The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Florida requires sheriffs to support college guardian programs and creates a 1,000-foot school weapon discharge felony
Last action · March 11, 2026: Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 757 (Ch. 2026-80) -SJ 824Sponsor: Don Gaetz
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What This Bill Proposed
Sheriffs must assist public postsecondary educational institutions in implementing guardian programs, and discharging a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school becomes a second-degree felony requiring custody until bail hearings starting October 1, 2026. Additionally, public colleges and universities must adopt active assailant response plans, mental health awareness signage, family reunification plans, and threat management processes.
The measure alters campus security protocols across Florida's public higher education system by extending guardian training and threat assessment mandates previously restricted to K-12 schools, while imposing strict mandatory pre-trial detention for firearm discharges near educational facilities.
- Florida law establishes comprehensive campus and school safety frameworks, including safe-school officers and guardian programs originally designed for K-12 school districts. context
- The Office of Safe Schools operates within the Florida Department of Education as a central repository for training standards and compliance oversight. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Sheriffs
Sheriffs are required to assist public postsecondary educational institutions with guardian programs, provide required training, and report certification data to the Department of Law Enforcement.
Public postsecondary educational institutions
Colleges and universities must adopt active assailant response plans, establish threat management teams, promote suspicious activity reporting tools, and conduct annual security risk assessments.
Students and employees
Faculty, staff, and students are subject to new campus safety drills, active assailant training requirements, and threat assessment record-sharing upon transfer.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can students serve as school guardians at public colleges or universities?
What happens if a weapon or firearm is discharged within 1,000 feet of a school?
Are public postsecondary institutions required to conduct security risk assessments?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Check Your Understanding
1.According to the Committee Substitute 2 for the school safety bill, what actions must each public postsecondary educational institution take regarding the mobile suspicious activity reporting tool?
2.According to the Committee Substitute 2 for the school safety bill, what does the text require sheriffs to do regarding public postsecondary educational institutions?
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Tabled in the Senate.
Procedural history
20 actions- Mar 11, 2026SenateLaid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 757 (Ch. 2026-80) -SJ 824
- Mar 11, 2026SenateSubstituted CS/CS/HB 757 -SJ 824
- Mar 11, 2026SenateFloorRead 2nd time -SJ 824
- Mar 10, 2026SenateRetained on Special Order Calendar -SJ 747
- Mar 5, 2026SenatePlaced on Special Order Calendar, 03/10/26
- Feb 25, 2026SenateIntroducedCS/CS by Appropriations read 1st time
Show 14 earlier actions
- Feb 25, 2026SenatePlaced on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- Feb 25, 2026SenatePending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
- Feb 24, 2026SenateCommitteeCS/CS by- Appropriations; YEAS 11 NAYS 6
- Feb 19, 2026SenateOn Committee agenda-- Appropriations, 02/24/26, 9:00 am, 110 Senate Building
- Feb 18, 2026SenateIntroducedCS by Criminal Justice read 1st time
- Feb 13, 2026SenateCommitteeNow in Appropriations
- Feb 13, 2026SenateRemaining references corrected to Appropriations
- Feb 13, 2026SenateOriginal reference(s) removed: Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; Rules
- Feb 13, 2026SenatePending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
- Feb 11, 2026SenateCommitteeCS by Criminal Justice; YEAS 7 NAYS 1
- Feb 6, 2026SenateOn Committee agenda-- Criminal Justice, 02/11/26, 3:00 pm, 37 Senate Building
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
- Dec 16, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; Rules
- Dec 12, 2025SenateIntroducedFiled
Version history & redline
6 versions on fileOfficial version history is partial: 3 linked texts are unavailable or incomplete. Source links remain available below.
The text diff for this stage has not been computed yet.
official version host penalty: 429 Retry-After 300 s
Voting Record
Favorable with Committee Substitute
Total
22
- Yes
- 14
- No
- 7
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
- Other positions
- 1
How they voted (22)
Show 3 earlier roll calls
Appropriations: Favorable with Committee Substitute on S 896 c1
Total
18
- Yes
- 11
- No
- 6
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 1
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (18)
Favorable with Committee Substitute
Total
8
- Yes
- 7
- No
- 1
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Criminal Justice: Favorable with Committee Substitute on S 896 Filed
Total
8
- Yes
- 7
- No
- 1
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Finance Connection
| Candidate | Donor | Amount | Industry | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Gaetz | DON GAETZ CAMPAIGN | $19,000 | CANDIDATE CAMPAIGN | Jan 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | ALLIANCE FOR HONEST GOVERNMENT | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | ARROW GROUP | $1,000 | GOVERNMENT RELATIONS | Jan 2026 |
| Don Gaetz | ASTELLAS PHARMA US, INC. | $1,000 | PHARMACEUTICALS | Mar 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | BOOK PATRICIA | $1,000 | CONFECTIONS | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | BOOK RONALD L. | $1,000 | GOVERNMENT RELATIONS | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | CAPITOL ALLIANCE GROUP, INC. | $1,000 | GOVERNMENT RELATIONS | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | CC NORTH CENTRAL, LLC | $1,000 | DEVELOPMENT | Nov 2025 |
Show 12 more contributions
| Don Gaetz | CCC | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | VOLUSIA RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION, LLC | $1,000 | CONSTRUCTION | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | THE MAYERNICK GROUP, LLC | $1,000 | LAW FIRM | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | VENTURE DEVELOPMENT REALTY, INC. | $1,000 | REAL ESTATE | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | ACADIA HEALTHCARE COMPANY INC. PAC | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | FLORIDA RESTAURANT & LODGING ASSN. PAC INC | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Dec 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | GALMOR HOLDINGS, INC. | $1,000 | LAND DEVELOPMENT | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | HCA NORTH FLORIDA DIVISION & GOOD GOVT. PAC | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | HCA WEST FLORIDA DIVISION & GOOD GOVT. PAC | $1,000 | POLITICAL ORGANIZATION | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | ICI HOMES OF TAMPA, LLC | $1,000 | DEVELOPMENT | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | ICI HOMES RESIDENTIAL HOLDINGS, LLC | $1,000 | REAL ESTATE | Nov 2025 |
| Don Gaetz | INTERVEST CONSTRUCTION OF JAX, INC. | $1,000 | CONSTRUCTION | Nov 2025 |
Reported financial relationships and timing signals. This does not prove motive or influence. Readers draw their own conclusions.
Lobbying Activity
on behalf of Florida Association of School Safety Specialists (FS3)
2026
on behalf of Florida Association of School Safety Specialists (FS3)
2026
on behalf of Florida Association of School Safety Specialists (FS3)
2026
on behalf of Florida Association of School Safety Specialists (FS3)
2026
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Extension of K-12 Safety Frameworks to Higher Education
The legislation formally bridges K-12 school safety mandates—such as guardian programs, threat management teams, and suspicious reporting tools—over to public colleges and universities.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.flsenate.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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