Florida SB 896: School Safety

Bill Text

896 
School Safety 
2026-02-25T12:59:07Z 
Requiring sheriffs to assist public postsecondary educational institutions in implementing guardian programs under certain provisions; authorizing public postsecondary educational institutions to participate in the school guardian program; creating the offense of discharging a weapon or firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 896 

 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Criminal Justice; and 
 Senator Gaetz 

 576-03169-26 2026896c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to school safety; amending s. 30.15, 
 3 F.S.; requiring sheriffs to assist public 
 4 postsecondary educational institutions in implementing 
 5 guardian programs under certain provisions; 
 6 authorizing public postsecondary educational 
 7 institutions to participate in the school guardian 
 8 program; requiring public postsecondary educational 
 9 institutions to provide a specified notice to the 
 10 sheriff; amending s. 790.115, F.S.; creating the 
 11 offense of discharging a weapon or firearm within 
 12 1,000 feet of a school; providing an exception; 
 13 providing that a person arrested for certain offenses 
 14 must be held in custody until brought before the court 
 15 for admittance to bail; amending s. 921.0022, F.S.; 
 16 ranking an offense created by the act on the offense 
 17 severity ranking chart of the Criminal Punishment 
 18 Code; amending s. 943.082, F.S.; requiring that 
 19 postsecondary institutions be made aware of the mobile 
 20 suspicious activity reporting tool in a specified 
 21 manner; requiring public postsecondary educational 
 22 institutions to promote the use of such tool; amending 
 23 s. 1003.25, F.S.; requiring specified educational 
 24 records for certain students to be transferred to a 
 25 Florida College System institution or state university 
 26 under certain circumstances; requiring the State Board 
 27 of Education and the Board of Governors to adopt rules 
 28 and regulations, respectively; amending s. 1006.07, 
 29 F.S.; requiring certain trainings to include specified 
 30 information relating to school safety; creating s. 
 31 1006.601, F.S.; defining the term “public 
 32 postsecondary educational institution”; authorizing 
 33 such institutions to participate in certain programs; 
 34 authorizing such institutions to appoint certified 
 35 school guardians; authorizing specified persons to 
 36 serve as school guardians; requiring such institutions 
 37 to adopt specified emergency response plans; requiring 
 38 such institutions to provide specified training, post 
 39 specified information, and adopt threat management 
 40 processes; requiring public postsecondary educational 
 41 institutions to collaborate with certain public safety 
 42 agencies, and authorizing such institutions to 
 43 collaborate with private sector security consulting 
 44 firms, to annually conduct a security risk assessment 
 45 using a specified assessment tool; authorizing public 
 46 postsecondary educational institutions to contract 
 47 with a private sector security consulting firm for a 
 48 specified purpose; authorizing a public postsecondary 
 49 educational institution to apply for grant funds for 
 50 security improvements, subject to appropriation; 
 51 authorizing the State Board of Education and the Board 
 52 of Governors to adopt rules and regulations, 
 53 respectively; reenacting s. 1006.12, F.S., relating to 
 54 safe-school officers at each public school, to 
 55 incorporate the amendments made by the act; reenacting 
 56 ss. 402.305(19)(a), 843.08, 943.03(16), and 
 57 1001.212(1), (4), and (10), F.S., relating to 
 58 licensing standards and child care facilities, false 
 59 personation, Department of Law Enforcement, and Office 
 60 of Safe Schools, respectively, to incorporate the 
 61 amendments made by the act; providing effective dates. 
 62 
 63 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 64 
 65 Section 1. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 
 66 30.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 67 30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations.— 
 68 (1) Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or by 
 69 deputy, shall: 
 70 (k) Assist district school boards and charter school 
 71 governing boards in complying with, or private schools or child 
 72 care facilities, as defined in s. 402.302, in exercising options 
 73 in, s. 1006.12. A sheriff must also assist public postsecondary 
 74 educational institutions, as described in s. 1000.04(3), in 
 75 implementing a guardian program under s. 1006.601. A sheriff 
 76 shall, at a minimum, provide access to a Chris Hixon, Coach 
 77 Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program to aid in 
 78 the prevention or abatement of active assailant incidents on 
 79 school premises, as required under this paragraph. Persons 
 80 certified as school guardians pursu