The way some school districts are choosing to comply with bolstered safety measures has U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) upset. Scott explained the problem to the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on enhancing school safety.
Ever since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, the Florida legislature has been working to tighten school security. Before former Governor Rick Scott left for Congress he signed legislation doing just that, 鈥淭he legislation we passed required there be a public safety officer at every school.鈥�
But Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says not every district throughout the state agrees with the legislation, 鈥渁s we鈥檙e sitting here today where we鈥檙e seeing the most voids with it as far as compliance would be in South Florida. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and there are some others.鈥�
He says Orange County just met the standard of compliance a few months ago. He says lawyers are to blame.
鈥淪o you have lawyers who are part of the problem. And I say that as a lawyer because they鈥檙e not doing their representing when they interpret words of assign, and they go through these machinations and say, 鈥榳ell assign can mean you don鈥檛 have to have somebody actually there.鈥� You know, tell that to one of these parents,鈥� said Gualtieri.
Thursday Governor Rick Scott also sent a letter to Florida school superintendents urging them to comply with the state law.
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