Florida Senate - 2019 SB 7030
By the Committee on Education
581-02354-19 20197030__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school safety and security;
3 amending s. 30.15, F.S.; requiring a sheriff to
4 establish a school guardian program under a certain
5 condition; removing the prohibition against classroom
6 teachers serving as school guardians; prohibiting
7 individuals from serving as school guardians unless
8 they are appointed by a superintendent; amending s.
9 943.082, F.S.; requiring school districts to promote a
10 mobile suspicious activity reporting tool through
11 specified mediums; amending s. 1001.10, F.S.;
12 requiring the Commissioner of Education to review
13 recommendations from the School Hardening and Harm
14 Mitigation Workgroup; requiring the commissioner to
15 submit a summary to the Governor and the Legislature
16 by a specified date; providing requirements for the
17 summary; amending s. 1001.11, F.S.; revising the
18 duties of the commissioner to include oversight of
19 compliance with the safety and security requirements
20 of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public
21 Safety Act by specified persons and entities; amending
22 s. 1001.212, F.S.; requiring the Office of Safe
23 Schools to annually provide training for specified
24 personnel; requiring the office to convene a School
25 Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup; providing for
26 membership and duties of the workgroup; requiring the
27 workgroup to submit a report and recommendations to
28 the commissioner; requiring the office to provide
29 technical assistance for school safety incident
30 reporting; requiring the office to review and evaluate
31 school district reports for compliance; requiring a
32 district school board to withhold a superintendent’s
33 salary in response to the superintendent’s
34 noncompliance; requiring the office to develop a
35 behavioral threat assessment instrument; providing
36 requirements for the instrument; requiring the office
37 to establish the Statewide Threat Assessment Database
38 Workgroup to make certain recommendations relating to
39 a statewide threat assessment database; providing
40 requirements for the database; requiring the workgroup
41 to report recommendations to the office by a specified
42 date; providing requirements for such recommendations;
43 requiring the office to monitor school district and
44 public school, including charter schools, compliance
45 with requirements relating to school safety; requiring
46 the office to review and approve district school board
47 and charter school active assailant policies and
48 report deficiencies; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.;
49 requiring a charter school to comply with specified
50 provisions; amending s. 1006.04, F.S.; establishing
51 timeframes within which students with mental,
52 emotional, or behavioral disorders must be referred
53 for services; amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; requiring
54 that a school safety specialist be a school
55 administrator employed by the school district or a law
56 enforcement officer employed by the sheriff’s office
57 located in the school district; providing requirements
58 for a school safety specialist designated from a
59 sheriff’s office; providing that a school safety
60 specialist designated from a sheriff’s office remains
61 an employee of such office for certain purposes;
62 authorizing the sheriff and school superintendent to
63 determine by agreement the reimbursement of or sharing
64 of costs associated with employment of the law
65 enforcement officer as a school safety specialist;
66 requiring district school boards to adopt and submit
67 to the office an active assailant response policy;
68 requiring that the policy be recommended by the
69 district superintendent; requiring that any school
70 specific modifications to the policy be approved by
71 the district superintendents; requiring that certain
72 policies adopted by school districts include
73 procedures for behavioral threat assessments;
74 requiring threat assessment teams to utilize the
75 behavioral threat assessment instrument and the threat
76 assessment database developed by the office when they
77 become available; requiring district school boards to
78 adopt policies for accurate and timely reporting of
79 school environmental safety incidents; providing
80 penalties for noncompliance with such policies;
81 requiring the State Board of Education to adopt by
82 rule requirements for school environmental safety
83 incident reports; amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; requiring
84 a charter school governing board to partner with law
85 enforcement agencies to establish or assign a safe
86 school officer; expanding the categories of
87 individuals who may serve as school guardians;
88 amending s. 1006.1493, F.S.; requiring the Florida
89 Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT) to be the primary
90 site security assessment tool for school districts;
91 requiring the office to provide FSSAT training;
92 requiring the superintendent to certify FSSAT
93 assessments within a certain timeframe; providing
94 penalties for failure to comply with requirements;
95 deleting obsolete language; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.;
96 modifying the required use of funds in the safe
97 schools allocation; providing for retroactive
98 application; providing legislative intent; expanding,
99 as of a specified date, the categorical fund that may
100 be accessed to improve classroom instruction or
101 improve school safety; deleting obsolete language;
102 providing a declaration of important state interest;
103 providing an effective date.
