District reports higher Fortify Florida tip volume mid‑year, emphasizes training and confidentiality

The district’s safety office reported on Fortify Florida, the state’s suspicious-activity reporting app, and gave a mid‑year comparison of tip volume and content.

Chief Dave Nolan explained Fortify Florida was created under the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. He told the board the app, which can be used anonymously and is available on Android and Apple devices, routes tips to school officials and law enforcement. Nolan said the district has produced age‑appropriate educational videos and that new state law requires districts to provide training on the app to students within the first five days of school and to parents at enrollment.

Nolan provided year‑to‑year counts showing mid‑year tip totals rose from 179 (comparable mid‑year in 2023) to 433 in the current mid‑year reporting period. He emphasized that many tips are not credible threats: across the years the proportion of tips classified as threats to self or others varied (for example, 31% of tips in one earlier comparison versus 15% and 18% in subsequent years). Nolan said increased volume may reflect heightened awareness, legislative reminders, and the district’s deployment of student training videos.

Superintendent Carlin thanked schools and families for using the tool and encouraged continued reporting. Board members asked about how new enrollees complete the training; staff said the required student video is played at school within the first five days and parents receive training materials at enrollment. Nolan said duplicate tips about the same person are counted separately if submitted by different reporters and that the district receives threat reports by other channels in addition to Fortify Florida.

No formal board action was taken; staff said training materials are available and the district will verify distribution and post parent training information.