TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are once again working on a school safety bill that could increase protections against armed intruders while expanding the state’s Guardian Program to include daycare facilities.
Following the tragic 2018 Parkland shooting, school safety has been a priority in the state’s legislature, with reforms introduced every year to bolster safety measures from elementary schools to high schools. However, as new safety initiatives are debated this year, some lawmakers are also seeking to undo provisions passed in the wake of the tragedy.
WATCH: Stand With Parkland president Tony Montalto on proposed safety measures
In February, Florida marked the seventh anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a gunman killed 17 students and staff, including Gina Montalto, a 14-year-old student.
Tony Montalto, Gina’s father and head of the school safety advocacy group Stand With Parkland, reflected on the legacy of those lost that day.
“Every change we make extends the legacy of my beautiful daughter, Gina, her schoolmates, and her teachers that were taken from our families, our community, and our state that terrible February day,” Montalto said.
For another year, Montalto is working closely with lawmakers to push forward a series of school safety reforms. While the proposed bills are still in the early stages, key provisions being discussed include:
- Mandating that substitutes receive the same safety training as full-time teachers
- Addressing compliance gaps in existing school safety laws
- Allowing licensed daycare staff to have firearms with proper training
- Introducing requirements for new school buildings to be equipped with ballistic-proof doors
Montalto is particularly focused on the latter provision.
“The bullets had penetrated the doors, but the shooter never entered a classroom,” he said. “I’d like to see us change the law here in Florida to require new school buildings to be built to ballistic-proof standards.”
While many Republicans, including Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills) and Rep. Brad Yeager (R-New Port Richey), support various aspects of the bill, Democrats have raised concerns, particularly over expanding the Guardian Program.
“I’m uncomfortable with expanding the Guardian Program when we don’t know how many teachers have joined or if they’re competent in securing and storing a firearm on campus,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, House Minority Leader (D-Tampa). “But we are supportive of ideas to make schools safer.”
Meanwhile, Governor Ron DeSantis continues to advocate for repealing certain provisions from previous years, including lowering the minimum age for purchasing long guns to 18 and rolling back Florida’s red flag laws, which allow courts to remove firearms from individuals deemed a threat.
“The burden shifts where you have to prove to a court that you are not a menace or a threat,” DeSantis said last week. “That's not the way due process works. The burden is always on the government, yet they’ve shifted the burden for doing that.”
WATCH: As legislative session starts, DeSantis wants to repeal red flag laws
While some Republicans, particularly in the House, seem open to revisiting the long gun purchase age, the idea of repealing red flag laws faces significant opposition from key leaders in the state Senate — including the chamber’s leader.
“I’m under the impression, after spending time with law enforcement, that they feel like it’s working,” said Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Bartow). “So if this is a tool — and I believe that it is — that we can stop the next Nikolas Cruz, then I say we just hold tight and let the thing work.”
Montalto shared similar concerns about the red flag laws repeal. He pointed out that they’ve been invoked more than 15,000 times and believed they’ve saved lives.
“Florida got it right when we changed the laws through bipartisan efforts following the Parkland shooting,” Montalto said. “None of those provisions should be changed because they’ve been very successful in protecting our students and teachers throughout the state.”
As lawmakers continue to shape this year’s school safety bill, it remains unclear which provisions will ultimately make it into law. The Senate version of the safety bill will have its first committee hearing on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