104
105 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
106
107 Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
108 30.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read
109 30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations.—
110 (1) Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or by
111 deputy, shall:
112 (k) Establish, if the sheriff so chooses, a Coach Aaron
113 Feis Guardian Program to aid in the prevention or abatement of
114 active assailant incidents on school premises. However, if a
115 local school board has voted by a majority to implement such a
116 program, the sheriff in that county shall establish a program. A
117 school guardian may not has no authority to act in any law
118 enforcement capacity except to the extent necessary to prevent
119 or abate an active assailant incident on a school premises. A
120 Excluded from participating in the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian
121 Program are individuals who exclusively perform classroom duties
122 as classroom teachers as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a). This
123 limitation does not apply to classroom teachers of a Junior
124 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, a current
125 servicemember, as defined in s. 250.01, or a current or former
126 law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), (6), or
127 (8). The sheriff who establishes a chooses to establish the
128 program shall certify appoint as school guardians, without the
129 power of arrest, school employees or contract employees, as
130 specified in s. 1006.12(3), who volunteer and who:
131 1. Hold a valid license issued under s. 790.06.
132 2. Complete 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm safety
133 and proficiency training conducted by Criminal Justice Standards
134 and Training Commission-certified instructors, which must
135 include:
136 a. Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the
137 Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission’s Law
138 Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least
139 10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than
140 associated with academy training. Program participants must
141 achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training.
142 b. Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol.
143 c. Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction using
144 state-of-the-art simulator exercises.
145 d. Eight hours of instruction in active shooter or
146 assailant scenarios.
147 e. Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics.
148 f. Twelve hours of instruction in legal issues.
149 3. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a
150 psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the
151 Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the
152 evaluation to the sheriff’s office. The Department of Law
153 Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff’s office with
154 mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this
155 paragraph.
156 4. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent
157 random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s.
158 112.0455 and the sheriff’s office.
159 5. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon
160 inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual
161 basis.
162 6. Successfully complete at least 12 hours of a certified
163 nationally recognized diversity training program.
164
165 The sheriff shall issue a school guardian certificate to
166 individuals who meet the requirements of this paragraph and
167 subparagraph 2. The sheriff shall maintain documentation of
168 weapon and equipment inspections, as well as the training,
169 certification, inspection, and qualification records of each
170 school guardian certified appointed by the sheriff. At a
171 superintendent’s discretion, any such certified school guardian
172 may be appointed to a school by its respective superintendent.
173 An individual may not serve as a school guardian in a school
174 unless he or she is appointed by the superintendent.
175 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 943.082, Florida
176 Statutes, is amended to read:
177 943.082 School Safety Awareness Program.—
178 (4)(a) Law enforcement dispatch centers, school districts,
179 schools, and other entities identified by the department must
180 shall be made aware of the mobile suspicious activity reporting
181 tool.
182 (b) The district school board shall promote the use of the
183 mobile suspicious activity reporting tool by advertising it on
184 the school district website, in newsletters, on school campuses,
185 and in school publications and by installing it on all computer
186 devices issued to students.
187 Section 3. Subsection (9) is added to section 1001.10,
188 Florida Statutes, to read:
189 1001.10 Commissioner of Education; general powers and
190 duties.—
191 (9) The commissioner shall review the report of the School
192 Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup regarding hardening and
193 harm mitigation strategies and recommendations submitted by the
194 Office of Safe Schools, pursuant to s. 1001.212(12). By
195 September 1, 2019, the commissioner shall submit a summary of
196 such recommendations to the Governor, the President of the
197 Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. At a
198 minimum, the summary must include policy and funding
199 enhancements and the estimated costs of and timeframes for
200 implementation of the campus hardening and harm mitigation
201 strategies recommended by the workgroup.
202 Section 4. Subsection (9) of section 1001.11, Florida
203 Statutes, is added to read:
204 1001.11 Commissioner of Education; other duties.—
205 (9) The commissioner shall oversee compliance with the
206 safety and security requirements of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
207 High School Public Safety Act, chapter 2018-03, Laws of Florida,
208 by school districts; district school superintendents; public
209 schools, including charter schools; and regional and state
210 entities. The commissioner must facilitate compliance to the
211 maximum extent provided under law, identify incidents of
212 noncompliance, and impose or recommend to the State Board of
213 Education, the Governor, or the Legislature enforcement and
214 sanctioning actions pursuant to s. 1008.32 and other authority
215 granted under law.
