I. Introduction

The Sarasota County District School Board has as its first obligation to provide a safe, secure and orderly learning environment in all schools and at all sponsored activities for students, school personnel, and other persons.

II. Orderly Environment

An orderly environment can only be achieved by developing procedures to control students, personnel, and other persons on school property and attending School Board or school sponsored events or activities. All procedures shall reflect the following policy provisions:

A. No person other than a student and employee of a school site shall be on a school campus during school hours unless they are in compliance with Policy 9.60 (Visitors).

B. A student who is suspended or expelled is not in good standing and is not permitted on the school campus, school grounds, or at a school sponsored activity.

C. Any person on a school campus or school grounds not in accordance with this policy may be declared to be a trespasser, consistent with State law and School Board Policy 3.401 and may be asked to leave immediately by any staff member. Each principal shall keep a log of such incidents which shall provide the name of the person asked to leave and other pertinent information. If said person shall again be seen upon the school campus or school grounds, any staff member shall immediately notify the principal or appropriate local law enforcement officials without further warning.

D. Individuals who enter School Board property, activity, or School Board meeting without a legitimate reason and create a disturbance or refuse to leave the property or activity when asked by the board chairperson, Superintendent/designee, principal or person in charge are subject to criminal penalty as provided in Florida Statutes. The person in charge shall contact appropriate law enforcement officials in cases of disruptive activity or refusal to leave the school property or activity and take appropriate actions to have the offender punished as prescribed by law. The Superintendent shall be notified of any such action at schools or school activities.

E. No person except a sworn law enforcement officer, Safe School Officer, or security guard shall have on his or her possession any weapon, including a firearm, or other illegal or dangerous object or substance on school property or at a school event. All such possession of firearms shall be in accordance with state law.

III. Emergency response agency(ies) will notify the District in the event of an emergency.

IV. Safety, Security and – Emergency Plans

A. The Superintendent shall develop a School Safety and Security Plan with input from representatives of the local law enforcement agencies, the local Fire Marshall(s), representative(s) from emergency medical services, building administrators, representative(s) from the local emergency management agency, School Resource Officer(s) and/or representative(s) of the Sarasota County Health Department.

B. As required by state law, the Superintendent shall require the use of the School Security Risk Assessment (SSRA) based on the School Safety and Security Best Practices Indicators created by FL DOE Safe School Assessment Tool (FSSAT) to conduct a self-assessment of the District’s current safety and security practices.

C. Upon completion of these self-assessments, if requested, the Superintendent shall convene a safety and security review meeting for the purpose of (a) reviewing the current SSRA and the results of the self-assessment; (b) identifying necessary modifications to the plan; (c) identifying additional necessary training for staff and students; and (d) discussing any other related matters deemed necessary by the meeting participants.

D. The Superintendent or designee shall present the findings of the safety and security review meeting to the Board for review and approval appropriate school safety, emergency management and preparedness plans. The Superintendent shall make any necessary recommendations to the Board that identify strategies and activities that the Board should incorporate into the SSRA and/or implement in order to improve school safety and security. The SSRA is, however, confidential and is not subject to review or release as a public record.

E. The Superintendent shall report the self-assessment results and any action taken by the Board to review the SSRA to the Commissioner of Education and School Board as required by State law.

F. Emergency management and preparedness plans shall include notification procedures, in accordance with Florida Statute and State Board of Education Rule, for weapon use and active assailant/hostage situations, hazardous materials and toxic chemical spills, weather emergencies, and exposure resulting from a manmade emergency.

G. Emergency management and preparedness procedures for active assailant situations shall engage the participation of the district school safety specialist, threat assessment team members, faculty, staff and students for each school and be conducted by the law enforcement agency or agencies designated as first responders to the school’s campus.

1. Accommodations for drills conducted at exceptional student education centers may be provided.

H. Each school shall develop and maintain an up-to-date plan based upon the uniform guidelines and including the provisions of Florida law, State Board of Education rules, and other applicable regulations.

I. Copies of school plans shall be provided to county and city law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency preparedness officials.

V. Threat Management

A. The District has established Policy 5.305 Threat Management Teams to provide comprehensive guidance in accordance with state statute and FL Department of Education rule.

VI. Safety – Procedures

A. School alarms shall be monitored and malfunctions shall be reported for immediate repair.

B. A safety program shall be established consistent with the provisions of Policy 8.10. The emergency preparedness procedures will identify the individuals responsible for contacting the primary emergency response agency and the emergency response agency that is responsible for notifying the school district for each type of emergency.

C. Emergency evacuation drills (fire, hurricane, tornado, active assailant/hostage situation, other natural disaster, and school bus) shall be held in compliance with state requirements, and School Board Policies 8.16 and 8.18 and formulated in consultation with the appropriate public safety agencies. Each principal, site administrator or transportation official is responsible for

1. Developing and posting emergency evacuation routes and procedures;

2. Assigning and training all staff members in specified responsibilities to ensure prompt, safe and orderly evacuation;

3. Identifying and reporting hazardous areas requiring corrective measures; and

4. Preparing and submitting a written report of each emergency evacuation drill to the District office.

D. In the event of an emergency, the Superintendent is authorized to dismiss early or close any or all schools, in accordance with School Board Policies 3.22 and 8.18. Except that the principal may dismiss the school when the Superintendent or designee cannot be contacted, and an extreme emergency exists endangering the health, safety, or welfare of students. Any such actions shall be reported immediately to the Superintendent or designee along with a statement describing the reason for the action. Such report shall be submitted to the School Board at the next regular meeting unless a special meeting is held relating to the emergency.

