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 Appropriations
BILL: CS/SB 802
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee (Recommended by Appropriations Subcommittee on
Education); and Senator Gruters and others
SUBJECT: School Safety
DATE: March 2, 2022 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Brick Bouck ED Favorable
2. Grace Elwell AED Recommend: Fav/CS
3. Grace Sadberry AP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 802 provides additional safeguards for Florida’s students and schools. The bill extends
the sunset date of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission from
July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2025.
The bill clarifies the authority of the Commissioner of Education to enforce compliance with the
requirements relating to school safety and security. The bill also clarifies requirements for safe-
school officers. Specifically, the bill provides that:
School safety officers may make arrests on charter school property.
Sworn law enforcement officers serving as school guardians must complete mental health
crisis intervention training.
Only a sheriff may conduct school guardian training.
Individuals must satisfy screening requirements before participating in guardian training.
The bill expands school safety planning to require:
The SBE to establish emergency drill policies and procedures.
Comprehensive participation from all members of a school threat assessment team.
Law enforcement officers responsible for responding to the school in the event of an
emergency to be on campus and directly involved in the execution of emergency drills.
Each district school board to adopt a family reunification plan to reunite students and
employees with their families in the event a school is closed due to an emergency.
BILL: CS/SB 802 Page 2
The bill does not impact state revenues or state expenditures. See Section V. Fiscal Impact
Statement.
Except as otherwise specified in the bill, the bill takes effect July 1, 2022.
II. Present Situation:
State–Level Oversight of School Safety Requirements
State Board of Education
The State Board of Education (SBE) is the chief implementing and coordinating body of public
education in Florida and is authorized to adopt rules to implement the provisions of law
conferring duties upon the SBE to improve the state system of K-20 public education, except for
the state university system. The SBE has authority over the Department of Education (DOE) and
is authorized to delegate the SBE’s general powers to the Commissioner of Education
(commissioner) or the directors of the divisions of the DOE.1
The SBE may enforce compliance by district school boards and Florida College System (FCS)
institution boards of trustees by:
Reporting to the Legislature that the school district or FCS institution is unwilling or unable
to comply with law or state board rule and recommending action to be taken.
Withholding the transfer of state funds, discretionary grant funds, discretionary lottery funds,
or other specified funds until the school district or FCS institution complies with law or rule.
Declaring the school district or FCS institution ineligible for competitive grants.
Requiring monthly or periodic reporting related to noncompliance until it is remedied. 2
The Commissioner of Education
The commissioner is required to oversee compliance with the safety and security requirements of
the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act by school districts; district school
superintendents; and public schools, including charter schools. The commissioner must facilitate
compliance to the maximum extent provided under law, identify incidents of noncompliance, and
impose or recommend to the SBE, the Governor, or the Legislature enforcement and sanctioning
actions. 3
The Office of Safe Schools
The Office of Safe Schools (OSS) is a division of the DOE that serves as a central repository for
best practices, training standards, and compliance oversight in matters regarding school safety
and security, including prevention efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness
planning. OSS responsibilities include:
The establishment of a school security risk assessment tool for use by school districts.
Duties related to school safety incident reporting and data.
1
Section 1001.02, F.S.
2
Section 1008.32, F.S.
3
Section 1001.11, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 802 Page 3
The development and implementation of a School Safety Specialist Training Program for
school safety specialists, which must be based on national and state best practices on school
safety and include active shooter training.
Provision of a centralized integrated data repository and data analytics resources to improve
access to timely, complete, and accurate information integrating data from multiple agencies
and sources.
Provision of ongoing professional development opportunities to district school board
personnel. 4
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety 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.5 The
commission submitted its initial report to the Governor and the Legislature on January 2, 2019,6
and its second report on November 1, 2019.7 The commission is scheduled to sunset on July 1,
2023.8
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:
Establishing a School Resource Officer (SRO) program through a cooperative agreement
with law enforcement agencies. SROs are certified law enforcement officers who must meet
specified screening requirements and also complete mental health crisis intervention training.
Commissioning one or more school safety officers. School safety officers are certified law
enforcement officers with the power of arrest on district school property, who are employed
by either a law enforcement agency or by the district school board. School safety officers
must undergo the same screening requirements and crisis intervention training as an SRO.
Participating in the Coach Aaron Feis 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.
The school district is required to notify the county sheriff and the OSS immediately, no later than
72 hours, after a safe-school officer:
Is dismissed for misconduct or is otherwise disciplined.
4
Section 1001.212, F.S.
5
Section 943.687(3), F.S.
6
Commission, Initial Report (Jan. 2, 2019), available at http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MSDHS/CommissionReport.pdf (last
visited Feb. 17, 2022).
7
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.
8
Section 943.687, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 802 Page 4
Discharges his or her firearm in the exercise of the safe-school officer’s duties, other than for
training purposes.