216 Section 5. Subsection (1) is amended, and subsections (12)
217 through (17) are added to section 1001.212, Florida Statutes, to
218 read:
219 1001.212 Office of Safe Schools.—There is created in the
220 Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office
221 is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The
222 office shall serve as a central repository for best practices,
223 training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters
224 regarding school safety and security, including prevention
225 efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness
226 planning. The office shall:
227 (1) Establish and update as necessary a school security
228 risk assessment tool for use by school districts pursuant to s.
229 1006.07(6). The office shall make the security risk assessment
230 tool available for use by charter schools. The office shall
231 provide annual training to appropriate school district and
232 charter school personnel on the proper assessment of physical
233 site security and completion of the school security risk
234 assessment tool.
235 (12)(a) Convene a School Hardening and Harm Mitigation
236 Workgroup comprised of individuals with subject matter expertise
237 on school campus hardening best practices. The workgroup shall
238 meet as necessary to review school hardening and harm mitigation
239 policies including, but not limited to, the target hardening
240 practices implemented in other states; the school safety
241 guidelines developed by organizations such as the Partner
242 Alliance for Safer Schools; the tiered approach to target campus
243 hardening strategies identified in the initial report submitted
244 by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety
245 Commission pursuant to s. 943.687(9); and the Florida Building
246 Code for educational facilities construction to determine
247 whether the building code may need to be modified to strengthen
248 school safety and security. Based on this review of school
249 safety best practices, by August 1, 2019, the workgroup shall
250 submit a report to the executive director of the office, which
251 includes, at a minimum:
252 1. A prioritized list for the implementation of school
253 campus hardening and harm mitigation strategies and the
254 estimated costs of and timeframes for implementation of the
255 strategies by school districts and charter schools. The
256 estimated costs must include regional and statewide projections
257 of the implementation costs.
258 2. Recommendations for policy and funding enhancements to
259 strengthen school safety and security.
260 (b) Submit to the commissioner:
261 1. The workgroup’s report pursuant to paragraph (a); and
262 2. Recommendations regarding procedures for the office to
263 use to monitor and enforce compliance by the school districts
264 and charter schools in the implementation of the workgroup’s
265 recommended campus hardening and harm mitigation strategies.
266 (13) Provide technical assistance to school districts and
267 charter school governing boards for school environmental safety
268 incident reporting as required under s. 1006.07(9). The office
269 shall review and evaluate school district reports to ensure
270 compliance with reporting requirements. Upon notification by the
271 department that a superintendent has failed to comply with the
272 requirements of s. 1006.07(9), the district school board shall
273 withhold further payment of his or her salary as authorized
274 under s. 1001.42(13)(b) and impose other appropriate sanctions
275 that the commissioner or state board by law may impose.
276 (14) By August 1, 2019, develop a standardized, statewide
277 behavioral threat assessment instrument for use by all public
278 schools, including charter schools, which addresses early
279 identification, evaluation, early intervention, and student
280 support.
281 (a) The standardized, statewide behavioral threat
282 assessment instrument must include, but need not be limited to,
283 components and forms that address:
284 1. An assessment of the threat, which includes an
285 assessment of the student, family, and school and social
286 dynamics.
287 2. An evaluation to determine if the threat is transient or
288 substantive.
289 3. The response to a substantive threat, which includes the
290 school response and the role of law enforcement agencies.
291 4. The response to a serious substantive threat, including
292 mental health and law enforcement referrals.
293 5. Ongoing monitoring to assess implementation of safety
294 strategies.
295 6. Training for members of threat assessment teams
296 established under s. 1006.07(7) and school administrators
297 regarding the use of the instrument.
298 (b) The office shall:
299 1. By August 1, 2020, evaluate each school district’s
300 behavioral threat assessment procedures for compliance with this
301 subsection.
302 2. Notify the district school superintendent if the school
303 district behavioral threat assessment is not in compliance with
304 this subsection.
305 3. Report any issues of ongoing noncompliance with this
306 subsection to the district school superintendent, commissioner,
307 and state board.
308 (15) Establish the Statewide Threat Assessment Database
309 Workgroup, comprised of members appointed by the department, to
310 make recommendations regarding the development of a statewide
311 threat assessment database. The database must allow authorized
312 public school personnel to enter information related to any
313 threat assessment conducted at their respective schools using
314 the instrument developed by the office pursuant to subsection
315 (14), and must provide such information to authorized personnel
316 in each school district and public school and to appropriate
317 stakeholders. By December 31, 2019, the workgroup shall provide
318 a report to the office with recommendations that include, but
319 need not be limited to:
320 (a) Threat assessment data that should be required to be
321 entered into the database.
