Florida Senate - 2024                             CS for SB 7056
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Rules; and Education Pre-K -12; and Senator
       Calatayud
       
       
       
       
       595-03601-24                                          20247056c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public records; amending s. 30.15,
    3         F.S.; providing that certain information relating to
    4         school guardians held by the Department of Law
    5         Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school
    6         district, or a charter school is exempt from public
    7         records requirements; providing for future legislative
    8         review and repeal of the exemption; providing a
    9         statement of public necessity; providing a contingent
   10         effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 30.15,
   15  Florida Statutes, to read:
   16         30.15 Powers, duties, and obligations.—
   17         (6) Any information held by the Department of Law
   18  Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or a
   19  charter school that would identify whether an individual has
   20  been certified to serve as a school guardian is exempt from s.
   21  119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. This
   22  subsection is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act
   23  in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October
   24  2, 2029, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through
   25  reenactment by the Legislature.
   26         Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public
   27  necessity that any information held by the Department of Law
   28  Enforcement, a law enforcement agency, a school district, or a
   29  charter school that would identify whether an individual has
   30  been certified to serve as a school guardian is exempt from s.
   31  119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a), Article I of the
   32  State Constitution. School security and student safety are
   33  fundamental priorities in this state, as is the safety of people
   34  serving or who have served as school guardians. School guardians
   35  serve a critical role as safe-school officers and first
   36  responders, and their presence on school grounds serves as a
   37  deterrent against incidents threatening the lives of students
   38  and school personnel. Disclosure of the identity of persons
   39  certified as school guardians might undermine such deterrence
   40  and may compromise their safety along with the safety of
   41  students by allowing ill-intentioned persons to compare the
   42  records of certified school guardians to information concerning
   43  school employees to discern whether a person has been appointed
   44  to serve as a school guardian. The public disclosure of such
   45  information would also adversely affect their ability to
   46  adequately respond to an active assailant incident, as an
   47  assailant might be alerted in advance that a particular
   48  individual is certified as a school guardian. Furthermore,
   49  school guardians who have been appointed to that position might
   50  leave their appointment for a period of time while maintaining
   51  their certification, and, thereafter, be reappointed at a future
   52  date. The safety of such persons would be compromised if their
   53  status as school guardians became public record by virtue of
   54  their continued certification. Accordingly, it is necessary to
   55  protect the identity of persons certified as school guardians
   56  from public records requirements in order to effectively and
   57  efficiently implement the purpose and intent of school guardian
   58  programs.
   59         Section 3. This act shall take effect on the same date that
   60  SB 1356 or similar legislation takes effect, if such legislation
   61  is adopted in the same legislative session or an extension
   62  thereof and becomes a law.