Florida Governor Signs Bill Allowing More Armed Teachers

Gov. Ron DeSantis in Miami, Fla., on Jan. 9, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

TALLAHASSEE—More Florida teachers will be eligible to carry guns in the classroom under a bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on Wednesday, May 8, that immediately implements recommendations from a commission formed after a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland.

DeSantis signed the bill in private and didn’t issue a statement afterward. But he previously made it clear he supports the changes made to the law enacted after a rifle-toting former student walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and killed 17 people in February 2018.

“We did a lot for public safety,” DeSantis said immediately after the legislative session ended Saturday. “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas bill, people had disagreements on, but ultimately ... I think we’re going to be safer.”

A Colt AR-15 on the counter of Dave's Guns in Denver, Colo, on Sept. 13, 2004. Thomas Cooper/Getty Images

The bill expands the “guardian” program that allows school districts to approve school employees and teachers with a role outside the classroom, such as a coach, to carry guns. School districts have to approve and teachers have to volunteer. They then go through police-like training with a sheriff’s office and undergo a psychiatric evaluation and a background check.

The new law expands the program to make all teachers eligible regardless of whether they have a non-classroom role.

A police car drives near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2018. Terry Renna/File Photo via AP

Democrats spent hours arguing against the bill, saying it could lead to accidental shootings, or that a teacher could panic and fire during a confrontation with students. Republicans emphasized that the program is voluntary, and that law enforcement in some rural districts could be 15 minutes or more away from a school if a shooter attacks.

The measure also contains a number of other school safety measures, such as wider disclosure of certain student mental health records and mental screening of troubled students. It also mandates greater reporting of school safety and student discipline incidents and a requirement that law enforcement officials be consulted about any threats.

Flowers, candles and mementos sit outside one of the makeshift memorials at in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 27, 2018. Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images

“This legislation continues efforts to proactively enhance coordination between education, law enforcement, and community mental health resources to ensure at-risk students receive the help they need before a tragedy occurs,” said Senate President Galvano in a news release.

He added that the measure will help school districts implement new security and school hardening provisions from legislation passed last year to “prevent those who would seek to harm our children from gaining access to our schools.”

Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus, on Feb. 14, 2018. Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

Nikolas Cruz, 20, is charged with the Parkland killings. His lawyers say he would plead guilty if guaranteed a life sentence, but prosecutors want to seek the death penalty.

Cruz spent several years in and out of schools for children with emotional and behavioral problems, but attended Stoneman Douglas before being kicked out about a year before the attack.

Parkland school suspect Nikolas Cruz listens during a hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 5, 2019. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

By Brendan Farrington