322 (b) School district and public school personnel who should
323 be allowed to input student records to the database and view
324 such records.
325 (c) Database design and functionality, to include data
326 security.
327 (d) Restrictions and authorities on information sharing,
328 including:
329 1. Section 1002.22 and other applicable state laws.
330 2. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
331 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, 42 C.F.R. part 2; the Health Insurance
332 Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 42 U.S.C. s. 1320d6,
333 45 C.F.R. part 164, subpart E; and other applicable federal
334 laws.
335 3. The appropriateness of interagency agreements that will
336 allow law enforcement to view database records.
337 (e) The cost to develop and maintain a statewide online
338 database.
339 (f) An implementation plan and timeline for the workgroup
340 recommendations.
341 (16) Monitor compliance with requirements relating to
342 school safety by school districts and public schools, including
343 charter schools. The office shall report incidents of
344 noncompliance to the commissioner pursuant to 1001.11(9) and the
345 state board pursuant to s. 1008.32 and other requirements of
346 law, as appropriate.
347 (17) Review and approve each district school board’s and
348 charter school governing board’s active assailant response
349 policy submitted pursuant to ss. 1006.07(6)(c) and
350 1002.33(16)(b). The office shall report any policy deficiencies
351 or issues of noncompliance to the commissioner pursuant to
352 1001.11(9) and the state board pursuant to s. 1008.32 and other
353 requirements of law, as appropriate.
354 Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
355 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended, to read:
356 1002.33 Charter schools.—
357 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
358 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
359 with the following statutes:
360 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
361 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
362 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
363 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
364 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
365 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
366 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
367 salary schedules.
368 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
369 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
370 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
371 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
372 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
373 personnel and school administrators.
374 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
375 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat assessment teams.
376 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
377 Safety Incident Reporting.
378 11. Section 1006.1493, relating to Florida Safe School
379 Assessment Tool.
380 12. Section 1006.07(6)(c), relating to adopting an active
381 assailant response policy.
382 13. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
383 suspicious activity reporting tool.
384 14. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
385 awareness and assistance training.
386 Section 7. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
387 1006.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
388 1006.04 Educational multiagency services for students with
389 severe emotional disturbance.—
390 (1)
391 (c) The multiagency network shall:
392 1. Support and represent the needs of students in each
393 school district in joint planning with fiscal agents of
394 children’s mental health funds, including the expansion of
395 school-based mental health services, transition services, and
396 integrated education and treatment programs.
397 2. Improve coordination of services for children with or at
398 risk of emotional or behavioral disabilities and their families:
399 a. By assisting multi-agency collaborative initiatives to
400 identify critical issues and barriers of mutual concern and
401 develop local response systems that increase home and school
402 connections and family engagement.
403 b. To provide that children who are referred for an
404 evaluation or screening to determine eligibility for services
405 receive the appropriate evaluation or screening within 45 days
406 after the referral. Students who are eligible for services, and
407 their families, must be provided a referral for the appropriate
408 services within 30 days after completion of the evaluation or
409 screening.
410 3. Increase parent and youth involvement and development
411 with local systems of care.
412 4. Facilitate student and family access to effective
413 services and programs for students with and at risk of emotional
414 or behavioral disabilities that include necessary educational,
415 residential, and mental health treatment services, enabling
416 these students to learn appropriate behaviors, reduce
417 dependency, and fully participate in all aspects of school and
418 community living.
419 Section 8. Subsection (6) and subsection (7) of section
420 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (9) is
421 added to that section, to read:
422 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
423 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
424 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
425 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
426 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
427 welfare of students, including:
428 (6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES.—Each district
429 school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures
430 for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the
431 assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior
432 poses a threat to the safety of the school community.
433 (a) Each district school superintendent shall designate a
434 school administrator as a school safety specialist for the
435 district. The school safety specialist must be a school
436 administrator employed by the school district or a law
437 enforcement officer employed by the sheriff’s office located in
438 the school district. Any school safety specialist designated
439 from the sheriff’s office must first be authorized and approved
440 by the sheriff employing the law enforcement officer. Any school
441 safety specialist designated from the sheriff’s office remains
442 the employee of the office for purposes of compensation,
443 insurance, workers’ compensation, and other benefits authorized
444 by law for a law enforcement officer employed by the sheriff’s
445 office. The sheriff and the school superintendent may determine
446 by agreement the reimbursement for such costs, or may share the
447 costs, associated with employment of the law enforcement officer
448 as a school safety specialist. The school safety specialist must
449 earn a certificate of completion of the school safety specialist
450 training provided by the Office of Safe Schools within 1 year
451 after appointment and is responsible for the supervision and
452 oversight for all school safety and security personnel,
453 policies, and procedures in the school district. The school
454 safety specialist shall:
455 1. Review policies and procedures for compliance with state
456 law and rules.
