Quarterly HB 1473 safety report: 21 schools inspected; two deficiencies found and promptly fixed, district says

Captain Todd Smith, director of safety and security for Volusia County Schools, told the school board at a February 2025 workshop that 21 schools were inspected or reinspected during the quarter in accordance with House Bill 1473 and district policy 511. Smith said 19 of the 21 schools had no school safety requirement deficiencies.

"There are hundreds of ways that a school can fail this audit," Smith said, emphasizing the inspections' detail: "If a single door is unlocked in the entire school, they fail. If a single gate is out of compliance, they fail. If they're missing a single document of the hundreds that are required, they fail."

Smith identified the two schools with deficiencies and said both problems were immediately addressed. Mainland High was missing a single safe-zone identifier that staff resolved before the board meeting; Henson Middle recorded a door-lock malfunction at the start of an audit day, which staff had reported prior to the inspection and which was not fixed before auditors arrived.

Nut graf: The quarterly report summarized required HB 1473 metrics for the board and highlighted the district's focus on creating a "culture surrounding safety and security," while noting that the audit process can flag failures for small operational issues.

Smith said his office and school principals are taking the audits seriously and that audit findings reflect active attention to safety measures. He also noted that the district's guidance lists many potential failure points, so isolated operational problems can produce audit findings even when overall procedures are in place.

Ending: The report closed with no board action recorded; board members asked one operational question about access for a high school automotive class to its off-campus shop without teacher supervision and Smith acknowledged the district would look into safe options.