The Orange County School Board reviewed proposed updates to policy JICK on Aug. 26 to align district threat management practices with recent changes in Florida law and the Florida threat management manual, and agreed to advertise the updated policy with an added clarification on voluntary examination language.

District staff said the changes are largely required by statute or rule and include renaming conventions, clarifications of roles, and updated meeting requirements for district threat management teams. "Most of these changes ... are statutorily mandated or rule based mandated, so we're not gonna have much of them in the way of choice on that," a deputy superintendent said during the presentation.

Key updates include designation of a primary district threat management coordinator (PDTMC) who reports to the chief of district police and oversees district threat management, including charter schools. A secondary coordinator (SDTMC) will provide support at the PDTMC's discretion. The policy also requires district threat management teams to meet no less than monthly, as set out in the Florida threat management manual, to review data, strategies and interventions and to support school threat teams.

The draft gives the school safety specialist and district threat teams authority to recommend assignment or reassignment of students to different schools or programs for health, safety or welfare reasons. The reporting section was revised so that all threats that may result in higher‑level discipline are coordinated between district police and student services.

Member Gallo asked specifically about the policy's handling of "voluntary examination" language (Baker Act/voluntary admission). She said citing the statute alone makes the policy less useful for staff and recommended adding the statutory text or a clear summary so staff understand the steps. Legal and staff explained that the district tracked the administrative code and statutory definitions verbatim and that referencing the statute avoids technical mismatches if the legislature alters statutory language; staff said they could retain explanatory language and include a statutory citation or link. "I would prefer it to be written out so people understand what the statute says," Member Gallo said.

District counsel and staff proposed a compromise: keep substantive explanatory language in the policy and also include a statutory reference to Florida Statute 394.4625 (as cited in the draft) and a link to the current statute so any future legislative changes are reflected. Staff indicated the board had consensus to advertise the policy as edited and to incorporate the clarified voluntary‑examination language before advertisement.

Board members did not take a formal vote during the work session. Staff said the updates will be advertised and returned for final action under the district's policy process; the draft includes multiple alignment edits to reflect the Florida model and the district threat management manual.

Staff asked for and received permission to make the specific change discussed on the record (add clarified statutory reference/explanatory language) and to advertise the policy under the district’s rule and policy timeline. No formal adoption occurred during the work session.