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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
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An act relating to public records; amending s. 30.15, 2
F.S.; providing that certain information relating to 3
school guardians held by the Department of Law 4
Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school 5
district, or a charter school is exempt from public 6
records requirements; providing for future legislative 7
review and repeal of the exemption; providing a 8
statement of public necessity; providing a contingent 9
effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 30.15, 14
Florida Statutes, to read: 15
30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations. — 16
(6) Any information held by the Department of L aw 17
Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or a 18
charter school that would identify whether a person has been 19
certified to serve as a school guardian is exempt from s. 20
119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This 21
subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act 22
in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 23
2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through 24
reenactment by the Legislature. 25
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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
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 26
necessity that any information held by the Department of Law 27
Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or a 28
charter school that would identify whether a person has been 29
certified to serve as a school guardian is exempt from s. 30
119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the 31
State Constitution. School security and student safety are 32
fundamental priorities in this state as is the safety of people 33
serving or who have served as school guardians. School guardians 34
serve a critical role as safe-school officers and first 35
responders, and their presence on school grounds serves as a 36
deterrent against incidents threatening the lives of students 37
and school personnel. Disclosure of the identity of persons 38
certified as school guardians might undermine such deterrence 39
and may compromise their safety along with the safety of 40
students by allowing ill -intentioned persons to compare the 41
records of certified school guardians to information concerning 42
school employees to discern whether a perso n has been appointed 43
to serve as a school guardian. The public disclosure of such 44
information would also adversely affect their ability to 45
adequately respond to an active assailant incident as an 46
assailant might be alerted in advance that a particular pers on 47
is certified as a school guardian. Furthermore, school guardians 48
who have been appointed to that position might leave their 49
appointment for a period of time while maintaining their 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
certification, and, thereafter, be reappointed at a future date. 51
The safety of such persons would be compromised if their status 52
as school guardians became public record by virtue of their 53
continued certification. Accordingly, it is necessary to protect 54
the identity of persons certified as school guardians from 55
public records requirements in order to effectively and 56
efficiently implement the purpose and intent of school guardian 57
programs. 58
Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date 59
that HB 1473 or similar legislation takes effect , if such 60
legislation is adopted in the same legislative session or an 61
extension thereof and becomes a law. 62