
subparagraph does not prohibit a sheriff from providing 68
additional training. A school guardian who has completed the 69
training program required in sub -subparagraph 2.b. may not be 70
required to attend another sheriff's training program pursuant 71
to that sub-subparagraph unless there has been at least a 1 -year 72
break in his or her appointment as a guardian. 73
e. The sheriff conducting the training pursuant to 74
subparagraph 2. for school district and char ter school employees 75
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will be reimbursed for screening -related and training -related 76
costs and for providing a one -time stipend of $500 to each 77
school guardian who participates in the school guardian program. 78
f. The sheriff may waive the training and scree ning-79
related costs for a private school for a school guardian 80
program. Funds provided pursuant to sub -subparagraph e. may not 81
be used to subsidize any costs that have been waived by the 82
sheriff. 83
g. A person who is certified under the Florida Criminal 84
Justice Standards and Training Commission, who meets the 85
qualifications established in s. 943.13, and who is otherwise 86
qualified for the position of a school guardian may be certified 87
as a school guardian by the sheriff without completing the 88
training requirements of sub-subparagraph 2.b. However, a person 89
certified as a school guardian under this sub -subparagraph must 90
meet the requirements of sub -subparagraphs 2.c.-e. 91
2. A sheriff who establishes a program shall consult with 92
the Department of Law Enforcemen t on programmatic guiding 93
principles, practices, and resources, and shall certify as 94
school guardians, without the power of arrest, school employees, 95
as specified in s. 1006.12(3), who: 96
a. Hold a valid license issued under s. 790.06. 97
b. Complete a 144-hour training program, consisting of 12 98
hours of training to improve the school guardian's knowledge and 99
skills necessary to respond to and de -escalate incidents on 100
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school premises and 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm 101
safety and proficiency training conducted by Criminal Justice 102
Standards and Training Commission -certified instructors, which 103
must include: 104
(I) Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the 105
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission's Law 106
Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 107
10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than 108
associated with academy training. Program participants must 109
achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training. 110
(II) Sixteen hours of ins truction in precision pistol. 111
(III) Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction 112
using state-of-the-art simulator exercises. 113
(IV) Sixteen hours of instruction in active shooter or 114
assailant scenarios. 115
(V) Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics. 116
(VI) Four hours of instruction in legal issues. 117
c. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 118
psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 119
Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 120
evaluation to the sh eriff's office. The Department of Law 121
Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff's office with 122
mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this 123
paragraph. 124
d. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent 125
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random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 126
112.0455 and the sheriff's office. 127
e. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 128
inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual 129
basis. 130
131
The sheriff who conducts the guardian training or waives the 132
training requirements for a person under sub -subparagraph 1.g. 133
shall issue a school guardian certificate to persons who meet 134
the requirements of this section to the satisfaction of the 135
sheriff, and shall maintain documentation of weapon and 136
equipment inspections, as well as the training, certification, 137
inspection, and qualification records of each school guardian 138
certified by the sheriff. A person who is certified under this 139
paragraph may serve as a school guardian under s. 1006.12(3) 140
only if he or she is a ppointed by the applicable school district 141
superintendent, charter school principal, or private school head 142
of school. 143
3.a.(I) Within 30 days after issuing a school guardian 144
certificate, the sheriff who issued the certificate must report 145
to the Department of Law Enforcement the name, date of birth, 146
and certification date of the school guardian. 147
(II) By September 1, 2024, each sheriff who issued a 148
school guardian certificate must report to the Department of Law 149
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and ce rtification date of 150
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each school guardian who received a certificate from the 151
sheriff. 152
b.(I) By February 1 and September 1 of each school year, 153
each school district, charter school, and private school must 154
report to the Department of Law Enforcement the n ame, date of 155
birth, and appointment date of each person appointed as a school 156
guardian. The school district, charter school, and private 157
school must also report to the Department of Law Enforcement the 158
date such person separates from his or her appointment as a 159
school guardian. 160
(II) By September 1, 2024, each school district, charter 161
school, and private school must report to the Department of Law 162
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and appointment date of 163
each person appointed as a school guardian. Withi n 30 days after 164
a school guardian separates from his or her appointment, the 165
school district, charter school, and private school must report 166
to the Department of Law Enforcement the date such person 167
separated from his or her appointment as a school guardia n. 168
c. The Department of Law Enforcement shall maintain a list 169
of each person appointed as a school guardian in the state. The 170
list must include the name and certification date of each school 171
guardian and the date the person was appointed as a school 172
guardian, including the name of the school district, charter 173
school, or private school in which the school guardian is 174
appointed, any information provided pursuant to s. 1006.12(5), 175
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and, if applicable, the date such person separated from his or 176
her appointment as a school guardian. The Department of Law 177
Enforcement shall remove from the list any person whose training 178
has expired pursuant to sub -subparagraph 1.d. 179
d.(I) Any information held by the department or a law 180
enforcement agency, school district, or char ter school pursuant 181
to sub-subparagraphs a.-c. that would identify a person who has 182
been certified to serve as a school guardian is exempt from s. 183
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. 184
(II) This sub-subparagraph is subject to the Open 185
Government Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and 186
shall stand repealed on October 2, 2029, unless reviewed and 187
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 188
e.d. Each sheriff must report on a quarterly basis to the 189
Department of Law Enforcement the schedule for upcoming school 190
guardian trainings, including the dates of the training, the 191
training locations, a contact person to register for the 192
training, and the class capacity. The Department of Law 193
Enforcement shall publish on its website a list of the upcoming 194
school guardian trainings. The Department of Law Enforcement 195
must update such list quarterly. 196
f.e. A sheriff who fails to report the information 197
required by this subparagraph may not receive reimbursement from 198
the Department of Education for school guardian trainings. Upon 199
the submission of the required information, a sheriff is deemed 200
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eligible for such funding and is authorized to continue to 201
receive reimbursement for school guardian training. 202
g.f. A school district, char ter school, or private school 203
that fails to report the information required by this 204
subparagraph may not operate a school guardian program for the 205
following school year. Upon the submission of the required 206
information, the school district, charter school, or private 207
school is authorized to resume operation of the school guardian 208
program. 209
h.g. By March 1 and October 1 of each school year, the 210
Department of Law Enforcement shall notify the Department of 211
Education of any sheriff, school district, charter sch ool, or 212
private school that has not complied with the reporting 213
requirements of this subparagraph. 214
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 215
necessity that any information held and reported by any school 216
district, charter school, private sch ool, or sheriff to the 217
Department of Law Enforcement that may identify whether a 218
particular person is or has been certified or appointed as a 219
school guardian be made exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida 220
Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the State Constitut ion. 221
School security and student safety are fundamental priorities in 222
the state. The safety of people serving or who have served as 223
school guardians is also an important priority in the state. 224
School guardians serve a critical role as safe -school officers 225
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and first responders, and their presence on school grounds 226
serves as a deterrent against incidents threatening the lives of 227
students and school personnel. Disclosure of the identity of 228
school guardians, whether there is a school guardian on a school 229
campus, and the number of school guardians on any school campus 230
may compromise their safety and adversely affect their ability 231
to adequately respond to an active assailant incident. 232
Accordingly, it is necessary to protect the identity of school 233
guardians from public records requirements in order to 234
effectively and efficiently implement the purpose and intent of 235
a school guardian program. 236
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 237
that HB 1473 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 238
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 239
extension thereof and becomes a law. 240