Bill Text: FL S1356 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: School Safety
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 1473 [S1356 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1356-Introduced.html
Bill Title: School Safety
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 1473 [S1356 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1356-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1356 By Senator Calatayud 38-01126-24 20241356__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to school safety; amending s. 30.15, 3 F.S.; authorizing sheriffs to waive certain 4 requirements for school guardian candidates under 5 certain conditions; making technical changes; amending 6 s. 943.082, F.S.; requiring school principals to 7 ensure that instruction is provided at least annually 8 to students on the use of the mobile suspicious 9 activity reporting tool; providing requirements for 10 such instruction; amending s. 985.04, F.S.; requiring 11 superintendents to notify, within a specified 12 timeframe, the chief of police or the public safety 13 director of a postsecondary institution in which a 14 student is dual enrolled if such student commits 15 certain offenses; providing an effective date. 16 17 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that in order to 18 prevent potential acts of violence on the campuses of secondary 19 and postsecondary institutions, coordination between law 20 enforcement and the leadership of each respective institution is 21 critical, and 22 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds it necessary that in the 23 cases of dual enrolled students, notices of students who are 24 arrested for crimes of violence or students who have made 25 credible threats of violence be made to both institutions at 26 which the student is enrolled in order to prevent a violent act 27 from transpiring on the campus of either the secondary or 28 postsecondary institution, NOW, THEREFORE, 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 33 30.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 34 30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations.— 35 (1) Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or by 36 deputy, shall: 37 (k) Assist district school boards and charter school 38 governing boards in complying with, or private schools in 39 exercising options in, s. 1006.12. A sheriff must, at a minimum, 40 provide access to a Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach 41 Scott Beigel Guardian Program to aid in the prevention or 42 abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises, as 43 required under this paragraph. Persons certified as school 44 guardians pursuant to this paragraph have no authority to act in 45 any law enforcement capacity except to the extent necessary to 46 prevent or abate an active assailant incident. 47 1.a. If a local school board has voted by a majority to 48 implement a guardian program, the sheriff in that county must 49shallestablish a guardian program to provide training, pursuant 50 to subparagraph 2., to school district, charter school, or 51 private school employees, either directly or through a contract 52 with another sheriff’s office that has established a guardian 53 program. 54 b. A charter school governing board in a school district 55 that has not voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian 56 program may request the sheriff in the county to establish a 57 guardian program for the purpose of training the charter school 58 employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the charter 59 school governing board may contract with a sheriff that has 60 established a guardian program to provide such training. The 61 charter school governing board shallmustnotify the 62 superintendent and the sheriff in the charter school’s county of 63 the contract beforeprior toits execution. 64 c. A private school in a school district that has not 65 voted, or has declined, to implement a guardian program may 66 request that the sheriff in the county of the private school 67 establish a guardian program for the purpose of training private 68 school employees. If the county sheriff denies the request, the 69 private school may contract with a sheriff from another county 70 who has established a guardian program to provide such training. 71 The private school shallmustnotify the sheriff in the private 72 school’s county of the contract with a sheriff from another 73 county before its execution. The private school is responsible 74 for all training costs for a school guardian program. The 75 sheriff providing such training shallmustensure that any 76 moneys paid by a private school are not commingled with any 77 funds provided by the state to the sheriff as reimbursement for 78 screening-related and training-related costs of any school 79 district or charter school employee. 80 d. The training program required in sub-subparagraph 2.b. 81 is a standardized statewide curriculum, and each sheriff 82 providing such training shall adhere to the course of 83 instruction specified in that sub-subparagraph. This 84 subparagraph does not prohibit a sheriff from providing 85 additional training. A school guardian who has completed the 86 training program required in sub-subparagraph 2.b. ismaynotbe87 required to attend another sheriff’s training program pursuant 88 to that sub-subparagraph unless there has been at least a 1-year 89 break in his or her employment as a guardian. 90 e. The sheriff conducting the training pursuant to 91 subparagraph 2. mustwillbe reimbursed for screening-related 92 and training-related costs and for providing a one-time stipend 93 of $500 to each school guardian who participates in the school 94 guardian program. 95 2. A sheriff who establishes a program shall consult with 96 the Department of Law Enforcement on programmatic guiding 97 principles, practices, and resources, and shall certify as 98 school guardians, without the power of arrest, school employees, 99 as specified in s. 1006.12(3), who: 100 a. Hold a valid license issued under s. 790.06. 101 b. Complete a 144-hour training program, consisting of 12 102 hours of certified nationally recognized diversity training and 103 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm safety and proficiency 104 training conducted by Criminal Justice Standards and Training 105 Commission-certified instructors, which must include: 106 (I) Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the 107 Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission’s Law 108 Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 109 10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than 110 associated with academy training. Program participants must 111 achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training. 112 (II) Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol. 113 (III) Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction 114 using state-of-the-art simulator exercises. 115 (IV) Sixteen hours of instruction in active shooter or 116 assailant scenarios. 117 (V) Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics. 118 (VI) Four hours of instruction in legal issues. 119 c. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a 120 psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the 121 Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the 122 evaluation to the sheriff’s office. The Department of Law 123 Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff’s office with 124 mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this 125 paragraph. 126 d. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent 127 random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s. 128 112.0455 and the sheriff’s office. 129 e. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon 130 inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual 131 basis. 132 133 A sheriff has the discretion to waive the requirements of sub 134 sub-subparagraphs 2.b.(I)-(V) if a guardian candidate has at 135 least 2 years of law enforcement experience and held an active 136 law enforcement certificate within the past 5 years. The sheriff 137 who conducts the guardian training shall issue a school guardian 138 certificate to individuals who meet the requirements of this 139 section to the satisfaction of the sheriff, and shall maintain 140 documentation of weapon and equipment inspections, as well as 141 the training, certification, inspection, and qualification 142 records of each school guardian certified by the sheriff. An 143 individualwho iscertified under this paragraph may serve as a 144 school guardian under s. 1006.12(3) only if he or she is 145 appointed by the applicable school district superintendent, 146 charter school principal, or private school head of school. 147 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 148 943.082, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 149 943.082 School Safety Awareness Program.— 150 (4) 151 (b) The district school board shall promote the use of the 152 mobile suspicious activity reporting tool by advertising it on 153 the school district website, in newsletters, on school campuses, 154 and in school publications, by installing it on all mobile 155 devices issued to students, and by bookmarking the website on 156 all computer devices issued to students. Each school principal 157 shall ensure that instruction on the use of the mobile 158 suspicious activity reporting tool includes FortifyFL, and is 159 provided to students at least once per school year. The 160 instruction must be age and developmentally appropriate and 161 include the consequences for making a threat or false report as 162 defined by ss. 790.162 and 790.163, respectively, involving 163 school or school personnel’s property, school transportation, or 164 a school-sponsored activity. 165 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 166 985.04, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 167 985.04 Oaths; records; confidential information.— 168 (4)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, 169 when a child of any age is taken into custody by a law 170 enforcement officer for an offense that would have been a felony 171 if committed by an adult, or a crime of violence, the law 172 enforcement agency must notify the superintendent of schools 173 that the child is alleged to have committed the delinquent act. 174 If the child is a dual enrolled student at a postsecondary 175 institution, the superintendent of schools must notify the chief 176 of police or the public safety director of the postsecondary 177 institution at which the student is dual enrolled within 24 178 hours of the initial notification. 179 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.