Orlando-area school districts respond to new Marjory Stoneman Douglas safety report

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission presented its final report to state officials Wednesday in Tallahassee.

A 407-page preliminary report released last month cited a breakdown in security procedures and protocol that contributed to the Valentine's Day mass shooting at the Parkland school.

Among the recommendations made are armed assailant training for school personnel, bulletproof glass on classroom windows and arming teachers.

Seventeen people were killed and 17 others were wounded when former student Nikolas Cruz entered a building on campus armed with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

In light of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission's release of their initial report and the recommendations provided, News 6 asked Central Florida school district officials if they will be making any policy changes. Below are their responses:

Lake County School District

We will be looking closely at the report and assessing our current protocols and procedures to see if there are any necessary changes.

Marion County Public Schools

Marion County Public Schools does not have a delay on our campus security cameras.  As well, we do not lock student bathrooms. Finally, we are assessing “hard corners” in our classroom buildings.

Orange County Public Schools

Orange County Public Schools is closely reviewing the recommendations made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission to ensure that best practices are adopted and put in place. The district employs a layered approach to school safety and security which includes, but (is) not limited to, School Resource Officers, physical security measures, emergency procedures and standard response protocols, school emergency drills, and active assailant response training.  Additionally, OCPS District Police works closely with our local law enforcement agency partners to address any specific security concerns. We have also worked with a school safety and security consulting firm to ensure the efficacy of the safety and security measures that are employed.

Osceola County Public Schools

The Osceola School District does not release information regarding safety and security measures for the protection of our students and staff. 

Seminole County Public Schools

Thankfully, we are way ahead of what has been suggested. We will continue with our Safe School Initiatives that have been in progress for the past couple of years. 

In addition, we will continue to look at best practices from these tragic events and adopt or revise practices or policies as needed.

Sumter County Public Schools

The Sumter County School District has already made many policy changes as well as school hardening upgrades prior to the release of the initial report.  This included school board staff utilizing the “Rave”  app to announce emergency situations on campus, “Mutualink” to connect the school’s camera systems to the Sheriff’s dispatch center, and the Rauland system to upgrade intercom and announcements on the campus.
 
The district also put new door locks on classroom doors to ensure that they are always in a locked position, window tinting to prevent viewing into classrooms during a lock down situation, additional camera systems on all campuses,  wands to randomly search students, live gps tracking for school buses, and additional resource officers on campus.
 
Additional fencing and monitoring of all gates on campus had also been done to all campuses.

Volusia County Public School officials said they were working on a response to News 6's request.

Brevard and Flagler school district officials did not respond in time for this story. If they do the story will be updated.