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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 the safety of students; amending s. 2
30.15, F.S.; revising the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron 3
Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program to 4
include child care facilities; requiring a sheriff to 5
establish a guardian program under certain 6
circumstances; requiring certain security guards to 7
meet specified school guardian training and screening 8
requirements; requiring a child care facility or 9
security agency to be responsible for all costs 10
related to the guardian program; authorizing a sheriff 11
to waive such costs for a child care facility; 12
prohibiting a sheriff from waiving costs for initial 13
training of a school security guard; authorizing a 14
sheriff to certify a person as a school security guard 15
if he or she meets specified criteria; revising 16
firearm requirements for school guardians and school 17
security guards; authorizing a sheriff to issue 18
certificates to school security guards who meet 19
specified requirements; requiring a sheriff to 20
maintain specified documentation; requiring a child 21
care facility or employing security agency to make 22
specified reports; requiring the Department of Law 23
Enforcement to maintain specified records; requiring a 24
sheriff to make specified reports of certain school 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
guardian or school security guard trainings; 26
prohibiting a child care facility from operating a 27
school guardian program under certain circumstances; 28
amending s. 402.305, F.S.; authorizing a child care 29
facility to partner with specified entities to 30
establish or assign safe -school officers and 31
participate in the gua rdian program; requiring a child 32
care facility to pay for the full cost of the guardian 33
program; requiring compliance with specified 34
provisions relating to safe -school officers; providing 35
construction; amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; requiring 36
specified school safety requirements to be implemented 37
during specified time periods; revising the 38
requirements for certain gates and campus access 39
points to be open or unlocked; providing that certain 40
instructional spaces for career and technical 41
education are exempt from specified requirements under 42
certain circumstances; providing that certain 43
provisions apply to common areas on school campuses; 44
providing exemptions from certain requirements for 45
doors, gates, and campus access points; providing 46
requirements for locked ba rriers between classrooms 47
and open school campuses; requiring certain protocols 48
and policies to be provided to substitute teachers; 49
amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; requiring a sheriff to 50
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conduct specified training; requiring that certain 51
reports be submitted to a school security guard's 52
employing agency; requiring a sheriff's approval 53
before a school security guard's employment in a 54
county; requiring the Office of Safe Schools to 55
provide specified information to the Department of Law 56
Enforcement; providing an ef fective date. 57
58
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59
60
Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 61
30.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 62
30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations. — 63
(1) Sheriffs, in their respecti ve counties, in person or 64
by deputy, shall: 65
(k) Assist district school boards and charter school 66
governing boards in complying with, or private schools or child 67
care facilities, as defined in s. 402.302, in exercising options 68
in, s. 1006.12. A sheriff mu st, at a minimum, provide access to 69
a Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian 70
Program to aid in the prevention or abatement of active 71
assailant incidents on school premises, as required under this 72
paragraph. Persons certified as scho ol guardians pursuant to 73
this paragraph have no authority to act in any law enforcement 74
capacity except to the extent necessary to prevent or abate an 75
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active assailant incident. 76
1.a. If a local school board has voted by a majority to 77
implement a guardian program or has contracted for the use of 78
school security guards to satisfy the requirements of s. 79
1006.12, the sheriff in that county shall establish a guardian 80
program to provide training for school guardians or school 81
security guards, pursuant to subpar agraph 2., to school 82
district, charter school, or private school, child care 83
facility, or security agency employees, either directly or 84
through a contract with another sheriff's office that has 85
established a guardian program. 86
b. A charter school governin g board in a school district 87
that has not voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian 88
program may request the sheriff in the county to establish a 89
guardian program for the purpose of training the charter school 90
employees or school security guards consi stent with the 91
requirements of subparagraph 2 . If the county sheriff denies the 92
request, the charter school governing board may contract with a 93
sheriff that has established a guardian program to provide such 94
training. The charter school governing board mus t notify the 95
superintendent and the sheriff in the charter school's county of 96
the contract prior to its execution. The security agency 97
employing a school security guard is responsible for all 98
training and screening -related costs for a school security 99
guard. 100
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c. A private school or child care facility in a school 101
district that has not voted, or has declined, to implement a 102
guardian program may request that the sheriff in the county of 103
the private school or child care facility establish a guardian 104
program for the purpose of training private school employees, 105
child care facility employees, or school security guards . If the 106
county sheriff denies the request, the private school or child 107
care facility may contract with a sheriff from another county 108
