As expected Florida Governor Rick Scott announced a multi-point action plan Friday designed to improve student safety following last week’s shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

He opened the press conference reading the names of those who lost their lives during the terrible shooting in Parkland Florida and stated that all he was about to describe in his action plan would not bring back any of those who were tragically killed on February 14th.

Positively Osceola will update what our local leaders are discussing after a meeting between the School District of Osceola County and local law enforcement agencies takes place in March.

Governor Scott shared that his action plan will allocate $450 million to improve school safety and $50 Million to improve  mental health and that he will be aggressively working with Florida State legislature to quickly enact changes to increase safety for our students and for the citizens of Florida.

His action plan includes the following:

  • Require all individuals purchasing fire arms to be 21 or older.
  • Mandatory law enforcement officer in every public school one per 1,000 students, which must be implemented by start on 2018 school year.
  • Mandatory active-shooter drills and code a red system
  • Provide $450 million to keep students safe
  • School safety plans must be submitted to their county sheriff’s office by July 1 each year for approval.
  • Once all plans and requests for school hardening have been approved by the county sheriff’s office and local police, plans will be forwarded to the Department of Education by the school district to receive any state funds
  • A new anonymous K-12 “See Something, Say Something” statewide, dedicated hotline, website and mobile app
  • Each school will be required to have a threat assessment team including a teacher, a local law enforcement officer, a human resource officer, a DCF employee, a DJJ employee and the principal to meet monthly to review any potential threats to students and staff at the school
  • Require crisis intervention training for all school personnel. This training must be completed before the start of the 2018 school year.
  • $50 million in additional funding for mental health initiatives

The governor held meetings recently with law enforcement, school administrators, teachers, mental health experts and state agency leadership.

The Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Fla., has prompted student walkouts and protests  across Florida and the country calling for Federal, State and local policy changes.