Florida School Districts Criticized for Failing to Enact Required Safety Measures

Florida School Districts Criticized for Failing to Enact Required Safety Measures

A report that was recently released by a statewide grand jury chastises Florida school districts for failing to comply with safety measures that were set out after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

  • By Kaitlyn DeHaven
  • July 31, 2019

The first report from a statewide grand jury chastises Florida school districts for failing to enact required safety measures.

The interim report was released a few weeks ago by Attorney General Ashley Moody and warns school districts that they must quickly start complying with safety measures passed by the Legislature following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting.

One armed person is required in every campus, and law enforcement must be involved in assessments to determine the level of threat certain students pose due to these measures. In addition, accurate crime and safety reports must be turned into the state.

“We have heard days of testimony from Department of Education, school district and law enforcement officials regarding administrative hurdles, increased costs to their districts, and shortages of the qualified employees necessary to bring these districts into compliance with these important safety measures,” the report says. “Without discussing the specifics of their explanations, suffice it to say we find this testimony wholly unpersuasive.”

Originally, it seemed as if the grand jury was only going to be looking at Broward county in Florida, but the report suggests they are looking statewide.

"We find that law enforcement and school district officials have had sufficient time to bring their districts into compliance with these laws, and we fully expect that these officials will use the remaining days before the first day of the 2019-20 school year to do whatever it takes to bring these districts into full compliance,” the report says.

The grand jury will keep the information about which districts are not complying confidential until its term has ended.

About the Author

Kaitlyn DeHaven is the Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 77% of Americans Support Gun Detection Technology in Schools, Workplaces, and Houses of Worship

    More than three-quarters of Americans (77.4%) believe gun detection technology should be deployed in schools, workplaces, and other public spaces, according to new survey data released recently. The national survey shows strong support for incorporating camera-based gun detection into existing video surveillance systems. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Beyond Containment: Redefining Cybersecurity and the Digital Campus at Washington College

    In the aftermath of a ransomware attack, Washington College stood at a crossroads — its legacy defined by centuries of academic excellence, but its digital infrastructure revealing the fragile underbelly of modern campus operations. Read Now

  • California School District Protects Campuses With Cloud-Managed Access Control

    Established in 1901 in the heart of Silicon Valley, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District (MVLA) serves 4,400 students across the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. It houses two award-winning high school campuses commonly ranked in the top 1 percent nationally; it also hosts a continuation high school, an adult education campus, an alternative academy for arts and technology, and a nontraditional high school program held at an innovation center. Read Now

Most   Popular