HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1473 School Safety
SPONSOR(S): Education & Employment Committee, Judiciary Committee, Trabulsy and others
TIED BILLS: CS/HB 1509 IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1356
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Judiciary Committee 22 Y, 0 N, As CS Wolff Kramer
2) Appropriations Committee 23 Y, 0 N Saag Pridgeon
3) Education & Employment Committee 17 Y, 0 N, As CS Wolff Hassell
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
CS/HB 1473 clarifies that private schools seeking to participate in the guardian program are responsible for costs
associated with background screening in addition to costs associated with training; however, the bill authorizes the sheriff
providing training for the participating private school to waive costs related to training and background screening.
Additionally, the bill provides that an individual certified by , and in good standing with, the Criminal Justice Standards and
Training Commission is exempt from the required school guardian training. The bill implements new reporting
requirements related to individuals certified as school guardians and serving as school guardians in school districts,
charter schools, and private schools. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) shall serve as the central
repository of information regarding certified and appointed guardians.
The bill establishes new perimeter and door safety requirements that school districts and charter school governing boards
must comply with by August 1, 2024. These requirements include keeping routes of ingress and egress securely closed
and locked when students are on campus, requiring that these routes be actively staffed when open or unlocked, requiring
that violations of such perimeter and safety requirements be reported to applicable school official or governing board, and
requiring each school district to develop a progressive discipline policy for instructional and administrative personal who
knowingly violate school safety requirements.
The bill requires the Office of Safe Schools (OSS), by August 1, 2024, to develop and adopt a Florida school safety
compliance inspection report to document compliance with Florida school safety requirements. The bill requires that the
OSS triennially conduct unannounced inspections of all public schools, using the safety compliance inspection report. The
bill provides for a bonus program for school principals and charter school administrators whose schools are found to be in
full compliance with school safety requirements. The bill requires the OSS, by December 1, 2024, to evaluate the
distribution methodology for the Safe Schools Allocation and, if necessary, make recommendations for an alternate
methodology to distribute the remaining balance of the Safe Schools Allocation.
The bill prohibits a person from operating a drone over a public or private school serving students in any grade from
voluntary prekindergarten through grade 12, unless the person was granted permission by school personnel or the drone
is operated by a law enforcement agency. A violation of such prohibition is punishable as a second degree misdemeanor
for a first offense and a first degree misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense. The bill provides increased
penalties if a person operates a drone over a public or private school and, in doing so, records video of the school,
including any person or object on the premises of the school.
The bill creates, subject to appropriation, a grant program to support privat e schools’ school safety efforts. Under the
program, the FDLE shall provide grants to sheriff's offices and law enforcement agencies to conduct physical site security
assessments for and provide reports to private schools with recommendations on improving such schools' infrastructure
safety and security. Grants awarded under the bill may be used to provide reimbursements for personnel costs, software,
and other items necessary to assist private schools .
The bill has an indeterminate fiscal impact on the OSS and FDLE, as well as local governments. See Fiscal Comments.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2024.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
In February 2018, a 19-year old gunman killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.1 The staff members killed were athletic director
Chris Hixon, assistant football coach Aaron Feis, and teacher and cross-country coach Scott Beigel.2
The incident of mass violence was preceded by multiple, repeated interactions between the shooter
and law enforcement agencies, social services agencies, and schools, over many years. This history
was characterized by a lack of communication and coordination, preventing these many entities from
understanding the whole problem and acting to prevent the mass violence incident.
In response, the Legislature created the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety
Commission (Commission) within FDLE.3 The Commission is composed of 16 voting members and
four nonvoting members. The Governor appointed five voting members to the Commission, including
the chair, and the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives each
appointed five voting members to the Commission. The Secretary of the Department of Children and
Families, the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Secretary of the Agency for Health
Care Administration, and the Commissioner of Education serve as ex officio, non-voting members of
the Commission.4 The Commission meets, as necessary, to conduct its work at the call of the chair and
at designated times and locations throughout the state.
The Commission published an initial report on its findings and recommendations on January 2, 2019.
Many of the recommendations were adopted during the 2019 Legislative Session. The Commission
issued its second report on November 1, 2019, and may issue reports annually until it sunsets. 5
In 2022, the Legislature extended the sunset of the Commission until July 1, 2026, and substantially
amended the responsibilities of the Commission.6 The Commission must monitor the 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 district school safety policies and
procedures needing 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 based on school campus tours and the required return on investment
analysis component of the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT).
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. 7
School Safety Oversight and Compliance
1 Tonya Alanez, David Fleshler, Stephen Hobbs, Lisa J. Huriash, Paula McMahon, Megan O’Matz and Scott Travis, Unprepared and
Overwhelmed, South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Dec 28, 2018), https://projects.sun-sentinel.com/2018/sfl-parkland-school-shooting-critical-
moments/ (last visited Feb. 12, 2024).