457 2. Provide the necessary training and resources to students
458 and school district staff in matters relating to youth mental
459 health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, including
460 active shooter training; and school safety and security.
461 3. Serve as the school district liaison with local public
462 safety agencies and national, state, and community agencies and
463 organizations in matters of school safety and security.
464 4. Conduct a school security risk assessment in accordance
465 with s. 1006.1493 at each public school using the school
466 security risk assessment tool developed by the Office of Safe
467 Schools. Based on the assessment findings, the district’s school
468 safety specialist shall provide recommendations to the district
469 school board which identify strategies and activities that the
470 district school board should implement in order to improve
471 school safety and security. Annually, each district school board
472 must receive such findings and the school safety specialist’s
473 recommendations at a publicly noticed district school board
474 meeting to provide the public an opportunity to hear the
475 district school board members discuss and take action on the
476 findings and recommendations. Each school safety specialist
477 shall report such findings and school board action to the Office
478 of Safe Schools within 30 days after the district school board
479 meeting.
480 (b) Each school safety specialist shall coordinate with the
481 appropriate public safety agencies, as defined in s. 365.171,
482 that are designated as first responders to a school’s campus to
483 conduct a tour of such campus once every 3 years and provide
484 recommendations related to school safety. The recommendations by
485 the public safety agencies must be considered as part of the
486 recommendations by the school safety specialist pursuant to
487 paragraph (a).
488 (c) Each district school board must adopt a well-developed,
489 written, distributed, and trained upon active assailant response
490 policy, which must be recommended by the district
491 superintendent. The superintendent must approve any school
492 specific modifications to the district policy. Each district
493 school board’s active assailant response policy, including
494 school-specific modifications, must be submitted to the Office
495 of Safe Schools for approval pursuant to s. 1001.212(17) by
496 August 1, 2019.
497 (7) THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS.—Each district school board
498 shall adopt policies for the establishment of threat assessment
499 teams at each school whose duties include the coordination of
500 resources and assessment and intervention with individuals whose
501 behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or
502 students consistent with the model policies developed by the
503 Office of Safe Schools. Such policies must shall include
504 procedures for referrals to mental health services identified by
505 the school district pursuant to s. 1012.584(4), when
506 appropriate, and procedures for behavioral threat assessments in
507 compliance with the instrument developed pursuant to s.
508 1001.212(14).
509 (a) A threat assessment team shall include persons with
510 expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and
511 law enforcement. The threat assessment teams shall identify
512 members of the school community to whom threatening behavior
513 should be reported and provide guidance to students, faculty,
514 and staff regarding recognition of threatening or aberrant
515 behavior that may represent a threat to the community, school,
516 or self. Upon the availability of the behavioral threat
517 assessment instrument developed pursuant to s. 1001.212(14), the
518 threat assessment team shall use that instrument.
519 (b) Upon a preliminary determination that a student poses a
520 threat of violence or physical harm to himself or herself or
521 others, a threat assessment team shall immediately report its
522 determination to the superintendent or his or her designee. The
523 superintendent or his or her designee shall immediately attempt
524 to notify the student’s parent or legal guardian. Nothing in
525 this subsection shall preclude school district personnel from
526 acting immediately to address an imminent threat.
527 (c) Upon a preliminary determination by the threat
528 assessment team that a student poses a threat of violence to
529 himself or herself or others or exhibits significantly
530 disruptive behavior or need for assistance, the threat
531 assessment team may obtain criminal history record information,
532 as provided in s. 985.047. A member of a threat assessment team
533 may not disclose any criminal history record information
534 obtained pursuant to this section or otherwise use any record of
535 an individual beyond the purpose for which such disclosure was
536 made to the threat assessment team.