who has established a guardian program under subparagraph 2. to 109
provide such training. The private school or child care facility 110
must notify the sheriff in the private school's or child care 111
facility's county of the contract with a sheriff from another 112
county before its execution. The private school , child care 113
facility, or security agency is responsible for all training and 114
screening-related costs for a school guardian program. The 115
sheriff providing such training must ensure that any moneys paid 116
by a private school, child care facility, or security agency are 117
not commingled with any funds provided by the state to the 118
sheriff as reimbursement for screening -related and training -119
related costs of any school district or charter school employee. 120
d. The training program requi red in sub-subparagraph 2.b. 121
is a standardized statewide curriculum, and each sheriff 122
providing such training shall adhere to the course of 123
instruction specified in that sub -subparagraph. This 124
subparagraph does not prohibit a sheriff from providing 125
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additional training. A school guardian or school security guard 126
who has completed the training program required in sub -127
subparagraph 2.b. may not be required to attend another 128
sheriff's training program pursuant to that sub -subparagraph 129
unless there has been at le ast a 1-year break in his or her 130
appointment as a guardian or employment by a security agency as 131
a school security guard in a school . 132
e. The sheriff conducting the training pursuant to 133
subparagraph 2. for school district and charter school employees 134
will be reimbursed for screening -related and training -related 135
costs and for providing a one -time stipend of $500 to each 136
school guardian who participates in the school guardian program. 137
f. The sheriff may waive the training and screening -138
related costs for a private school or child care facility for a 139
school guardian program. Funds provided pursuant to sub -140
subparagraph e. may not be used to subsidize any costs that have 141
been waived by the sheriff. The sheriff may not waive the 142
training and screening -related costs required to be paid by a 143
security agency for initial training or ongoing training of a 144
school security guard. 145
g. A person who is certified and in good standing under 146
the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, 147
who meets the qualif ications established in s. 943.13, and who 148
is otherwise qualified for the position of a school guardian or 149
school security guard may be certified as a school guardian or 150
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school security guard by the sheriff without completing the 151
training requirements of s ub-subparagraph 2.b. However, a person 152
certified as a school guardian or school security guard under 153
this sub-subparagraph must meet the requirements of sub -154
subparagraphs 2.c.-e. 155
2. A sheriff who establishes a program shall consult with 156
the Department of Law Enforcement on programmatic guiding 157
principles, practices, and resources, and shall certify as 158
school guardians, without the power of arrest, school employees, 159
as specified in s. 1006.12(3), or shall certify as school 160
security guards those persons emp loyed by a security agency who 161
meet the criteria specified in s. 1006.12(4), and who: 162
a. Hold a valid license issued under s. 790.06 or are 163
otherwise eligible to possess or carry a concealed firearm under 164
chapter 790. 165
b. After satisfying the requirements of s. 1006.12(7), 166
complete a 144-hour training program, consisting of 12 hours of 167
training to improve the school guardian's knowledge and skills 168
necessary to respond to and de -escalate incidents on school 169
premises and 132 total hours of compre hensive firearm safety and 170
proficiency training conducted by Criminal Justice Standards and 171
Training Commission-certified instructors, which must include: 172
(I) Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the 173
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commi ssion's Law 174
Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 175
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10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than 176
associated with academy training. Program participants must 177
achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training. 178
(II) Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol. 179
(III) Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction 180
using state-of-the-art simulator exercises. 181
(IV) Sixteen hours of instruction in active shooter or 182
assailant scenarios. 183
(V) Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics. 184
(VI) Four hours of instruction in legal issues. 185
c. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 186
psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 187
Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 188
evaluation to the sheriff's office. The Department of Law 189
Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff's office with 190
mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this 191
paragraph. 192
d. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subs equent 193
random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 194
112.0455 and the sheriff's office. 195
e. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 196
inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual 197
basis. 198
199
The sheriff who conducts the guard ian training or waives the 200
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training requirements for a person under sub -subparagraph 1.g. 201
shall issue a school guardian certificate to persons who meet 202
the requirements of this section to the satisfaction of the 203
sheriff, and shall maintain documentation of weapon and 204
equipment inspections, as well as the training, certification, 205
inspection, and qualification records of each school guardian 206
certified by the sheriff. A person who is certified under this 207
paragraph may serve as a school guardian under s. 1006.1 2(3) 208
only if he or she is appointed by the applicable school district 209
