TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers agreed Monday to give schools more leeway when it comes to locking doors on school campus.
State law requires schools to lock doors when a student is on campus. However, a new proposal advancing in the Florida Senate would carve out select areas on campus and limit the lockdown to school hours.
What You Need To Know
- Lawmakers are rethinking when schools must lock doors
- The bill's goal is to balance safety and practicality
- The bill would also create exceptions for certain on-campus areas
“You have a welding room. There’s a lot of fumes when you’re welding. Under current law, that door had to stay shut and everybody would die from the fumes,” said Zephyrhills Republican State Sen. Danny Burgess, the bill’s sponsor.
The proposal offers state-approved training to security officers in private schools. It also would create a state-funded database for tracking campus maps and panic alarms.
“I am really grateful for the funding that’s added to this bill. That this bill doesn’t come as an unfunded mandate to school districts,” said Democratic State Sen. Rosalind Osgood.
The state plans to track when and where school doors remain unlocked. The Florida Department of Education — home to the Office of School Safety — oversees school safety.
The proposal marks a minor adjustment to changes ushered into law after the deadly shooting in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
A Florida Senate committee approved the measure unanimously. It has got one committee stop remaining before the Florida Senate delivers a final vote.