537 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all state
538 and local agencies and programs that provide services to
539 students experiencing or at risk of an emotional disturbance or
540 a mental illness, including the school districts, school
541 personnel, state and local law enforcement agencies, the
542 Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and
543 Families, the Department of Health, the Agency for Health Care
544 Administration, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the
545 Department of Education, the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office,
546 and any service or support provider contracting with such
547 agencies, may share with each other records or information that
548 are confidential or exempt from disclosure under chapter 119 if
549 the records or information are reasonably necessary to ensure
550 access to appropriate services for the student or to ensure the
551 safety of the student or others. All such state and local
552 agencies and programs shall communicate, collaborate, and
553 coordinate efforts to serve such students.
554 (e) If an immediate mental health or substance abuse crisis
555 is suspected, school personnel shall follow policies established
556 by the threat assessment team to engage behavioral health crisis
557 resources. Behavioral health crisis resources, including, but
558 not limited to, mobile crisis teams and school resource officers
559 trained in crisis intervention, shall provide emergency
560 intervention and assessment, make recommendations, and refer the
561 student for appropriate services. Onsite school personnel shall
562 report all such situations and actions taken to the threat
563 assessment team, which shall contact the other agencies involved
564 with the student and any known service providers to share
565 information and coordinate any necessary followup actions.
566 (f) Each threat assessment team established pursuant to
567 this subsection shall report quantitative data on its activities
568 to the Office of Safe Schools in accordance with guidance from
569 the office and shall utilize the threat assessment database
570 developed pursuant to s. 1001.212(15) upon the availability of
571 the database.
572 (9) SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY INCIDENT REPORTING.—Each
573 district school board shall adopt policies to ensure the
574 accurate and timely reporting of incidents related to school
575 safety and discipline. The district school superintendent is
576 responsible for school environmental safety incident reporting.
577 A district school superintendent who fails to comply with this
578 subsection is subject to the penalties specified in law,
579 including, but not limited to, s. 1001.42(13)(b) or s.
580 1001.51(12)(b), as applicable. The State Board of Education
581 shall adopt rules establishing the requirements for the school
582 environmental safety incident report.
583 Section 9. Section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
584 read:
585 1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the
586 protection and safety of school personnel, property, students,
587 and visitors, each district school board, and school district
588 superintendent, and charter school governing board, as
589 applicable, shall partner with law enforcement agencies to
590 establish or assign one or more safe-school officers at each
591 school facility within the district by implementing any
592 combination of the following options which best meets the needs
593 of the school district:
594 (1) Establish school resource officer programs, through a
595 cooperative agreement with law enforcement agencies.
596 (a) School resource officers shall undergo criminal
597 background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
598 and be certified law enforcement officers, as defined in s.
599 943.10(1), who are employed by a law enforcement agency as
600 defined in s. 943.10(4). The powers and duties of a law
601 enforcement officer shall continue throughout the employee’s
602 tenure as a school resource officer.
603 (b) School resource officers shall abide by district school
604 board policies and shall consult with and coordinate activities
605 through the school principal, but shall be responsible to the
606 law enforcement agency in all matters relating to employment,
607 subject to agreements between a district school board and a law
608 enforcement agency. Activities conducted by the school resource
609 officer which are part of the regular instructional program of
610 the school shall be under the direction of the school principal.
611 (c) Complete mental health crisis intervention training
612 using a curriculum developed by a national organization with
613 expertise in mental health crisis intervention. The training
614 shall improve officers’ knowledge and skills as first responders
615 to incidents involving students with emotional disturbance or
616 mental illness, including de-escalation skills to ensure student
617 and officer safety.
618 (2) Commission one or more school safety officers for the
619 protection and safety of school personnel, property, and
620 students within the school district. The district school
621 superintendent may recommend, and the district school board may
622 appoint, one or more school safety officers.
623 (a) School safety officers shall undergo criminal
624 background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
625 and be law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1),
626 certified under the provisions of chapter 943 and employed by
627 either a law enforcement agency or by the district school board.
628 If the officer is employed by the district school board, the
629 district school board is the employing agency for purposes of
630 chapter 943, and must comply with the provisions of that
631 chapter.
632 (b) A school safety officer has and shall exercise the
633 power to make arrests for violations of law on district school
634 board property and to arrest persons, whether on or off such
635 property, who violate any law on such property under the same
636 conditions that deputy sheriffs are authorized to make arrests.
637 A school safety officer has the authority to carry weapons when
638 performing his or her official duties.
639 (c) A district school board may enter into mutual aid
640 agreements with one or more law enforcement agencies as provided
641 in chapter 23. A school safety officer’s salary may be paid
642 jointly by the district school board and the law enforcement
643 agency, as mutually agreed to.
