The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/SB 1356
INTRODUCER: Criminal Justice Committee and Senator Calatayud
SUBJECT: School Safety
DATE: February 13, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Brick Bouck ED Favorable
2. Cellon Stokes CJ Fav/CS
3. Brick Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 1356 modifies school safety requirements for public and private schools. The bill:
Requires schools and sheriffs to report guardian information to the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement.
Establishes a statewide school safety inspection process with regular inspections on a 3-year
cycle, reporting, and compliance verification.
Requires district school boards to adopt a progressive discipline policy for school safety
violations.
Authorizes the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission to
research best practices in school safety and update legislative recommendations.
Requires the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool to specifically address best practices for
locked access points and safe spaces in schools.
Provides for criminal penalties against a person who knowingly or willfully operates a drone
over a K-12 school or allows a drone to make contact with a school.
Modifies existing guardian training requirements to require a guardian candidate to receive
training to improve the school guardian’s knowledge and skills necessary to respond to and
de-escalate incidents on school premises.
Includes, subject to appropriation, grants for local law enforcement to assist private schools
with security assessments and threat management programs.
Enables certification as a guardian without initial training for certain qualified individuals.
Requires specific annual instruction to be provided to students regarding FortifyFL.
BILL: CS/SB 1356 Page 2
Requires the district school superintendent to notify the postsecondary institution at which a
student is dually enrolled of certain allegations of crimes by the student.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission (commission) was
established in 2018 to investigate system failures in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
shooting and prior mass violence incidents, and to develop recommendations for system
improvements.1 The commission is housed within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.2
The commission submitted its initial report to the Governor and the Legislature on January 2,
2019,3 and its second report on November 1, 2019.4
Among its various duties, the commission is required to monitor implementation of school safety
legislation by:
Evaluating the activities of the Office of Safe Schools (OSS) to provide guidance to school
districts, identifying areas of noncompliance and mechanisms used to achieve compliance.
Reviewing the findings of the Auditor General regarding school district school safety policies
and procedures that need improvement to ensure and demonstrate compliance with state law.
Reviewing school hardening grant expenditures and evaluating such expenditures based on
the report of the School Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup, recommendations of
law enforcement agencies, and the return on investment.
Evaluating the utilization of the centralized integrated data repository by schools and its
effectiveness in conducting threat assessments.
Assessing efforts by local governments to improve communication and coordination among
regional emergency communications systems.
Investigating any failures in incident responses by local law enforcement agencies and school
resource officers.
Investigating any failures in interactions with perpetrators preceding incidents of violence. 5
Safe-School Officer Requirement
Florida law requires each district school board and school district superintendent to partner with
law enforcement and security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school officers at
each school facility within the district by implementing one or more safe-school officer options
which best meet the needs of the school district and charter schools. These options include:6
1
Section 943.687(3), F.S.
2
Section 943.687(1), F.S.
3
Commission, Initial Report (Jan. 2, 2019), available at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MSDHS/CommissionReport.pdf (last
visited Feb. 3, 2023).
4
Commission, Report Submitted to the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President, (Nov. 1,
2019), available at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MSDHS/MSD-Report-2-Public-Version.pdf.
5
Section 943.687(3), F.S.
6
Section 1006.12, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1356 Page 3
Establishing a School Resource Officer (SRO) program through a cooperative agreement
with law enforcement agencies. SROs are certified law enforcement officers and are
responsible to the law enforcement agency in all matters relating to employment, subject to
agreements between a district school board and a law enforcement agency.
Commissioning one or more school safety officers. School safety officers are certified law
enforcement officers who are employed by either a law enforcement agency or by the district
school board.
Participating in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian
Program.
Contracting with a security agency to employ as a school security guard an individual who
holds a Class “D” and Class “G” license and completes the same training and evaluation
requirements as a school guardian.
Additionally, a private school may partner with a law enforcement agency or a security agency to
establish or assign one or more safe-school officers.7
Safe-school officers who are sworn law enforcement officers are required to complete mental
health crisis intervention training. Each safe-school officer who is not a sworn law enforcement
officer is required to receive training to improve the officer’s knowledge and skills necessary to
respond to and de-escalate incidents on school premises.8
Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program
Sheriffs are required to assist district school boards, charter school governing boards, and private
schools in exercising options for safe-school officers. A sheriff is required to provide access to a
Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program to aid in the
prevention or abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises.9
A sheriff who establishes a Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian
Program is required to consult with the Department of Law Enforcement on programmatic
guiding principles, practices, and resources, and certify as school guardians, school employees
who:10
Hold a license to carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm.
Complete a 144-hour training program, consisting of 12 hours of certified nationally
recognized diversity training and 132 total hours of comprehensive firearm safety and
proficiency training conducted by Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission-
certified instructors.
Pass a psychological evaluation.
Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent random drug tests.
Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon inspection, and firearm qualification on at
least an annual basis.
7
Section 1006.12(18)(a), F.S.
8
Section 1006.12(6), F.S.
9
Section 30.15(1)(k), F.S.
10
Section 30.15(1)(k)2., F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1356 Page 4
The required 132 hours of comprehensive firearm safety and proficiency training includes: 11
Eighty hours of firearms instruction based on the Criminal Justice Standards and Training
Commission’s Law Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 10
percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than associated with academy
training. Program participants must achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training.
Sixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol.
Eight hours of discretionary shooting instruction using state-of-the-art simulator exercises.
Sixteen hours of instruction in active shooter or assailant scenarios.
Eight hours of instruction in defensive tactics.
Four hours of instruction in legal issues.
The sheriff who conducts the guardian training is required to issue a school guardian certificate
to individuals who meet these requirements and maintain documentation of weapon and
equipment inspections, as well as the training, certification, inspection, and qualification records
of each school guardian certified by the sheriff.12
There are currently 49 counties that are participating in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and
Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program.13 The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)
is not directly involved with the training or tracking of persons appointed as school guardians.
The responsibility is assigned to the sheriff’s office in each county that certifies school
guardians.14
The Office of Safe Schools
The OSS in the Department of Education (DOE) serves as a central repository for best practices,
training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters regarding school safety and security,
including prevention efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness planning.15 The
OSS, in part, must:
Establish and update as necessary a school security risk assessment tool16 for use by school
districts and charter schools, and provide annual training on the proper assessment of
physical site security and completion of the school security risk assessment tool.
Provide ongoing professional development opportunities to school district and charter school
personnel.
Provide a coordinated and interdisciplinary approach to providing technical assistance and
guidance to school districts on safety and security and recommendations to address findings
identified in the school security risk assessment.17
11
Section 30.15(1)(k)2.b., F.S.
12
Section 30.15(1)(k), F.S.
13
Florida Department of Education, Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, & Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program,
https://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/guardian-program.stml (last visited Feb. 1, 2024).
14
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 2024 FDLE Legislative Bill Analysis for HB 1473 (Jan. 29, 2024) at 2.
15
Section 1001.212, F.S. See also: Florida Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools, http://www.fldoe.org/safe-
schools/ (last visited February 3, 2023).
16
Section 1006.1493, F.S., provides guidelines for the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT).
17
Section 1006.07(6)(a)4., F.S., requires a school security risk assessment at each public school using the school security risk
assessment tool (FSSAT) developed by the Office of Safe Schools.
BILL: CS/SB 1356 Page 5
Develop and implement a School Safety Specialist Training Program for school safety
specialists.18 The office must develop the training program based on national and state best
practices on school safety and security and must include active shooter training. A school
safety specialist certificate of completion must be awarded to a school safety specialist who
satisfactorily completes the training.
Review and provide recommendations on the security risk assessments.
Monitor compliance with requirements relating to school safety by school districts and public
schools.19
Provide data to support the evaluation of mental health services.20
Provide technical assistance to school districts and charter school governing boards for
school environmental safety incident reporting.
Award grants to schools to improve the safety and security of school buildings based on the
recommendations of the security risk assessment developed.
Disseminate, in consultation with the FDLE, to participating schools awareness and
education materials on the proper use of the School Safety Awareness Program, including the
consequences of knowingly submitting false information.
Convene a School Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup.21
Develop a standardized, statewide behavioral threat assessment instrument for use by all
public schools, including charter schools, which addresses early identification, evaluation,
early intervention, and student support.
Establish the Statewide Threat Assessment Database Workgroup.22
Emergency Response Policies and Procedures
District school boards must formulate and prescribe policies and procedures for emergency drills
and for actual emergencies, including, but not limited to, fires, natural disasters, active assailant
and hostage situations, and bomb threats, for all students and faculty at all district K-12 public
schools.
Drills for active assailant and hostage situations must be conducted in accordance with
developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate procedures. District school board policies must
establish emergency response and emergency preparedness policies and procedures, including
emergency notification procedures.23 Law enforcement officers responsible for responding to the
school in the event of an active assailant emergency, as determined necessary by the sheriff in
18
Section 1006.07(6)(a), F.S., requires each district school superintendent to designate a school administrator as a school
safety specialist for the district.
19
Section 1001.212(14), F.S.
20
Section 1001.212(7), F.S., provides such data must include, for each school, the number of involuntary examinations as
defined in s. 394.455, F.S., which are initiated at the school, on school transportation, or at a school-sponsored activity and
the number of children for whom an examination is initiated.
21
Section 1001.212(11), F.S. This subsection will be repealed on June 30, 2023.
22
Section 1001.212(13), F.S., provides that members are appointed by the DOE, to complement the work of the DOE and
FDLE associated with the centralized integrated data repository and data analytics resources initiative and make
recommendations regarding the development of a statewide threat assessment database. The database must allow authorized
public school personnel to enter information related to any threat assessment conducted at their schools using a specified
instrument, and must provide such information to authorized personnel in each school district and public school and to
appropriate stakeholders.
23
Section 1006.07(4), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 1356 Page 6
coordination with the district’s school safety specialist, must be physically present on campus
and directly involved in the execution of active assailant emergency drills.24
School Safety Specialist
Each district school superintendent is required to designate a school safety specialist for the
district. The school safety specialist must be a school administrator employed by the school
district or a law enforcement officer employed by the sheriff's office located in the school
district. The school safety specialist is responsible for the supervision and oversight for all school
safety and security personnel, policies, and procedures in the school district.25
Each district school safety specialist is required to conduct a school security risk assessment at
each public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT) and report findings
and subsequent school board action to the Office of Safe Schools within 30 days after the district
school board meeting.26
Safe Schools Allocation
Each school district receives a minimum safe schools allocation in an amount provided in the