Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 370
       
       
        
       By Senator Cruz
       
       
       
       
       
       18-00683A-20                                           2020370__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to safe-school officers; amending s.
    3         1006.12, F.S.; requiring district school boards to
    4         provide their approval before certain charter schools
    5         employ school resource officers and school safety
    6         officers; authorizing district school boards to
    7         oversee and manage the employment of school resource
    8         officers and school safety officers by charter schools
    9         within the district; authorizing district school
   10         boards to establish best practices for the employment
   11         of school resource officers and school safety officers
   12         by charter schools within the district; providing an
   13         effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Section 1006.12, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   18  read:
   19         1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the
   20  protection and safety of school personnel, property, students,
   21  and visitors, each district school board and school district
   22  superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or
   23  security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school
   24  officers at each school facility within the district, including
   25  charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with
   26  charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school
   27  access to all safe-school officer options available under this
   28  section. The school district may implement any combination of
   29  the options in subsections (1)-(4) to best meet the needs of the
   30  school district and charter schools. Before a charter school
   31  employs a school resource officer or a school safety officer,
   32  the district school board of the district in which the charter
   33  school is located must approve the employment of the school
   34  resource officer or school safety officer.
   35         (1) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—A school district may
   36  establish school resource officer programs through a cooperative
   37  agreement with law enforcement agencies.
   38         (a) School resource officers shall undergo criminal
   39  background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
   40  and be certified law enforcement officers, as defined in s.
   41  943.10(1), who are employed by a law enforcement agency as
   42  defined in s. 943.10(4). The powers and duties of a law
   43  enforcement officer shall continue throughout the employee’s
   44  tenure as a school resource officer.
   45         (b) School resource officers shall abide by district school
   46  board policies and shall consult with and coordinate activities
   47  through the school principal, but shall be responsible to the
   48  law enforcement agency in all matters relating to employment,
   49  subject to agreements between a district school board and a law
   50  enforcement agency. Activities conducted by the school resource
   51  officer which are part of the regular instructional program of
   52  the school shall be under the direction of the school principal.
   53         (c) Complete mental health crisis intervention training
   54  using a curriculum developed by a national organization with
   55  expertise in mental health crisis intervention. The training
   56  shall improve officers’ knowledge and skills as first responders
   57  to incidents involving students with emotional disturbance or
   58  mental illness, including de-escalation skills to ensure student
   59  and officer safety.
   60         (d) A district school board may oversee and manage the
   61  employment of school resource officers by a charter school
   62  within the district to ensure the charter school is in
   63  compliance with state law and best practices. A district school
   64  board may establish best practices for the employment of school
   65  resource officers by charter schools within the district.
   66         (2) SCHOOL SAFETY OFFICER.—A school district may commission
   67  one or more school safety officers for the protection and safety
   68  of school personnel, property, and students within the school
   69  district. The district school superintendent may recommend, and
   70  the district school board may appoint, one or more school safety
   71  officers.
   72         (a) School safety officers shall undergo criminal
   73  background checks, drug testing, and a psychological evaluation
   74  and be law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1),
   75  certified under the provisions of chapter 943 and employed by
   76  either a law enforcement agency or by the district school board.
   77  If the officer is employed by the district school board, the
   78  district school board is the employing agency for purposes of
   79  chapter 943, and must comply with the provisions of that
   80  chapter.
   81         (b) A school safety officer has and shall exercise the
   82  power to make arrests for violations of law on district school
   83  board property and to arrest persons, whether on or off such
   84  property, who violate any law on such property under the same
   85  conditions that deputy sheriffs are authorized to make arrests.
   86  A school safety officer has the authority to carry weapons when
   87  performing his or her official duties.
   88         (c) A district school board may enter into mutual aid
   89  agreements with one or more law enforcement agencies as provided
   90  in chapter 23. A school safety officer’s salary may be paid
