What We Do

The Office of Safe Schools serves as a central repository for best practices, training standards and compliance oversight in all matters regarding school safety and security. Our mission is to support districts in providing a safe learning environment for students and educators. The primary goals of the office: Prevention, Intervention, and Emergency Preparedness Planning

The Office was created by the Florida Legislature after the February 14, 2018, school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Senate Bill 7026 reflected the will of lawmakers, impacted families, educators and public safety professionals to never experience another school shooting in Florida.

“The Legislature intends to address this crisis by providing law enforcement and the courts with the tools to enhance public safety by temporarily restricting firearm possession by a person who is undergoing a mental health crisis and when there is evidence of a threat of violence, and by promoting school safety and enhanced coordination between education and law enforcement entities at the state and local level.”

- Chapter 2018-3, Laws of Florida

The 2018 legislation, as well as subsequent school safety laws, have focused on the very best practices for security in schools:

• A trained and armed safe-school officer on every campus (s. 1006.12, F.S.)
• An anonymous reporting tool for school safety tips (s. 943.082, F.S.)
• A commission to analyze mass shootings incidents in Florida and to recommend system improvements (s. 943.687, F.S.)
• Robust risk assessments for schools and districts (s. 1006.1493, F.S.)
• Teams that are trained in a common behavioral threat management operational process (s. 1006.07(7), F.S.)
• Implementation of a mobile panic alert system in every school that supports coordination among first responder agencies (s. 1006.07(4), F.S.)
• Effective emergency drill requirements
• A requirement for every law enforcement agency to create and maintain an active assailant response policy (s. 943.6873, F.S.)
• Promotion of firearm detection canines in Florida schools (s. 1006.121, F.S.)

As directed by Florida statutes and rules, the Office of Safe Schools has four major functional areas to support school safety efforts statewide:

• Compliance
• Training and Communications
• Grants and Contracts
• Data and Analytics