644 (3) At the school district’s, or charter school governing
645 board’s, discretion, participate in the Coach Aaron Feis
646 Guardian Program if such program is established pursuant to s.
647 30.15, to meet the requirement of establishing a safe-school
648 officer. The following individuals may serve as a school
649 guardian upon satisfactory completion of the requirements under
650 s. 30.15(1)(k) and certification by a sheriff:
651 (a) A school district employee or personnel, as defined
652 under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided
653 under s. 1002.33(12)(a), who volunteers to serve as a school
654 guardian in addition to his or her official job duties;
655 (b) An employee of a school district or a charter school
656 who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school
657 guardian; or
658 (c) A contract employee licensed under s. 493.6301 who
659 works in the school district or for a charter school through a
660 contract with a security agency as that term is defined in s.
661 493.6101(18). Contract employees may receive school guardian
662 training through a participating sheriff’s office contingent
663 upon defined financial or service obligations by the security
664 agency enumerated in the contract between the school district or
665 the charter school governing board, as appropriate, and the
666 security agency.
667 (4) Any information that would identify whether a
668 particular individual has been appointed as a safe-school
669 officer pursuant to this section held by a law enforcement
670 agency, school district, or charter school is exempt from s.
671 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This
672 subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act
673 in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October
674 2, 2023, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
675 reenactment by the Legislature.
676 Section 10. Section 1006.1493, Florida Statutes, is amended
677 to read:
678 1006.1493 Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool.—
679 (1) The department, through the Office of Safe Schools
680 pursuant s. 1001.212, shall contract with a security consulting
681 firm that specializes in the development of risk assessment
682 software solutions and has experience in conducting security
683 assessments of public facilities to develop, update, and
684 implement a risk assessment tool, which shall be known as the
685 Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT). The FSSAT must be
686 the primary physical site security assessment tool as revised
687 and required by the Office of Safe Schools that is used by
688 school officials at each school district and public school site
689 in the state in conducting security assessments for use by
690 school officials at each school district and public school site
691 in the state.
692 (2) The FSSAT must help school officials identify threats,
693 vulnerabilities, and appropriate safety controls for the schools
694 that they supervise, pursuant to the security risk assessment
695 requirements of s. 1006.07(6).
696 (a) At a minimum, the FSSAT must address all of the
697 following components:
698 1. School emergency and crisis preparedness planning;
699 2. Security, crime, and violence prevention policies and
700 procedures;
701 3. Physical security measures;
702 4. Professional development training needs;
703 5. An examination of support service roles in school
704 safety, security, and emergency planning;
705 6. School security and school police staffing, operational
706 practices, and related services;
707 7. School and community collaboration on school safety; and
708 8. A return on investment analysis of the recommended
709 physical security controls.
710 (b) The department shall require by contract that the
711 security consulting firm:
712 1. Generate written automated reports on assessment
713 findings for review by the department and school and district
714 officials;
715 2. Provide training to the department and school officials
716 in the use of the FSSAT and other areas of importance identified
717 by the department; and
718 3. Advise in the development and implementation of
719 templates, formats, guidance, and other resources necessary to
720 facilitate the implementation of this section at state,
721 district, school, and local levels.
722 (3) The Office of Safe Schools must provide annual training
723 to each district’s school safety specialist and other
724 appropriate school district personnel on the assessment of
725 physical site security and completing the FSSAT.
726 (4) Each district school superintendent, by August 1 of
727 each year, shall submit an FSSAT assessment to the department
728 for each school site. Each school-specific assessment must be
729 approved by the district superintendent or his or her designee,
730 who must be the district’s school safety specialist or a deputy
731 superintendent or assistant superintendent. Any superintendent
732 who fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection is
733 subject to penalties under s. 1001.51(12)(b) and other sanctions
734 that may be applied by the commissioner or state board.
735 (5) By December 1 of each year, By December 1, 2018, and
736 annually by that date thereafter, the department shall must
737 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
738 Speaker of the House of Representatives on the status of
739 implementation across school districts and schools. The report
740 must include a summary of the positive school safety measures in
741 place at the time of the assessment and any recommendations for
742 policy changes or funding needed to facilitate continued school
743 safety planning, improvement, and response at the state,
744 district, or school levels.
745 (6)(4) In accordance with ss. 119.071(3)(a) and 281.301,
746 data and information related to security risk assessments
747 administered pursuant to this section and s. 1006.07(6) and the
748 security information contained in the annual report required
749 pursuant to subsection (3) are confidential and exempt from
750 public records requirements.