   91  jointly by the district school board and the law enforcement
   92  agency, as mutually agreed to.
   93         (d) A district school board may oversee and manage the
   94  employment of school safety officers by a charter school within
   95  the district to ensure the charter school is in compliance with
   96  state law and best practices. A district school board may
   97  establish best practices for the employment of school safety
   98  officers by charter schools within the district.
   99         (3) SCHOOL GUARDIAN.—At the school district’s or the
  100  charter school governing board’s discretion, as applicable,
  101  pursuant to s. 30.15, a school district or charter school
  102  governing board may participate in the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian
  103  Program to meet the requirement of establishing a safe-school
  104  officer. The following individuals may serve as a school
  105  guardian, in support of school-sanctioned activities for
  106  purposes of s. 790.115, upon satisfactory completion of the
  107  requirements under s. 30.15(1)(k) and certification by a
  108  sheriff:
  109         (a) A school district employee or personnel, as defined
  110  under s. 1012.01, or a charter school employee, as provided
  111  under s. 1002.33(12)(a), who volunteers to serve as a school
  112  guardian in addition to his or her official job duties; or
  113         (b) An employee of a school district or a charter school
  114  who is hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school
  115  guardian.
  116         (4) SCHOOL SECURITY GUARD.—A school district or charter
  117  school governing board may contract with a security agency as
  118  defined in s. 493.6101(18) to employ as a school security guard
  119  an individual who holds a Class “D” and Class “G” license
  120  pursuant to chapter 493, provided the following training and
  121  contractual conditions are met:
  122         (a) An individual who serves as a school security guard,
  123  for purposes of satisfying the requirements of this section,
  124  must:
  125         1. Demonstrate completion of 144 hours of required training
  126  pursuant to s. 30.15(1)(k)2.
  127         2. Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a
  128  psychologist licensed under chapter 490 and designated by the
  129  Department of Law Enforcement and submit the results of the
  130  evaluation to the sheriff’s office, school district, or charter
  131  school governing board, as applicable. The Department of Law
  132  Enforcement is authorized to provide the sheriff’s office,
  133  school district, or charter school governing board with mental
  134  health and substance abuse data for compliance with this
  135  paragraph.
  136         3. Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent
  137  random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s.
  138  112.0455 and the sheriff’s office, school district, or charter
  139  school governing board, as applicable.
  140         4. Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon
  141  inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual
  142  basis and provide documentation to the sheriff’s office, school
  143  district, or charter school governing board, as applicable.
  144         (b) The contract between a security agency and a school
  145  district or a charter school governing board regarding
  146  requirements applicable to school security guards serving in the
  147  capacity of a safe-school officer for purposes of satisfying the
  148  requirements of this section shall define the entity or entities
  149  responsible for training and the responsibilities for
  150  maintaining records relating to training, inspection, and
  151  firearm qualification.
  152         (c) School security guards serving in the capacity of a
  153  safe-school officer pursuant to this subsection are in support
  154  of school-sanctioned activities for purposes of s. 790.115, and
  155  must aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant
  156  incidents on school premises.
  157         (5) NOTIFICATION.—The school district shall notify the
  158  county sheriff and the Office of Safe Schools immediately after,
  159  but no later than 72 hours after:
  160         (a) A safe-school officer is dismissed for misconduct or is
  161  otherwise disciplined.
  162         (b) A safe-school officer discharges his or her firearm in
  163  the exercise of the safe-school officer’s duties, other than for
  164  training purposes.
  165         (6) EXEMPTION.—Any information that would identify whether
  166  a particular individual has been appointed as a safe-school
  167  officer pursuant to this section held by a law enforcement
  168  agency, school district, or charter school is exempt from s.
  169  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This
  170  subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act
  171  in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October
  172  2, 2023, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
  173  reenactment by the Legislature.
  174  
  175  If a district school board, through its adopted policies,
  176  procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any
  177  safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school
  178  district must assign a school resource officer or school safety
  179  officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the
  180  charter school’s share of the costs of the school resource
  181  officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school
  182  allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s.
  183  1011.62(15) and shall be retained by the school district.
  184         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.