By Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
The Florida Legislature made another jump in school safety protocol during its 2024 session, requiring classrooms to be locked when students are present, but the law may not be clear enough, according to some members of a school safety commission.
The commission, created following 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, discussed the law during its Tuesday and Wednesday meetings in Sunrise, including HB 1473, which mandates classrooms be locked, as well as campus access doors, gates, and other access points, when students are present.
The school safety commission indicated that clearer intent and potential exemptions may be needed from the Legislature for the law, which went into effect this summer.
Classroom doors must be locked at all times, except during class period changing times. Certain doors at schools can be left unlocked if a waiver is approved by the Department of Education, although the only exception for classrooms is during period changes.
Commissioner Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County, said the law is impossible to comply with without exceptions, and the validity of the exceptions can be difficult to determine, such as exactly when a class period changing time starts and ends, because there still can be significant movement throughout the school even during class periods.
Judd said the officer monitoring compliance in his county feels “boxed up” by the situation.
“We don’t want to back off of it, because the problem is evident, but I think if somehow we were able to explain it that has some kind of dictum to go with the statute, it would be a whole lot easier,” Judd said.
“We either need the state to explain it or we need to go back to the Legislature and explain what we’re asking the state to explain,” Judd said. “And we don’t want to get away from the intent or the purpose of it, but we’re having a really hard time.”
Florida Department of Education Vice Chancellor Darren Norris said exceptions and exemptions are spelled out in the law but acknowledged it can be hard to know when students stop coming and going during class change times.
“We need something from the state to come down to these folks,” Judd said, voicing complaints from his officers. “Just give me something to explain what all campus access doors means, because I can’t physically keep them locked and I don’t want to violate the rules, so we need help with some definitions.”
Harsh enforcement concerns
Judd said he fears unintentional violations of the law.
Commission Chair Bob Gualtieri, sheriff of Pinellas County, said he trusts determinations of noncompliance with the law will be made with the “right mindset,” and inspections will not consist of “aggressively trying to find the most obscure situation just so they can have a violation.”
“We want all of the staff in all of the schools across Florida to realize that all we’re asking for is the best they can under the circumstances to provide that best and safe environment,” Gualtieri said.
“It is impossible to draft this with perfection, absolutely impossible,” Gualtieri said. “It goes back to good faith, common sense, use some judgement, there may be some tweaks … that maybe we need to allow in a bill this year.” He acknowledged there may need to be some exceptions to the rule for, say, a welding or diesel engine class where ventilation would be needed.
“I don’t have a problem in asking the Legislature to go back in next year and add the waiver ability to the classroom doors themselves,” Gualtieri said.
The commission indicated it may independently or with the Department of Education release a scenario-based training or publication to further clarify the law.