superintendent, charter school principal, or private school head 210
of school, or child care facility owner . A sheriff who conducts 211
the training for a school security guard or waives the tr aining 212
requirements for a person under sub -subparagraph 1.g. and 213
determines that the school security guard has met all the 214
requirements of s. 1006.12(4) shall issue a school security 215
guard certificate to persons who meet the requirements of this 216
section to the satisfaction of the sheriff and shall maintain 217
documentation of weapon and equipment inspections, training, 218
certification, and qualification records for each school 219
security guard certified by the sheriff. 220
3.a.(I) Within 30 days after issuing a scho ol guardian or 221
school security guard certificate, the sheriff who issued the 222
certificate must report to the Department of Law Enforcement the 223
name, date of birth, and certification date of the school 224
guardian or school security guard . 225
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(II) By September 1 , 2024, each sheriff who issued a 226
school guardian certificate must report to the Department of Law 227
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and certification date of 228
each school guardian who received a certificate from the 229
sheriff. 230
b.(I) By February 1 and Se ptember 1 of each school year, 231
each school district, charter school, and private school, child 232
care facility, and employing security agency must report in the 233
manner prescribed to the Department of Law Enforcement the name, 234
date of birth, and appointment date of each person appointed as 235
a school guardian or employed as a school security guard . The 236
school district, charter school, and private school, child care 237
facility, and employing security agency must also report in the 238
manner prescribed to the Department of Law Enforcement the date 239
each school guardian or school security guard separates from his 240
or her appointment as a school guardian or employment as a 241
school security guard in a school. 242
(II) By September 1, 2024, each school district, charter 243
school, and private school must report to the Department of Law 244
Enforcement the name, date of birth, and initial and end -of-245
appointment dates, as applicable, of each person appointed a s a 246
school guardian. 247
c. The Department of Law Enforcement shall maintain a list 248
of each person appointed as a school guardian or certified as a 249
school security guard in the state. The list must include the 250
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name and certification date of each school guard ian and school 251
security guard and the date the person was appointed as a school 252
guardian or certified as a school security guard , including the 253
name of the school district, charter school, or private school, 254
or child care facility in which the school guard ian is 255
appointed, or the employing security agency of a school security 256
guard, any information provided pursuant to s. 1006.12(5), and, 257
if applicable, the date such person separated from his or her 258
appointment as a school guardian or the last date a school 259
security guard served in a school as of the last reporting date . 260
The Department of Law Enforcement shall remove from the list any 261
person whose training has expired pursuant to sub -subparagraph 262
1.d. 263
d. Each sheriff must report on a quarterly basis to the 264
Department of Law Enforcement the schedule for upcoming school 265
guardian or school security guard trainings, including the dates 266
of the training, the training locations, a contact person to 267
register for the training, and the class capacity. If no 268
trainings are scheduled, the sheriff is not required to report 269
to the Department of Law Enforcement. The Department of Law 270
Enforcement shall publish on its website a list of the upcoming 271
school guardian trainings. The Department of Law Enforcement 272
must update such list quarterly. 273
e. A sheriff who fails to report the information required 274
by this subparagraph may not receive reimbursement from the 275
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Department of Education for school guardian trainings. Upon the 276
submission of the required information, a sheriff is dee med 277
eligible for such funding and is authorized to continue to 278
receive reimbursement for school guardian training. 279
f. A school district, charter school, or private school, 280
child care facility, or employing security agency that fails to 281
report the information required by this subparagraph is 282
prohibited from operating may not operate a school guardian 283
program or employing school security guards in for the following 284
school year, unless the missing school district, charter school, 285
or private school has submit ted the required information is 286
provided. 287
g. By March 1 and October 1 of each school year, the 288
Department of Law Enforcement shall notify the Department of 289
Education of any sheriff, school district, charter school, or 290
private school, or child care facili ty that has not complied 291
with the reporting 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 and school security guard 296
reported. 297
Section 2. Subsection (20) is added to section 402.305, 298
Florida Statutes, to read: 299
402.305 Licensing standards; child care facilities. — 300
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(20) SAFE SCHOOL OFFICERS. — 301
(a) A child care facility may partner with a law 302
enforcement agency or a security agency to establish or assign 303
one or more safe-school officers established in s. 1006.12(1) -304
(4). The child care facility is responsible for the full cost of 305
implementing any suc h option, which includes all training costs 306
under the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel 307
Guardian Program under s. 30.15(1)(k). 308
(b) A child care facility that establishes a safe -school 309
officer must comply with the requirements of s. 10 06.12. 310
References to a school district, district school board, or 311
district school superintendent in s. 1006.12(1) -(5) shall also 312
mean an owner of a child care facility. References to a school 313
