Weekly Roundup: School Security Back in Spotlight

Recap and analysis of the week in state government and politics
By Ryan Dailey,The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — A school-safety measure signed this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis flew relatively under the radar during the 2022 legislative session, but the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has brought securing campuses back to the forefront.

DeSantis quietly signed the measure Tuesday without one of his frequent bill-signing events, two weeks after 19 children and two teachers were killed in the Texas shooting.

Appearing Wednesday in Fort Myers Beach, DeSantis touted Florida as a leader in “focusing on making our schools safe.”

“If you’re one of these nutjobs, just know, if you try that here, you’re going to end up on your ass. And it’s not going to end up being pretty. You’re not going to walk out of there alive,” DeSantis said of school shooters.

The measure he signed (HB 1421) will require such things as mental-health “crisis intervention” training for on-campus officers.

For law-enforcement officers stationed at schools, the training must be aimed at improving “skills as a first responder to incidents involving students with emotional disturbance or mental illness,” including de-escalation strategies.

The State Board of Education will craft rules for emergency drills, such as practice for “active assailant and hostage situations.” That is currently guided by district school boards’ policies.

Among other school-safety changes, the law will extend the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission until 2026. The state formed the commission after the 2018 Parkland school shooting, which killed 17 students and faculty members.

State Board of Education member Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in the Parkland shooting, touted the part of the bill that will extend the school-safety commission.

“Extending the commission’s work and requiring mental health and de-escalation training for safe-school officers will make a major difference in mitigating the risk of a future tragedy,” said Petty, who is a member of the commission.

But the new law drew criticism from Bacardi Jackson, interim director of children’s rights for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, who called the commission “controversial.”

“The commission is known for its imprudent recommendations that disregard the very students who survived the MSD (Marjory Stoneman Douglas) tragedy and ignore evidence-based strategies and concerns about how excessive surveillance and police presence inside schools endanger Black and Brown students, as well as students with disabilities,” Jackson said.

SWITCHING IT UP

State Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, jumped out of the race for governor this week and will run for a South Florida congressional seat held by first-term Republican Maria Elvira Salazar.

Taddeo’s move narrows the Democratic gubernatorial primary to state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, both of whom led Taddeo in fundraising and early polls.

“Families in Miami need a representative in Congress who will stand up for them, hold Washington politicians accountable and make sure we finally tackle issues like the cost of living, gun violence and defending a woman’s right to choose,” Taddeo said in a statement Monday.

Taddeo also said her pivot to the congressional race was influenced by the recent mass shootings in Texas and Buffalo, N.Y., and a conversation with her school-aged daughter “about the realities our kids face” every day.

Taddeo will run against Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell in the Aug. 23 Democratic primary in Congressional District 27.

The exit from the gubernatorial race led to Taddeo receiving warm farewells from her former primary opponents, with Crist calling Taddeo a “tireless public servant” and Fried wishing Taddeo well.

The warm-and-fuzzy feeling didn’t last long, though, as Fried in the same statement took a shot at Crist, saying the gubernatorial contest is now between “a proven statewide Democratic winner and a three-time statewide loser and self-described ‘pro-life’ former Republican.”

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS

DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed a controversial measure tied to Everglades restoration that, even after being watered down during the legislative session, continued to draw concerns about potential wetlands destruction.

The bill was a priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican who is running for agriculture commissioner with DeSantis’ support. Lawmakers revamped the bill during the legislative session after the governor objected to an initial version, which also drew outcries from environmentalists and the charter-boat industry.

But even after the changes, environmental groups continued to harbor concerns the bill would fast-track permitting that could result in wetlands destruction.

In vetoing the measure, the governor pointed to concerns it could hinder Everglades restoration work he has supported since taking office in 2019.

“We want to continue going on the path that we set out in January of 2019. And we don’t want anything to derail us from that,” DeSantis said during the Fort Myers Beach appearance Wednesday. “There was a lot of people that put a lot of good input in. Very, very passionate folks. We hear you, and we’re going to continue on the course that we started a little over three years ago.”

The group Captains for Clean Water helped lead opposition to the bill, and its members came to the Capitol during the session to speak out. The group’s executive director, Daniel Andrews, a fishing guide from Fort Myers, joined the governor in Fort Myers Beach.

Andrews said DeSantis’ veto “sends an incredibly powerful message” that people pitching “counter efforts to water-quality issues, you’re gonna get steamrolled by Gov. DeSantis.”

STORY OF THE WEEK: Two weeks after a deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, reignited debates about gun violence and securing schools, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will require mental-health “crisis intervention” training for on-campus officers.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The third wheel of the Florida Democrat primary for governor, Annette Taddeo, just lost her fourth race in Florida. It won’t be long until Charlie Crist follows suit.” — Republican National Committee spokeswoman Julie Friedland on state Sen. Annette Taddeo’s decision to drop her gubernatorial bid.

— News Service staff writer Jim Turner contributed to this report.