Florida Senate - 2026                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 54
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì372468JÎ372468                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  12/09/2025           .                                
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       The Committee on Criminal Justice (Sharief) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 406.139, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         406.139 Autopsy of a suspected violent offender.—
    8         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
    9         (a) “Intoxicating substance” means alcoholic beverages, any
   10  controlled substance controlled under chapter 893, or any
   11  chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111.
   12         (b) “Psychotropic drug” means any drug prescribed to affect
   13  an individual’s mental state, including, but not limited to,
   14  antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and
   15  antianxiety medications.
   16         (c) “Violent offender” means any person who is suspected by
   17  law enforcement of engaging in unprovoked violence that results
   18  in, or is likely to result in, the death or serious bodily
   19  injury of another.
   20         (2) CONSULTATION; TOXICOLOGY SCREENING.—If a medical
   21  examiner’s office performs an autopsy on a decedent who is a
   22  violent offender, the medical examiner must do all of the
   23  following:
   24         (a)1. Make reasonable efforts to determine the identity of
   25  any treating mental health professional or primary care
   26  physician of the decedent; and
   27         2. Consult such individuals, if known and available, to
   28  obtain information and records regarding the decedent’s history
   29  of psychotropic drug use, including any prescribed or
   30  discontinued medications.
   31         (b) Order and perform a toxicology screening on the
   32  decedent to determine whether psychotropic drugs or intoxicating
   33  substances are present in the decedent’s body.
   34         (3) AUTOPSY REPORT; NOTIFICATION.—
   35         (a) All findings under subsection (2) must be documented
   36  and included in the final autopsy report, along with any
   37  available corroborating information.
   38         (b)1. Any findings relating to the use of intoxicating
   39  substances or psychotropic drugs must be reported to the Florida
   40  Department of Law Enforcement.
   41         2. Any findings relating to the use of psychotropic drugs,
   42  and if known, the prescribing facility, must be reported to the
   43  Florida Department of Health and the Agency for Health Care
   44  Administration.
   45         Section 2. Subsections (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13),
   46  (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), and (20) of section 456.057,
   47  Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (9), (10), (11),
   48  (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20), and (21),
   49  respectively, and subsection (8) is added to that section, to
   50  read:
   51         456.057 Ownership and control of patient records; report or
   52  copies of records to be furnished; disclosure of information.—
   53         (8) Notwithstanding any other law, records must be
   54  furnished to a law enforcement agency as defined in s. 914.28
   55  for the purpose of investigating a violent offender as defined
   56  in s. 406.139 provided:
   57         (a) Such release is limited to only those records that
   58  confirm whether the suspected person was ever treated with
   59  psychotropic drugs as defined in s. 406.139;
   60         (b) Records reasonably related to such treatment; and
   61         (c) The law enforcement agency requests such records.
   62         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
   63  1006.07, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   64         1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
   65  discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
   66  provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
   67  attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
   68  attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
   69  welfare of students, including:
   70         (6) SAFETY AND SECURITY BEST PRACTICES.—Each district
   71  school superintendent shall establish policies and procedures
   72  for the prevention of violence on school grounds, including the
   73  assessment of and intervention with individuals whose behavior
   74  poses a threat to the safety of the school community.
   75         (a) School safety specialist.—Each district school
   76  superintendent shall designate a school safety specialist for
   77  the district. The school safety specialist must be a school
   78  administrator employed by the school district or a law
   79  enforcement officer employed by the sheriff’s office located in
   80  the school district. Any school safety specialist designated
   81  from the sheriff’s office must first be authorized and approved
   82  by the sheriff employing the law enforcement officer. Any school
   83  safety specialist designated from the sheriff’s office remains
   84  the employee of the office for purposes of compensation,
   85  insurance, workers’ compensation, and other benefits authorized
   86  by law for a law enforcement officer employed by the sheriff’s
   87  office. The sheriff and the school superintendent may determine
   88  by agreement the reimbursement for such costs, or may share the
   89  costs, associated with employment of the law enforcement officer
   90  as a school safety specialist. The school safety specialist must
   91  earn a certificate of completion of the school safety specialist
   92  training provided by the Office of Safe Schools within 1 year
   93  after appointment and is responsible for the supervision and
   94  oversight for all school safety and security personnel,
   95  policies, and procedures in the school district. The school
   96  safety specialist, or his or her designee, shall:
   97         1. In conjunction with the district school superintendent,
   98  annually review school district policies and procedures for
   99  compliance with state law and rules, including the district’s
  100  timely and accurate submission of school environmental safety
  101  incident reports to the department pursuant to s. 1001.212(8).
  102  At least quarterly, the school safety specialist must report to
  103  the district school superintendent and the district school board
  104  any noncompliance by the school district with laws or rules
  105  regarding school safety.
  106         2. Provide the necessary training and resources to students
  107  and school district staff in matters relating to youth mental
  108  health awareness and assistance; emergency procedures, including
  109  active shooter training; and school safety and security.
