It's been more than four months since the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. Seventeen students and educators died on Feb. 14 and a community forever was changed.
As a result, Gov. Rick Scott signed SB 7026 into law to help make our schools safer, while also addressing mental health.
It also included several deadlines that the Florida Department of Education and all school districts must meet.
By Sunday, all superintendents must hire a school safety specialist. They will make sure the districts are following all school safety procedures like having active shooter training in schools once a semester. They also must conduct campus tours with members of emergency agencies every three years.
Polk, Pinellas, Pasco and Sarasota county school districts have confirmed they’ve already hired the specialist required by law.
Hillsborough and Manatee counties school districts have not responded.
Another deadline districts must meet on Sunday: Submitting a number on how many people with be involved in their guardian program, it’s that’s the route they’re choosing.
So far Polk and Pinellas have confirmed they’re using the voluntary Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program.
A spokesperson with Pinellas County says they’re not sure how many they will train, but plan to start having security officer applicants that have been cleared through the hiring process start training Monday.
They will undergo 132 hours of training through the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and an extensive screening process.
The newly hired security officer positions will solely focus on safety and security, which exceeds the responsibilities outlined in the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program,” says Lisa Wolfe, spokesperson for Pinellas County Schools.
“In addition to this, we will hire School Resource Officers as well. The exact number of each is not known at this time and will depend on successfully completing training and the applicant pool,” Wolfe said.
Polk County schools said they will train 91 people but are still 85 short.
“There is a current need to fill 85 School Safety Guardian positions in schools. However, we intend on training 90 individuals to ensure we have coverage when people are out sick, are on vacation, etc,” says Jason Geary with Polk County Schools.
The district plans on having School Safety Guardians with elementary schools and learning centers, and high schools will have a school resource officer (SRO) from a local law enforcement agency. Technical colleges have high school programs, so they will have a school resource officer, and adult schools will have a school safety guardian.
“Our new school safety guardians are not the same thing as an SRO,” says Geary. “They will have no authority to arrest and will not be considered law enforcement.”
Once state leaders have all the numbers, they will redirect any unused funding from the guardian program and use it to help other districts hire more school resource officers.
The next deadline is Aug. 1. By then, each school district must complete a security risk assessment for each public-school campus.
They must include law enforcement when conducting those assessments.
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