Northwest Florida students return to class with new school safety law in effect
By Tanner Stewart
School is back in session. Public school students in Northwest Florida returned to the classroom on Monday. As students adjust to the new school year, teachers and staff are also learning about a change to school safety rules.
A new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May aims to strengthen school safety and ease the burden for students and staff while on campus. The law allows doors or gates to remain unlocked if a locked barrier separates the space from student-occupied areas.
DeSantis says it was a change driven by school administrators who wanted to feel less locked down on campus. The new school safety law doubles down on security measures already in place, but certain measures are meant to bring students and staff relief.
House Bill 1471 repeals a law passed in 2023 that required all doors, hallways and gates in and around schools to be locked during school hours. DeSantis says this was a push by school administrators around the state.
"While that was well-intended, schools pointed out there may be some problems about moving around," DeSantis said. "What can you do? So I think the legislature tweaked this. They made sure, 'yes we want to be able to create locks to keep bad guys out, but we also want it to be practical.'"
The new law replaces the rigid requirement with more flexible provisions, like allowing doors or gates to remain unlocked if separated by a locked barrier.
Teachers and administrators in Escambia County say many schools in the area won't be impacted by the law since they're not equipped with a barrier. Educators say the law won't change what's already in place in the classroom.
"Every classroom stays locked all day," said OJ Semmes Principal Susan Sanders. "There's not access to anywhere in the school without a badge key, so every where's locked. There's no free access to anywhere in the building."
"Just like you saw as we walked into our school, there's a single point of entry at all of our schools," Escambia County Public Schools Superintendent Keith Leonard said.
Leonard explained how the changes in the law are intended to improve student experience. Leonard and other school leaders say school safety will always be at the forefront locally, regardless of policy changes.
"Our schools are hardened" Leonard said. "We're going to make sure if you're coming on to our campus, you are supposed to be on our campus. God forbid anything was to happen. I don't think I could live with myself. So we do everything we can to make your child safe."
"We don't want that to be in words or in deed," said Okaloosa County School District Superintendent Marcus Chambers. "It's about what our principals do at school to make sure there's a safe learning environment."