The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission was formed during the 2018 legislative session to specifically analyze information from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and other mass violence incidents in the state of Florida and address recommendations and system improvements. The commission, which operates within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is composed of 16 members. The Governor appoints the chair and five members and the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives each appoint five members. The Commission has many duties related to monitoring the implementation of school safety legislation, such as identifying areas of noncompliance, reviewing school hardening grant expenditures, and investigating any failures in incident responses by law enforcement. Section 943.687, Florida Statutes, specifies the commission will sunset on July 1, 2026.

For more information on the commission or to view the commission's documents and meeting materials, please visit the Florida Department of Law Enforcement website.

The office performs a variety of functions that aid in the safety and security of schools, including

• maintaining a school security risk assessment tool for use by school districts;
• providing ongoing professional development opportunities to school district personnel;
• providing a coordinated interdisciplinary approach to providing technical assistance and guidance to school districts regarding safety and security recommendations to address findings from districts' school security risk assessments;
• developing and implementing a School Safety Specialist Training Program for school safety specialists appointed by each district, which must include active shooter training;
• reviewing and providing recommendations on districts' security risk assessments;
• coordinating with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to provide a centralized integrated data repository and data analytics resources to improve access to timely, complete, and accurate information;
• providing data to support the evaluation of mental health services;
• awarding grants to schools to improve the safety and security of school buildings based upon the recommendations of districts' security risk assessments;
• disseminating, in consultation with FDLE, awareness and education materials on School Safety Awareness programs to participating schools; and
• convening a School Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup composed of individuals with subject matter expertise of school campus hardening best practices, and presenting the findings to the Commissioner of Education.

Section 1006.07(6), Florida Statutes, requires school districts to annually conduct the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT), which is a risk-assessment of their safety and security practices. The FSSAT is intended to help school officials identify threats, vulnerabilities, and appropriate safety controls for the schools. Examples of safety and security components addressed by the FSSAT include physical security measures, school security and school police staffing, and school emergency and crisis preparedness planning.

The findings of the assessment must be presented to the school board annually, along with the district's school safety specialist's recommendations on how to address those findings. These findings must also be reported to the Office of Safe Schools within 30 days after the district school board meeting.

• cooperate with law enforcement agencies to assign one or more safe-school officers at each school facility;
• designate a school administrator to complete required training and act as the school safety specialist for the district;
• designate a threat assessment team at each school which will consult law enforcement when a student exhibits a pattern of behavior that would pose a threat;
• formulate and prescribe policies and procedures for emergency drills for hostage and active shooter situations; and
• coordinate with public safety agencies that are designated as first responders to a school's campus to tour campuses every three years and provide recommendations related to school safety.

• establish a school resource officer program, through a cooperative agreement with law enforcement agencies;
• commission one or more school safety officers for the protection and safety of school personnel, property, and students within the school district;
• participate in the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program; and/or
• contract with a security agency to employ a school security guard.

The Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program allows sheriffs to appoint certain school personnel who are not strictly classroom teachers to serve as a school guardian and aid in the abatement of active shooter incidents on school premises. A school guardian must complete 132 hours of comprehensive firearm safety and proficiency training, 12 hours of diversity training, pass a psychological evaluation, and pass an initial drug test and subsequent random drug tests. School districts have the option to participate in this program; however, the overall program does not require school personnel to participate.

The Safe Schools Allocation was created to provide funds to assist school districts in complying with statutory requirements related to student discipline and school safety. Each school district receives a minimum safe schools allocation in an amount specified in the General Appropriations Act. The Legislature allocated $250 million for 2023-23-24 safe school activities. Each school district receives $250,000, and then the balance of the Safe Schools Allocation is distributed based upon the following formula: one-third based on the latest FDLE Crime Index and two-thirds based on each district's share of the state's total unweighted student enrollment. 

The Fiscal Year 2023-24 General Appropriations Act also made the following appropriations to implement school safety initiatives.

• $160 million for the Department of Education to fund the Mental Health Assistance Allocation
• $6.5 million to fund school guardian programs
• $845,000 to fund the use of the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT) at all public school sites

The Department of Education coordinates with other state agencies to collect and maintain a variety of data on school safety and related topics including the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey, which assesses risks and protective factors for substance abuse and substance abuse prevalence.

School Safety Changes. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-18, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2023, expanding the guardian program to private schools, standardizing threat management, and creating the Florida Safe Schools canine program by

• allowing a private school to contract with a sheriff's office to implement Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, and renaming the program to the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian program;
• requiring the Office of Safe Schools to develop a behavioral threat management operational process to guide public and charter schools in identifying, assessing, managing, and monitoring potential and real threats;
• requiring the Office of Safe Schools to create a Florida specific behavioral threat instrument to help evaluate the behavior of students who may post a serious threat to a school, staff, or students; and
• creates the Florida Safe Schools Canine Program to designate a person, school, or business who raises funds for the purchasing, training, and care of a firearms detection dog. 

Cooperative Agreement Discontinued. The Florida Department of Education has elected to discontinue the cooperative agreement supporting the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and School Health Profiles effective April 14, 2022.

Other Reports
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2019, National Center for Education Statistics, July 2020
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission Report, November 2019
Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety, The Federal Commission on School Safety, December 2018
Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model: An Operational Guide for Preventing School Violence, United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, July 2018
A Comprehensive Report on School Safety Technology, National Institute of Justice at Johns Hopkins University, October 2016

Websites of Interest
Florida Department of Education Office of Safe Schools
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, School Safety and Security
Education Commission of the States, State Policy Responses to School Violence
National Crime Prevention Council, Be Safe and Sound in School
U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices

Performance Information

Florida Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools, safeschools@fldoe.org
Website