SROs and school safety officers are required to complete mental health crisis intervention
training.9 Crisis intervention team training is a law enforcement response program designed for
first responders who handle crisis calls involving people with mental illness including those with
co-occurring substance use disorders. Crisis intervention team training emphasizes a partnership
between law enforcement, the mental health and substance abuse treatment system, mental health
advocacy groups, and consumers of mental health services and their families.10 The Florida
Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission offers to sworn law enforcement officers
two free courses in crisis intervention training.11 In addition, the Florida Sheriffs Association
receives $800,000 in recurring funds from the Legislature to enhance crisis intervention team
training for law enforcement and correctional officers in local sheriff's offices and police
departments.12
Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program (Guardian Program)
The guardian program was established in 201813 as an option for school districts to meet the
safe-school officer requirements in law.14 Persons certified as school guardians have no authority
to act in any law enforcement capacity except to the extent necessary to prevent or abate an
active assailant incident.
A sheriff is required to provide access to a guardian program to aid in the prevention or
abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises. If a district school board has voted by
a majority to implement a guardian program, the sheriff in that county must establish a guardian
program to provide training to school district or charter school employees, either directly or
through a contract with another sheriff’s office that has established a guardian program.
The sheriff must certify as school guardians school employees who:
Hold a valid concealed weapon license.
Complete a 144-hour training program.
Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a licensed psychologist.
Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent random drug tests in accordance with
law and the sheriff’s office.
Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon inspection, and firearm qualification on at
least an annual basis. 15
9
Section 1006.12, F.S.
10
Florida Sheriffs Association, Law Enforcement Programs: Crisis Intervention Team Training,
https://www.flsheriffs.org/law-enforcement-programs/crisis-intervention-team (last visited Jan. 3, 2022).
11
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, CJST: Active Courses, https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/CJSTC/Curriculum/Active-
Courses.aspx (last visited Jan. 3, 2022); see also Email, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (Jan. 31, 2020).
12
Specific Appropriation 1300, s. 4, ch. 2021-36, L.O.F.
13
Section 26, ch. 2018-3, L.O.F.
14
Section 1006.12, F.S.
15
Section 30.15, F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 802 Page 5
The Legislature appropriated $6.5 million for the 2021-2022 fiscal year for sheriffs to certify and
train school guardians.16 As of September 2021, 26 school districts were employing school
guardians to satisfy safe-school officer requirements, and an additional 19 districts were
employing school guardians as reinforcements for sworn law enforcement officers.17
School District Requirements Related to School Safety
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 at least as often as other emergency
drills. District school board policies must establish emergency response and emergency
preparedness policies and procedures, including emergency notification procedures.18
The Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT) is required to be used by school officials at
each school district and public school site in the state in conducting security assessments and is
intended to help school officials identify threats, vulnerabilities, and appropriate safety controls
for the schools that they supervise. The FSSAT is required to address certain components of
school safety, such as school emergency and crisis preparedness planning.19
Threat Assessment Teams
Each district school board must adopt policies for the establishment of threat assessment teams
(TATs) at each school. The purpose of TATs is to coordinate resources and assessment and
intervention with individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or
students. Each TAT must include persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school
administration, and law enforcement.20 The OSS developed a behavioral threat assessment
instrument, the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG)21 to assist TATs
in the threat assessment process. The law provides specific requirements for the CSTAG,
including that the CSTAG address training for TATs and school administrators.22
Each TAT must include persons with expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration,
and law enforcement. The TAT must identify members of the school community to whom
16
Specific Appropriation 93, s. 2, ch. 2021-36, L.O.F.
17
Timothy Hay, Director, Office of Safe Schools, Remarks at the Meeting of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Public Safety Commission (Sept. 27, 2021) (transcript available at
https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MSDHS/Meetings/2021/September/Documents/09_27_2021-Part-1.aspx, at 15-16).
18
Section 1006.07(4), F.S.
19
Section 1006.1493, F.S.
20
Section 1006.07(7), F.S.
21
Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines. Florida Department of Education, Memo to School District
Superintendents and Charter School Administrators Regarding the Standardized Behavioral Threat Assessment Instrument
(Aug. 1, 2019), available at https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-8617/DPS-2019-116.pdf.
22
Section 1001.212(12)(a)6., F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 802 Page 6
threatening behavior should be reported and provide guidance to students, faculty, and staff
regarding recognition of threatening or aberrant behavior that may represent a threat to the
community, school, or self.
If an immediate mental health or substance abuse crisis is suspected, school personnel must
follow policies established by the TAT to engage behavioral health crisis resources. Behavioral
health crisis resources, including, but not limited to, mobile crisis teams and SROs trained in
crisis intervention, shall provide emergency intervention and assessment, make
recommendations, and refer the student for appropriate services. Onsite school personnel are
required to report all such situations and actions taken to the TAT, which must contact the other
agencies involved with the student and any known service providers to share information and
coordinate any necessary follow-up actions. Upon the student's transfer to a different school, the
TAT must verify that any intervention services provided to the student remain in place until the
TAT of the receiving school independently determines the need for intervention services.23
Juvenile Diversion Programs
Juvenile diversion programs are alternatives to juvenile arrest. A juvenile arrest may be diverted
based on comprehensive knowledge of the juvenile’s criminal history, prior contacts with law
enforcement, and prior program enrollment.24 Florida law directs that a civil citation or similar
pre-arrest diversion program for misdemeanor offenses be established in each judicial circuit in
the state.25
Florida school districts are required to incorporate into student codes of conduct criteria for:
Recommending to law enforcement that a student who commits a criminal offense be
allowed to part