State Senate education committee to discuss school safety bill

The Florida Senate Committee on Education is expected to discuss a bill Tuesday aimed at adding more security measures to keep kids safe at school.

The committee will talk about several things such as mental health crisis intervention, how many drills are done each year and guardianship training.

One mom in Southwest Florida told us she trusts North Fort Myers High School with her child’s life and hopes this bill would make schools across Florida safer, so parents everywhere can feel the comfort she does.

The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018 is still a moment that is painful and fresh in the minds of Floridians and Americans nationwide. A shooter went in and claimed the lives of 17 people. School shootings persist in American society, and it leaves parents across the state and the country terrified about the horrible possibilities.

“You hear about the school shootings, and that’s probably the scariest thing,” Leigh Connor said. “Now, in today’s day in age, you never know what can happen.”

The state formed a commission aimed at preventing more senseless tragedies. The education committee will look at a bill that implements recommendations from that group, changes officials say will keep kids out of harm’s way.

“I would say preventative maintenance, I think,” Chris Thompson said. “If you can get on the front side to prevent it, it’s better than allowing it to happen and reacting.”

Changes included mental health crisis training, the number of emergency drills and harsher penalties for anyone who knowingly lies to law enforcement.

Every parent we asked wants more attention on mental health.

“That is the top priority. It all starts with the mind, with anxiety, depression, training for how to deal with these students a lot better,” Thompson said. “I think that is vital to the safety of these students.”

Parents we spoke to hope the bill, if passed, will keep the state prepared, the teachers trained and the students safe.

“They’re my everything,” JJ Palmeiro said. “I’m a single mom. You should feel like they’re completely safe sending them where they go.”

The education committee will hear the bill at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Then, it will move through the Florida Senate and immediately become law if it’s passed.

“You are sending them away without you, and there’s no one to advocate for them,” Connor said.