751 Section 11. Subsection (15) of section 1011.62, Florida
752 Statutes, is amended to read:
753 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
754 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
755 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
756 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
757 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
758 follows:
759 (15) SAFE SCHOOLS ALLOCATION.—A safe schools allocation is
760 created to provide funding to assist school districts in their
761 compliance with s. 1006.07, with priority given to implementing
762 the district’s school resource officer program pursuant to s.
763 1006.12. Each school district shall receive a minimum safe
764 schools allocation in an amount provided in the General
765 Appropriations Act. Of the remaining balance of the safe schools
766 allocation, two-thirds shall be allocated to school districts
767 based on the most recent official Florida Crime Index provided
768 by the Department of Law Enforcement and one-third shall be
769 allocated based on each school district’s proportionate share of
770 the state’s total unweighted full-time equivalent student
771 enrollment. Any additional funds appropriated to this allocation
772 in the 2018-2019 fiscal year must to the school resource officer
773 program established pursuant to s. 1006.12 shall be used
774 exclusively for employing or contracting for safe-school
775 resource officers, established or assigned under s. 1006.12
776 which shall be in addition to the number of officers employed or
777 contracted for in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. This subsection
778 applies retroactively to July 1, 2018. The amendments to this
779 subsection are intended to be clarifying and remedial in nature.
780 Section 12. Effective July 1, 2019, paragraph (b) of
781 subsection (6) of section 1011.62, Florida Statutes, and
782 subsection (15) of that section, as amended by this act, are
783 amended to read:
784 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
785 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
786 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
787 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
788 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
789 follows:
790 (6) CATEGORICAL FUNDS.—
791 (b) If a district school board finds and declares in a
792 resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the school board that
793 the funds received for any of the following categorical
794 appropriations are urgently needed to maintain school board
795 specified academic classroom instruction or improve school
796 safety, the school board may consider and approve an amendment
797 to the school district operating budget transferring the
798 identified amount of the categorical funds to the appropriate
799 account for expenditure:
800 1. Funds for student transportation.
801 2. Funds for research-based reading instruction if the
802 required additional hour of instruction beyond the normal school
803 day for each day of the entire school year has been provided for
804 the students in each low-performing elementary school in the
805 district pursuant to paragraph (9)(a).
806 3. Funds for instructional materials if all instructional
807 material purchases necessary to provide updated materials that
808 are aligned with applicable state standards and course
809 descriptions and that meet statutory requirements of content and
810 learning have been completed for that fiscal year, but no sooner
811 than March 1. Funds available after March 1 may be used to
812 purchase hardware for student instruction.
813 4. Funds for the guaranteed allocation as provided in
814 subparagraph (1)(e)2.
815 5. Funds for the supplemental academic instruction
816 allocation as provided in paragraph (1)(f).
817 6. Funds for Florida digital classrooms allocation as
818 provided in subsection (12).
819 7. Funds for the federally connected student supplement as
820 provided in subsection (13).
821 8. Funds for class size reduction as provided in s.
822 1011.685.
823 (15) SAFE SCHOOLS ALLOCATION.—A safe schools allocation is
824 created to provide funding to assist school districts in their
825 compliance with s. 1006.07, with priority given to implementing
826 the district’s school resource officer program pursuant to s.
827 1006.12. Each school district shall receive a minimum safe
828 schools allocation in an amount provided in the General
829 Appropriations Act. Of the remaining balance of the safe schools
830 allocation, one-third two-thirds shall be allocated to school
831 districts based on the most recent official Florida Crime Index
832 provided by the Department of Law Enforcement and two-thirds
833 one-third shall be allocated based on each school district’s
834 proportionate share of the state’s total unweighted full-time
835 equivalent student enrollment. Any additional funds appropriated
836 to this allocation in the 2018-2019 fiscal year must be used
837 exclusively for employing or contracting for safe-school
838 officers, established or assigned under s. 1006.12. This
839 subsection applies retroactively to July 1, 2018. The amendments
840 to this subsection are intended to be clarifying and remedial in
841 nature.
842 Section 13. The Legislature finds that a proper and
843 legitimate state purpose is served when district school boards
844 are afforded options for the provision of safe-school officers
845 for the protection and safety of school personnel, property,
846 students, and visitors. School guardians must be available to
847 any district school board that chooses such an option.
848 Therefore, the Legislature determines and declares that this act
849 fulfills an important state interest.
850 Section 14. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
851 act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.