ORLANDO, Fla. – A new Florida law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis aims at improving school safety.
The governor signed HB-1421 on Tuesday in an effort to “implement the additional recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission,” a news release said. The commission was formed after the mass shooting in 2018 at the Parkland high school.
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“This legislation is a huge leap forward in school safety,” State Board of Education member Ryan Petty said in a statement. ”I want to thank Governor DeSantis for his bold leadership on this most fundamental issue. Nothing is more important than providing safe and secure learning environments for our children and educators. Extending the Commission’s work and requiring mental health and de-escalation training for safe-school officers will make a major difference in mitigating the risk of a future tragedy.”
According to the governor’s office, the bill does the following:
- Extends the sunset of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission
- Gives authority to the Commissioner of Education to enforce school safety and compliance, rather than overseeing
- Authorizes safe school officers to make arrests on charter school property
- Requires all safe school officers to go through crisis intervention and training to respond and de-escalate incidents on school premises
- Requires law enforcement officers to be present and involved in active assailant emergency drills
- Requires school boards to adopt family reunification plans in the event of an evacuation
- Requires that school districts annually certify at least 80% of school personnel have received mandatory youth mental health awareness training
News 6 reached out to Central Florida school districts for their statements on the signing of HB-1421. Here’s what they responded:
Brevard County
Brevard Public Schools adheres to all state statutes as we work to make sure our students and staff safe each day.
Flagler County
Flagler Schools abides by all the school safety mandates covered under Florida statute. We will continue to evaluate our policies and procedures to ensure they cover the requirements of this latest update.
Lake County
Marion County
Marion County Public Schools already complies with all state mandates regarding the safety of our students and staff. Our Safe Schools personnel are reviewing and updating our safety plan as needed to meet this legal action.
Orange County
Staff is evaluating the impact of HB 1421 and will determine if any changes are needed to policies and procedures to be in compliance.
Seminole County
SCPS abides by all the school safety mandates covered under Florida statute. We will continue to evaluate our policies and procedures to ensure they cover the requirements of this latest update.
Sumter County
Sumter abides by, or exceeds, the required safety guidelines and will continue to do so. I applaud the Governor for signing this good bill with added emphasis on mental health.
Volusia County
Volusia County Schools complies with all state mandates regarding student and staff safety. Our Department of Security Operations will review this new mandate to ensure that our current procedures are updated as required.
The law goes into effect on July 1.
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