TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a public safety act into law giving school districts the option to arm employees who do not exclusively teach.
The districts must coordinate with their local sheriff's offices to participate in the voluntary guardian program.
The superintendents in Gadsden, Jefferson, Madison and Liberty counties have all said they personally oppose the guardian program. But that is not the official position of those districts.
In Madison County, the superintendent and sheriff are pursuing the idea of adding more school resource officers, but nothing so far in terms of training school personnel for the program.
In Suwannee County, the school district is leaning towards a limited guardian program that is "very selective."
The school board has not made it official, but the sheriff's office is on board with the idea.
Sheriff Sam St. John said there would be a vetting process for the potential program. He said several ex-military personnel are already in schools and would be good candidates.
Many of these districts plan to have discussions about the guardian program in April.
