PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — With another summer down, another school year is about to begin, and as parents get ready to send their kids back, their child's safety will be top of mind. It always is.
This year, state lawmakers made some safety changes they hope will unify responses across sheriffs' agencies in every county across the state.
WATCH full report by Heather Leigh
Let’s start with some reassuring words.
“Well, to the parents, I would say that we're trying to create as safe an environment as possible so that the kids can focus on learning," said Colonel Tait Sanborn with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
We’ll end with his advice to students, but first, let’s get to the details of new legislation that will streamline training and oversight for school security guards. They must be trained and certified the same way school guardians are.
“Currently, all school guardians through the school system are required to go through a safety program, a training program that is authorized or approved by a sheriff's office," said Sanborn.
The school guardian program started following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people died.
Background screening, psychological evaluations and drug tests for school security guards must happen before that training starts, and the sheriff must maintain the training certification and firearm authorization for each security guard.
The law allows childcare facilities to participate in the school guardian program at the same level as private schools.
And if a school guardian or security guard is hired, fired, disciplined, or accidentally fires their weapon, it must be reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“They require panic buttons to be in each classroom," said Sanborn. "They allow for or require essentially those panic buttons to be connected to school floor plans.”
That is a change the Pasco County Sheriff's Office has made for several years now. It speeds up response and allows deputies to clear buildings quickly.
Another change—school districts can use firearm detection dogs for security, which is also something the Pasco County Sheriff's Office already offers.
“When it comes to searching public spaces like the bathrooms, the trash cans—rather than have to dig through each trash can individually—the dogs can go by and again, I can't stress enough, I’ve been on scene where we've had to do hand searches of, you know, 1,000+ students and it's very uncomfortable not only for the students but also for the people that are doing the search," said Sanborn.
He said it’s important for students to remember that school threats are taken seriously and can end with criminal charges.
“We've seen year over year the number of school threats climb," he said. "We have to take each one seriously, and so we ask the students, just make things easier on us by not saying foolish and ridiculous things.”
And that last bit of advice I promised.
“To the students: hang in there, it'll be over soon," Sanboarn said with a smile.
To read the full summary of the bill, click here.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutdown will impact Tampa's PBS and NPR stations
From Mr. Rogers to Sesame Street. From Downton Abbey to the documentaries of filmmaker Ken Burns. They’re shows so many Americans love and grew up on, and they were broadcast on local PBS stations thanks to funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting.
