{"id":142487,"date":"2026-02-03T21:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T21:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/142487\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T21:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T21:54:08","slug":"university-and-college-guardian-bill-moving-forward-tallahassee-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/142487\/","title":{"rendered":"University and College \u2018Guardian\u2019 Bill Moving Forward \u2013 Tallahassee Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida<\/p>\n

An effort to expand the armed \u201cschool guardian\u201d program to colleges and universities, following a deadly on-campus shooting near the Capitol last year, took another step forward in the House Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Calling for select post-secondary employees to be trained and armed, the Education & Employment Committee unanimously backed the proposal (HB 757) that builds on changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland\u2019s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.<\/p>\n

Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, said input for her proposal came from students, parents, faculty and staff members of state colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill creates a prevention and a response mechanism unlike any other,\u201d Salzman said. \u201cThis will be the beacon for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill comes after a shooting during the 2025 legislative session, where a student killed two people and wounded five others at Florida State University. At the time, Salzman was taking classes in FSU\u2019s Applied American Politics and Policy master\u2019s degree program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in group text with a lot of my classmates, and we were getting live videos, you know, texted and pictures texted of where the shooter was, where they were,\u201d Salzman said. \u201cIt was a very hard moment for a lot of us. We felt very helpless sitting here in the Capitol. And those that were on campus felt helpless where they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arguing against the proposal, Emily Stewart, an assistant professor of geology at Florida State University, recounted the confusion in the hours after last year\u2019s shooting where at one point she emerged from her classroom to several armed law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were pointing guns at me because they, too, still believed that there might be a second shooter hiding somewhere on campus,\u201d Stewart told the committee. \u201cWhat if I had stepped into the hallway holding a weapon because I wanted to protect my students? I\u2019m a nerdy looking woman. What if I were a young man who worked for the university, who stepped into the hallway holding a weapon with three weeks of training?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the shooting, law enforcement knew for a fact that the only people on campus with firearms should be other law enforcement or the active shooter. How will mixing in armed, somewhat trained civilians, affect their response?\u201d Stewart continued.<\/p>\n

In supporting the measure, Rep. Alex Rizo, R-Hialeah, said he thinks about missed opportunities from school safety bills that haven\u2019t advanced in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchool safety is an ongoing moving target,\u201d Rizo said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we always strive to perfect, get better, and unfortunately, we learn from our mistakes and we have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Salzman\u2019s proposal, presidents of each college or university could designate employees and faculty who would be trained and able to receive a concealed-weapons license to carry guns on campus.<\/p>\n

The bill also:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Requires postsecondary schools to promote the use of the mobile suspicious activity reporting tool FortifyFL.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Requires specified records related to a student\u2019s behavior, including threat assessment reports, and student psychological evaluations to be transferred when the individual moves from K-12 school to a state college or university.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Makes it a second-degree felony for people who shoot guns within 1,000 feet of a school during school hours or activities, unless the action was in lawful defense of themselves or others.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Requires schools to adopt an active assailant response plan, train faculty and staff to detect and respond to mental health issues, connect students with mental health services, and establish threat management teams and to establish post-incident reunification plans.<\/p>\n

Salzman\u2019s proposal must still go before the Budget Committee before reaching the House floor.<\/p>\n

A similar effort in the Senate (SB 896) has yet to appear before a committee.<\/p>\n

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