  110         3. Provide the necessary training and resources to school
  111  district staff in matters relating to the adverse effects of
  112  psychotropic drugs and intoxicating substances as those terms
  113  are defined in s. 406.139, including the irrational, violent, or
  114  suicidal behavior that may be demonstrated by students under the
  115  influence of such drugs or substances. The training must include
  116  instruction on how such staff can identify and safely interact
  117  with students who may be under the influence of such drugs or
  118  substances, including de-escalation techniques to ensure student
  119  and staff safety.
  120         4. Serve as the school district liaison with local public
  121  safety agencies and national, state, and community agencies and
  122  organizations in matters of school safety and security.
  123         5.4. In collaboration with the appropriate public safety
  124  agencies, as that term is defined in s. 365.171, by October 1 of
  125  each year, conduct a school security risk assessment at each
  126  public school using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool
  127  developed by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s.
  128  1006.1493. Based on the assessment findings, the district’s
  129  school safety specialist shall provide recommendations to the
  130  district school superintendent and the district school board
  131  which identify strategies and activities that the district
  132  school board should implement in order to address the findings
  133  and improve school safety and security. Each district school
  134  board must receive such findings and the school safety
  135  specialist’s recommendations at a publicly noticed district
  136  school board meeting to provide the public an opportunity to
  137  hear the district school board members discuss and take action
  138  on the findings and recommendations. Each school safety
  139  specialist, through the district school superintendent, shall
  140  report such findings and school board action to the Office of
  141  Safe Schools within 30 days after the district school board
  142  meeting.
  143         6.5. Conduct annual unannounced inspections, using the form
  144  adopted by the Office of Safe Schools pursuant to s.
  145  1001.212(13), of all public schools, including charter schools,
  146  while school is in session and investigate reports of
  147  noncompliance with school safety requirements.
  148         7.6. Report violations of paragraph (f) by administrative
  149  personnel and instructional personnel to the district school
  150  superintendent or charter school administrator, as applicable.
  151         Section 4. Subsection (6) of section 1006.12, Florida
  152  Statutes, is amended to read:
  153         1006.12 Safe-school officers at each public school.—For the
  154  protection and safety of school personnel, property, students,
  155  and visitors, each district school board and school district
  156  superintendent shall partner with law enforcement agencies or
  157  security agencies to establish or assign one or more safe-school
  158  officers at each school facility within the district, including
  159  charter schools. A district school board must collaborate with
  160  charter school governing boards to facilitate charter school
  161  access to all safe-school officer options available under this
  162  section. The school district may implement any combination of
  163  the options in subsections (1)-(4) to best meet the needs of the
  164  school district and charter schools.
  165         (6) CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING; SUBSTANCE USE TRAINING.—
  166         (a) Each safe-school officer who is also a sworn law
  167  enforcement officer shall complete mental health crisis
  168  intervention training using a curriculum developed by a national
  169  organization with expertise in mental health crisis
  170  intervention. The training must improve the officer’s knowledge
  171  and skills as a first responder to incidents involving students
  172  with emotional disturbance or mental illness, including de
  173  escalation skills to ensure student and officer safety.
  174         (b) Each safe-school officer shall complete training on the
  175  adverse effects of psychotropic drugs and intoxicating
  176  substances as those terms are defined in s. 406.139, including
  177  the irrational, violent, or suicidal behavior that may be
  178  demonstrated by students under the influence of such drugs or
  179  substances. The training must include instruction on how such a
  180  safe-school officer can identify and safely interact with
  181  students who may be under the influence of such drugs or
  182  substances, including de-escalation techniques to ensure student
  183  and officer safety.
  184  
  185  If a district school board, through its adopted policies,
  186  procedures, or actions, denies a charter school access to any
  187  safe-school officer options pursuant to this section, the school
  188  district must assign a school resource officer or school safety
  189  officer to the charter school. Under such circumstances, the
  190  charter school’s share of the costs of the school resource
  191  officer or school safety officer may not exceed the safe school
  192  allocation funds provided to the charter school pursuant to s.
  193  1011.62(12) and shall be retained by the school district.
  194         Section 5. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
  195  
  196  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  197  And the title is amended as follows:
  198         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  199  and insert:
  200                        A bill to be entitled                      
  201         An act relating to the use of substances affecting
  202         cognitive function; creating s. 406.139, F.S.;
  203         defining terms; requiring medical examiners to take
  204         specified actions when performing an autopsy on a
  205         decedent who is a violent offender; requiring that
  206         autopsy reports for such individuals include certain
  207         findings and information; requiring notification;
  208         amending s. 456.057, F.S.; authorizing the release of
  209         certain patient records to law enforcement agencies
  210         without patient authorization for investigation
  211         purposes; amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; requiring school
  212         safety specialists to provide school district staff
  213         with certain training on the adverse effects of
  214         specified substances; specifying requirements for
  215         training; amending s. 1006.12, F.S.; requiring safe
  216         school officers to complete certain training on the
  217         adverse effects of specified substances; specifying
  218         requirements for training; providing an effective
  219         date. ; providing an effective date.