TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday he signed HB 1421 which he and other state leaders said will help improve school safety in Florida.
According to the Governor's office, among the provisions in HB 1421 are an extension of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission which has been providing recommendations on school safety in the state for the past three years.
“Every parent deserves to know their child is safe at school,” Tony Montalto, President of Stand with Parkland, said in a statement. “This new law, which passed unanimously through the Florida Legislature, is an important next step in providing school safety assurances to families and students.
The governor's office said the newly signed law also:
- Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to enforce, rather than just oversee, school safety and security compliance;
- Authorizes safe school officers to make arrests on charter school property;
- Requires all safe school officers to complete crisis intervention and training to improve knowledge and skills for response and de-escalate incidents on school premises;
- Requires law enforcement officers to be present and involved in active assailant emergency drills;
- Requires school boards to adopt family reunification plans in the event of an evacuation; and
- Requires that school districts must annually certify that at least 80 percent of school personnel have received mandatory youth mental health awareness training.