E. Parents, as defined by law, have a right to timely notification of threats, unlawful acts, and significant emergencies that occur on school grounds, during school transportation or during school-sponsored activities pursuant to sections 1006.07(4) and (7), F.S.

1. 1.Parents have a right to access school safety and discipline incidents as reported pursuant to section 1006.07(9), F.S.

F. The District shall implement a mobile panic alert system capable of connecting diverse emergency services technologies to ensure real-time coordination between multiple first responder agencies. Such system, known as “Alyssa’s Alert,” must integrate with local public safety answering point infrastructure to transmit 911 calls and mobile activations. Drill documentation must show the testing of all required security systems required for use during the drilled emergency..

G. The District Shall use, install, maintain, and advertise FortifyFL in accordance with State Law and State Department of Education Rule.

VII. Safety – Violence Prevention

A. As outlined in Policy 3.14, staff shall receive training in identification of potentially violent behaviors and the procedures to be implemented shall be provided to personnel of the schools.

VIII. Security

A. The Superintendent shall establish and implement a Domestic Security Plan consistent with the requirements of the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

B. The Superintendent is responsible for designating a school administrator to serve as the District's School Safety Specialist. By August 1 of each year, the Superintendent or Designee will submit the School Safety Specialist's name, phone number, and email address to the Office of Safe Schools at SafeSchools@fldoe.org. The District will notify the Office of Safe Schools within one (1) school day whenever there is a change related to the contact information for the School Safety Specialist. The School Safety Specialist is responsible for the supervision and oversight of all school safety and security personnel, policies, and procedures in the District including all Charter Schools. The School Safety Specialist will ensure schools conduct a school security risk assessment (SSRA) by Florida law at each District and charter school using the school security risk assessment tool (SSRA) developed by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Office of Safe Schools; coordinating with appropriate public safety agencies, as defined in F.S. 365.171, that are designated as emergency responders to a school's campus to conduct a tour of such campus once every three (3) years and to provide recommendations related to school safety. Completion of such tours and any recommendations must be documented in each school's security risk assessment within the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool;.

C. . The Superintendent shall require the school safety specialist to review school district and charter school policies and procedures at least annually for compliance with state law and rules, as provided by Section 1006.07(6)(a)1., F.S. The school safety specialist shall assist all district and charter schools in completing surveys provided by the Office of Safe Schools regarding Safe-School officer assignment; investigating and responding to notices from the Office of Safe Schools containing suspected deficiencies at a District school and at or by a charter school.

D. The School Safety Specialist is responsible for notifying the Superintendent or designee no later than the same day of receipt of any notice of suspected deficiency the School Safety Specialist receives from the Office of Safe Schools. When the notice of suspected deficiency concerns a failure to have a Safe- School officer established or assigned at each school facility, as required by F.S. 1006.12, the School Safety Specialist must respond in writing and verify to the Office of Safe Schools at SafeSchools@fldoe.org that the school(s) identified in the notice have a Safe-School officer on site by the next school day. In all other cases, the School Safety Specialist must respond in writing to the Office of Safe Schools at SafeSchools@fldoe.org within five (5) school days and verify that the District or school has corrected the suspected deficiency, or within that same time period, submit a written plan describing how the District will bring the identified school(s) into compliance. The plan must include an estimated date of completion and an explanation of alternate security measures designed to maintain a safe learning environment; Notifications made must contain particularized facts beyond noncompliance with rule or statute that explain the imminent threat; and Notification to the Office within three (3) days at SafeSchools@fldoe.org of any instance of noncompliance not corrected within sixty (60) days. The school safety specialist shall also notify the Office of Safe Schools at SafeSchools@fldoe.org of any Safe-School Officer Discipline, Dismissal, or Discharge of a Firearm from any district or Charter School in the exercise of safe-school officer duties occurring while assigned to a district or charter school..

E. Each school’s emergency plan shall include security provisions including emergency lockdown and active assailant procedures The school safety specialist shall ensure that school staff have records demonstrating the following requirements are met and must provide those records to the Office of Safe Schools upon request; Threat Management Team Members, Certificates of Completion of Florida Model Training, Dates, minutes, and resolutions of threat management meetings, compliant drill sheets for all drills conducted during the school year, annual certification that all staff at the school site has been trained in the districts/schools active assailant plan..

F. Adhering to background screening procedures for all staff, volunteers and mentors.

G. Security trailers may be located on school property, with approval of the Superintendent or designee.

IX. Mental Health

A. The School Board shall designate a mental health coordinator for the District. The mental health coordinator shall serve as the primary contact for the district’s coordination, communication, and implementation of student mental health policies, procedures, responsibilities, and reporting.

B. The mental health coordinator shall be responsible for:

1. working with the Office of Safe Schools;

2. maintaining records and reports regarding student mental health as it relates to school safety and the mental health assistance allocation plan;

3. facilitating the implementation of school district mental health policies relating to the respective duties and responsibilities of the school district, the superintendent, and school principals;

4. coordinating with the School Safety Specialist and District Threat Management Coordinator in the staffing and training of threat management teams with the school safety specialist, and facilitating referrals, to mental health services, as appropriate for students and their families;

5. coordinating with the school safety specialist and District Threat Management Coordinator in the training and resources for students and school district staff relating to youth mental health awareness and assistance; and

6. annually review of the district’s policies and procedures related to student mental health for compliance with state law and alignment with current best practices and making recommendations, as needed, for amending said policies and procedures to the superintendent and the district school board.

NEFEC
Revised: 02/21/24