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Committee adopts amendments, funding for SB 1470 to centralize panic alerts and clarify locked-area rules
Summary
CS for SB 1470, a school-safety package presented by Senator Burgess, was reported favorably after the committee adopted multiple amendments including a requirement for a centralized panic-alert and digital map system and a recurring $450,000 appropriation for implementation
The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Pre K–12 Education reported CS for SB 1470 favorably on Oct. 12, 2025, after adopting a package of amendments intended to improve implementability of school safety standards. Senator Burgess, sponsor of SB 1470, described the bill as strengthening school safety by aligning security guard training with the guardian program, improving firearms and de-escalation training standards, and refining locked campus and building requirements to be implementable during supervision hours.
Senator Burgess presented a late-filed amendment (barcode 220728) that, among other changes, capped guardian training fees at sheriff costs, replaced an Office of Safe Schools partnership requirement with a directive to develop recommendations for a Florida Institute of School Safety, defined exclusive and nonexclusive zones, limited locked-access-point requirements to exclusive zones, added exceptions to locked classroom rules for some CTE spaces, and required substitute teachers to receive school safety protocols before their first day. The committee also adopted an amendment to require the Department of Education to establish and maintain a centralized system that integrates department-approved panic alert systems and digital school maps and allows public and charter schools to connect their panic alerts to that centralized system. Following that, the committee adopted an amendment providing $450,000 in recurring funds for fiscal year 2025–26 to support the centralized system.
Multiple stakeholders filed appearance forms waiving in support, including representatives from Dynamic Integrated Security, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Florida School Board Association and the Florida Sheriffs Association. Senator Osgood praised the recurring funding and said making the appropriation recurring avoided creating an unfunded mandate for districts; Burgess and other speakers emphasized balancing safety with practical implementability, citing examples such as welding classrooms where strict locked-door rules would be unsafe.
The committee adopted the amendments to the amendment and the funding amendment by voice vote and then reported the bill favorably by recorded roll call. Sponsors and committee members asked for continued stakeholder collaboration as the bill moves forward.
