The news that 17 people, including young teenagers, had been gunned down in Parkland while going about their school day on Valentine’s Day this year sent shocks of outrage, anguish and calls to do something to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
One result is a new law that says schools must have someone carrying a gun, sometimes called a school resource officer, who could respond in the event of a shooter on campus.
Schools were given latitude in the way they could implement the requirement, and they have been working on it since Governor Rick Scott signed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act into law in March.
This week on Florida Matters we talk with Tampa Bay area officials about how their districts are implementing the safety changes.
Our guests include:
- Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning
- Polk County Superintendent of Schools Jacqueline Byrd
- Sarasota County School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler
You can hear more conversation about the safety changes, including how adding more armed security guards will impact these districts’ budgets, on our podcast Florida Matters More.