2 Id.
3 S. 943.687, F.S.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 Id.
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Background
Florida’s Commissioner of Education (commissioner) oversees compliance with school safety and
security requirements by school districts, district school superintendents, and public schools, including
charter schools.8 The commissioner must facilitate compliance to the maximum extent provided under
law, identify incidents of noncompliance, and impose or recommend enforcement and sanctioning
actions to the State Board of Education (SBE), the Governor, or the Legislature. 9
The Office of Safe Schools (OSS) is fully accountable to the commissioner and 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.10 The OSS responsibilities include, among other duties, collecting School
Environmental Safety Incident Reporting (SESIR) data, providing a School Safety Specialist Training
Program, evaluating usage of the standardized, statewide behavioral threat assessment instrument,
monitoring compliance with requirements relating to school safety, and reporting incidents of
noncompliance to the commissioner and the SBE.11
District school boards and superintendents each have responsibilities related to school safety and
security. District school superintendents must designate a school safety specialist who is responsible
for the supervision and oversight for all school safety and security personnel, policies, and procedures
in the school district, including conducting and reporting the recommendations from the annual school
security risk assessment at each public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool
(FSSAT).12 District school boards must adopt policies that guide many aspects of school safety
including the establishment of threat management teams (TMT) and emergency procedures and
emergency preparation drills. TMTs assess and provide intervention recommendations for individuals
whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or students.13 TMT members must
include individuals with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and law
enforcement.14 To conduct its work, a TMT must use the standardized, statewide behavioral threat
assessment instrument developed by the OSS 15 and may use the Florida Schools Safety Portal (FSSP)
until the OSS operationalizes the statewide threat management portal, which must be in place by
August 1, 2025.16
Emergency drills and procedures are guided by district school boards’ policies and procedures, which
are formulated in consultation with the appropriate public safety agencies. These policies apply to all
students and faculty at all K-12 public schools. Emergencies include fires, natural disasters, active
shooter and hostage situations, and bomb threats.17 Drills for active shooter and hostage situations
must be conducted in accordance with developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate procedures at
least as often as other emergency drills.18 The active shooter situation training for each school must
engage the participation of the district school safety specialist, the TMT members, faculty, staff, and
students, and must be conducted by the law enforcement agency or agencies designated as first
responders to the school’s campus.19
In 2020, the Legislature passed HB 23, requiring all public and charter schools to have a mobile panic
alert system.20 Known as Alyssa’s Law, the bill is named for Alyssa Alhadeff, a Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School student who was one of the 17 people killed during the shooting. The legislation
required the DOE to procure a statewide, mobile panic alert system for school districts to facilitate an
8
S. 1001.11(9), F.S.
9 Id.
10 S. 1001.212, F.S.
11 Id.
12 Id.
13 S. 1006.07(7), F.S.
14 S. 1006.07(7)(a), F.S.
15 Id.
16 S. 1006.07(7)(f), F.S.; S. 1001.212(12)(c), F.S.
17 S. 1006.07(4)(a), F.S.
18 Id.
19 S. 1006.07(4)(b)1., F.S.
20 Ch. 2020-145, Laws of Fla.
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integrated Enhanced 911 transmission or mobile activation during emergencies on public school
campuses. The DOE completed the procurement and selected 11 vendors from which school districts
may choose to satisfy this requirement.21
In 2021, the Legislature clarified that school districts were required to conduct active assailant drills but
may provide accommodations for emergency drills conducted by exceptional student education
centers.22
In 2022, to provide more statewide uniformity in emergency drills at Florida’s schools, the Legislature
required the SBE to adopt rules governing emergency drills by August 1, 2023, and required such rules
be based on recommendations from the Commission and in consultation with state and local
constituencies. The rules must require all types of emergency drills be conducted at least once per
school year. Additionally, the rules must define “emergency drill,” “active threat,” and “after-action
report” and provide minimum requirements for school district emergency drill policies and procedures
by incident type, school level, school type, and student and school characteristics, including timing,
frequency, participation, training, notification, accommodations, and response to threat situations. 23
Additionally, law enforcement responsible for responding to schools in the event of an active assailant
emergency must be physically present and participate in active assailant emergency drills. School
districts must provide notice to the law enforcement officers required to be present at such drills at least
24 hours before the drill.24
Effect of Proposed Changes – School Safety Oversight and Compliance
Perimeter and Door Security Measures
The bill establishes new perimeter and door safety requirements that school districts and charter school
governing boards must comply with by August 1, 2024. The bill requires compliance with the following:
All gates or other access points that restrict ingress to or egress from a school campus shall
remain closed and locked when students are on campus, regardless of whether it is during
normal school hours. The school safety specialist, or his or her designee, may document in the
Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool portal maintained by the Office of Safe Schools that the
gate or other access point is not subject to this requirement based upon other safety measures
at the school. The OSS may conduct a compliance visit to review if such determination is
appropriate.
All school classrooms and other instructional spaces must be locked to prevent ingress when
occupied by students, except between class periods when students are moving between
classrooms or other instructional spaces.
All campus access doors, gates, and other access points that allow ingress to or egress from a
school building shall remain closed and locked at all times to prevent ingress, unless a pers on is
actively entering or exiting the door, gate, or other access point. The school safety specialist, or
his or her designee, may document in the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool portal
maintained by the OSS that the gate or other access point is not subject to this requirement
based upon other safety measures at the school. The OSS may conduct a compliance visit to
review if such determination is appropriate. All campus access doors, gates, and other access
points may be electronically or manually controlled by school personnel to allow access by
authorized visitors, students, and school personnel.
In relation to the locking of doors and access points, the bill requires that any time a door or access
point is left open or unlocked it must be actively staffed by a person standing or seated at the door,
except where a school safety specialist has determined and documented in the Florida Safe Schools
Assessment Tool portal that these requirements do not apply.
21 Florida Department of Education, Alyssa’s Alert, https://www.fldoe.org/safe-schools/alyssas-alert.stml (last visited Feb. 12, 2024).
22 Ch. 2021-176, Laws of Fla.
23 S. 1006.07(4), F.S.
24 Id.
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Additionally, the bill requires that all school classrooms and other instructional spaces must clearly and
conspicuously mark the safest areas in each classroom or other instructional space where students
must shelter in place during an emergency. Students must be notified of these safe areas within the
first 10