district employee in s. 1006.12(3) shall also mean child care 314
personnel. 315
Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (6) of section 316
1006.07 is amended, and paragraph (h) is added to that 317
subsection, to read: 318
1006.07 District school board duties relating to student 319
discipline and school safety. —The district school board shall 320
provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the 321
attendance and control of students at school, and for proper 322
attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the 323
welfare of students, including: 324
(6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BE ST PRACTICES.—Each district 325
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school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures 326
for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the 327
assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior 328
poses a threat to the safety of the sch ool community. 329
(f) School safety requirements. —By August 1, 2024, Each 330
school district and charter school governing board shall comply 331
with the following school safety requirements , which, 332
notwithstanding any other requirements under this paragraph, 333
must be enforced, at a minimum, from 30 minutes before the 334
school start time until 30 minutes after the end of the school 335
day: 336
1. All gates or other access points that restrict ingress 337
to or egress from a school campus shall remain closed and locked 338
when students are on campus. A gate or other campus access point 339
may not be open or unlocked, regardless of whether it is during 340
normal school hours, unless: 341
a. Attended or actively staffed by a person when students 342
are on campus; 343
b. The use is in accordance w ith a shared use agreement 344
pursuant to s. 1013.101; or 345
c. Another closed or locked gate or access point separates 346
the open or unlocked gate from areas occupied by students; or 347
d.c. The school safety specialist, or his or her designee, 348
has documented in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 349
portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools that the gate or 350
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other access point is not subject to this requirement based upon 351
other safety measures at the school. The office may conduct a 352
compliance visit pursu ant to s. 1001.212(14) to review if such 353
determination is appropriate. 354
2.a. All school classrooms and other instructional spaces 355
must be locked to prevent ingress when occupied by students, 356
except between class periods when students are moving between 357
classrooms or other instructional spaces. If a classroom or 358
other instructional space door must be left unlocked or open for 359
any reason other than between class periods when students are 360
moving between classrooms or other instructional spaces, the 361
door must be actively staffed by a person standing or seated at 362
the door. 363
b. Instructional spaces for career and technical education 364
which are designed as open areas for which compliance with the 365
requirements of sub-subparagraph a. affects the health and 366
safety of students may be exempted from compliance with that 367
sub-subparagraph by the school safety specialist. To be exempt, 368
the school safety specialist, or his or her designee, must 369
document in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool portal 370
maintained by the Office of Safe Schools that the instructional 371
space is exempt from these requir ements due to negative impacts 372
to student health and safety and the presence of other safety 373
measures at the school that prevent egress from the 374
instructional space to hallways or other classrooms or 375
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instructional spaces. 376
c. Common areas on a school camp us, including, but not 377
limited to, cafeterias, auditoriums, and media centers, which 378
are used for instructional time or student testing must meet the 379
requirements of sub-subparagraph a. only when such areas are 380
being used for instructional time or student testing. 381
3. All campus access doors, gates, and other access points 382
that allow ingress to or egress from a school building shall 383
remain closed and locked at all times to prevent ingress, 384
unless: 385
a. A person is actively entering or exiting the door, 386
gate, or other access point ; 387
b. The door, gate, or access point is actively staffed by 388
school personnel to prevent unauthorized entry; or 389
c. The school safety specialist, or his or her designee, 390
has documented in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 391
portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools that the open 392
and unlocked door, gate, or other access point is not subject to 393
this requirement based upon other safety measures at the school. 394
There must be at least one locked barrier between classrooms and 395
instructional spaces and open school campus. 396
397
The office may conduct a compliance visit pursuant to s. 398
1001.212(14) to review if such determination is appropriate. All 399
campus access doors, gates, and other access points may be 400
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electronically or manually c ontrolled by school personnel to 401
allow access by authorized visitors, students, and school 402
personnel. 403
4. All school classrooms and other instructional spaces 404
must clearly and conspicuously mark the safest areas in each 405
classroom or other instructional sp ace where students must 406
shelter in place during an emergency. Students must be notified 407
of these safe areas within the first 10 days of the school year. 408
If it is not feasible to clearly and conspicuously mark the 409
safest areas in a classroom or other instru ctional space, the 410
school safety specialist, or his or her designee, must document 411
such determination in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool 412
portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools, identifying 413
where affected students must shelter in place. Th e office shall 414
assist the school safety specialist with compliance during the 415
inspection required under s. 1001.212(14). 416
417
