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Board reviews safe‑school updates: district to adopt Fortify Florida reporting and aligns contractor background screening with state law
Summary
The board discussed updates to the Safe and Secure Schools policy to add Fortify Florida as the reporting channel and reviewed background‑screening requirements under Florida statute 435.12 for contractors and nonemployees working on campus when students are present.
Policy updates recommended by the Northeast Florida Educational Consortium (NEFEC) were presented for the district’s Safe and Secure Schools plan, adding the state’s Fortify Florida reporting system and new training expectations for staff, parents and students.
Chief Montgomery described Fortify Florida as a system that provides immediate alerts to district administrators and first responders. “You could submit it right now, and I'll immediately get a text, a phone call, an email,” she said, noting the district can select recipients for those notifications and that Fortify is an anonymous reporting option.
The board also reviewed proposed changes to contractor background screening to align with Florida statute 435.12, which requires fingerprints and photographs for contractual personnel on campus while students are present. Staff said the vendor or contracting firm typically covers the fingerprinting cost and that the district maintains devices for retained background checks; one staff member cited a $65 screening fee for a new screening submission.
Board members asked staff to tidy overlapping language (for example, campus tours by first responders and construction‑planning references) and to examine operational options for providing fingerprinting and retention services across the county; staff noted equipment and ORI requirements affect where and how fingerprints are processed.
No final policy vote occurred at the workshop; staff will return with edited language and any operational recommendations for fingerprinting and Fortify Florida rollout.
