{"id":85215,"date":"2025-12-16T12:43:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T12:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85215\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T12:43:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T12:43:17","slug":"after-fsu-tragedy-florida-weighs-armed-campus-staff-and-new-safety-standards-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/85215\/","title":{"rendered":"After FSU tragedy, Florida weighs armed campus staff and new safety standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers might be moving toward a major expansion of the state\u2019s controversial Guardian Program, extending it to public colleges and universities. That\u2019s in the wake of April\u2019s deadly shooting at Florida State University.<\/p>\n

Watch full report from Forrest Saunders<\/p>\n

After FSU tragedy, Florida weighs armed campus staff and new safety standards<\/p>\n

The proposal, HB 757<\/a>, comes months after a gunman killed<\/a> two people and wounded at least six others on FSU\u2019s campus, prompting student protests and renewed calls for changes to campus safety.
One of the lawmakers now leading that effort is Rep. Michelle Salzman, R-Pensacola, who says the violence personally impacted her. Salzman, who attended FSU, told us she was in contact with students as the shooting unfolded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in group text with a lot of the students as they’re sending videos showing the shooter walking by or texting, \u2018Hey, I’m in this room and I’m okay. Where are you?\u2019 I’m literally sitting here, and I felt so helpless, I couldn\u2019t go on campus and help, obviously,\u201d Salzman said.<\/p>\n

If approved during the 2026 legislative session, HB 757 would establish Florida\u2019s first uniform higher-education safety framework. The bill would require public colleges and universities to adopt emergency response plans, create threat-assessment teams, and install upgraded classroom door locks.<\/p>\n

It would also allow specially trained faculty and staff to carry concealed firearms as campus \u201cguardians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill isn’t about the Second Amendment. This bill is about providing a safer environment for the campus,\u201d Salzman said.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s Guardian Program<\/a> was created after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Today, 53 school districts allow staff \u2014 including teachers \u2014 to carry firearms on K-12 campuses after undergoing extensive law-enforcement training.<\/p>\n

While the program has expanded in recent years with bipartisan support, it faced strong opposition when it was first approved in 2019. During that debate<\/a>, Democrats warned against adding more guns to school environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that having more weapons in classrooms gets it right,\u201d Rep. Cindy Polo, D-Miramar, said at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur teachers did not go to schools to become cops,\u201d added Rep. Susan Vald\u00e9s, D-Tampa. Vald\u00e9s has since changed her party affiliation to Republican.<\/p>\n

The Guardian Program drew national and international<\/a> attention and has been praised by law enforcement as a deterrent to violence. Gun-violence prevention groups, however, continue to push for tighter background checks and limits on what they describe as \u201cweapons of war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students remain deeply concerned about expanding gun access on campus. FSU student Madalyn Propst told us in September she fears lawmakers could go even further next year by loosening gun restrictions, including allowing open carry on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will solve nothing,\u201d Propst said. \u201cIf there have been multiple students that were armed during the shooting back in April, then I wouldn’t have been able to run and turn a corner and get away. I would have run and tried to get away and then met with another scared student with a firearm who doesn’t know who’s the actual perpetrator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the criticism, the proposal appears to have strong backing. Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 latest budget includes<\/a> funding specifically earmarked for expanding the Guardian Program. Salzman also says the bill was crafted alongside university leaders, state colleges, and the Florida Board of Governors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve talked to everybody you can think of trying to really get a big picture,\u201d Salzman said. \u201cBecause what we create, I want it to be meaningful and I want it to save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill includes an additional provision that would apply to all schools statewide, creating a 1,000-foot safety buffer around education facilities. Under that measure, discharging a weapon near a campus during school hours or school events would be a felony offense with no bond.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers will consider taking up the proposal when the legislative session begins on Jan. 13.<\/p>\n

Share Your Story with Forrest

Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders is dedicated to sharing your voice with political leaders throughout the state. He works to hold our elected leaders accountable and amplify your concerns. Let Forrest know about the issues you want state leaders to focus on.
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Ying Pang has been living as a fugitive for six months after her Wesley Chapel HOA obtained an arrest warrant over unpaid fines stemming from property violations<\/p>\n

Elderly Pasco County woman becomes fugitive over HOA violations, fears jail time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. \u2014 Florida lawmakers might be moving toward a major expansion of the state\u2019s controversial Guardian Program,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[205,29,3074,232,234,233,208],"class_list":["post-85215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-abc-action-news","tag-florida-news","tag-sunshine-state-news","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news","tag-wfts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}