Persons who are aware of a violation of this paragraph must 418
report the violation to the school principal. The school 419
principal must report the violation to the school safety 420
specialist no later than the next business day after receiving 421
such report. If the person who violated this paragraph is the 422
school principal or charter school administrator, the report 423
must be made directly to the d istrict school superintendent or 424
charter school governing board, as applicable. 425
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(h) Provision of school safety protocols and policies. —426
Each substitute teacher must be provided all school safety 427
protocols and policies before beginning his or her first day of 428
substitute teaching at a school. 429
Section 4. Subsections (4) and (5) of section 1006.12, 430
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 431
1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school. —For 432
the protection and safety of school personnel, property, 433
students, and visitors, each district school board and school 434
district superintendent shall partner with law enforcement 435
agencies or security agencies to establish or assign one or more 436
safe-school officers at each school facility within the 437
district, including charter schools. A district school board 438
must collaborate with charter school governing boards to 439
facilitate charter school access to all safe -school officer 440
options available under this section. The school district may 441
implement any combination of the opt ions in subsections (1) -(4) 442
to best meet the needs of the school district and charter 443
schools. 444
(4) SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD. —A school district or charter 445
school governing board may contract with a security agency as 446
defined in s. 493.6101(18) to employ as a school security guard 447
an individual who holds a Class "D" and Class "G" license 448
pursuant to chapter 493, provided the following training and 449
contractual conditions are met: 450
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(a) An individual who serves as a school security guard, 451
for purposes of satisfy ing the requirements of this section, 452
must: 453
1. Demonstrate completion of 144 hours of required 454
training conducted by a sheriff pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2. 455
2. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 456
psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 457
Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 458
evaluation to the sheriff's office , and school district, or 459
charter school governing board, or employing security agency, as 460
applicable. The Department of Law Enforcement is aut horized to 461
provide the sheriff's office, school district, or charter school 462
governing board, or employing security agency with mental health 463
and substance abuse data for compliance with this paragraph. 464
3. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subse quent 465
random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 466
112.0455 and the sheriff's office, school district, or charter 467
school governing board, or employing security agency, as 468
applicable. 469
4. Be approved to work as a school security guard by the 470
sheriff of each county in which the school security guard will 471
be assigned to a school before commencing work at any school in 472
that county. The sheriff's approval authorizes the security 473
agency to assign the school security guard to any school in the 474
county, and the sheriff's approval is not limited to any 475
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particular school. 476
5.4. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 477
inspection, and firearm qualification conducted by a sheriff 478
pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2.e. on at least an annual basis and 479
provide documentation to the sheriff's office, school district, 480
or charter school governing board, or employing security agency, 481
as applicable. 482
(b) The contract between a security agency and a school 483
district or a charter school governing board regarding 484
requirements applicable to school security guards serving in the 485
capacity of a safe-school officer for purposes of satisfying the 486
requirements of this section shall define the entity or entities 487
responsible for training and the responsibilities for 488
maintaining records relating to training, inspection, and 489
firearm qualification. 490
(c) School security guards serving in the capacity of a 491
safe-school officer pursuant to this subsection are in support 492
of school-sanctioned activities for purposes of s. 790.115, and 493
must aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant 494
incidents on school premises. 495
(d) The Office of Safe Schools shall provide the 496
Department of Law Enforcement any information related to a 497
school security guard that the office receives pursuant to 498
subsection (5). 499
(5) NOTIFICATION.—The district school superintendent or 500
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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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
charter school administrator, or a respective designee , shall 501
notify the county sheriff and the Office of Safe Schools 502
immediately after, but no later than 72 hours after: 503
(a) A safe-school officer is dismissed for misconduct or 504
is otherwise disciplined. 505
(b) A safe-school officer discharges his or her firearm in 506
the exercise of the safe -school officer's duties, other than for 507
training purposes. 508
509
If a district school board, through its adopted policies, 510
procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any 511
safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school 512
district must assign a school resource officer or school safety 513
officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the 514
charter school's share of the costs of the school resource 515
officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school 516
allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s. 517
1011.62(12) and shall be retained by the school district. 518
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 519