Florida House Bill 1421

Florida House Bill 1421 (FL HB 1421)

What is Florida’s New School Safety Bill?

FL HB 1421 updates the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act and focuses on improving transparency around school safety and security as well as student mental health awareness. The bill was unanimously passed in both the House and Senate before reaching the desk of Governor DeSantis for signature. Signed into law on June 7, 2022, HB 1421 went into effect on July 1, 2022.  

The bill focuses on four main areas of improvement and authorizes the Commissioner of Education to enforce, rather than just oversee, statewide compliance with the updated standards. 

• Family reunification plans: All districts are required to develop a reunification plan that meets DOE standards and plans to communicate clearly with staff, families and first responders in the event of an emergency. 

• Emergency drill procedures: Schools are required to conduct emergency drills that are age- and developmentally appropriate. Law enforcement officers must be present and involved during active assailant drills.  

• Youth mental health awareness: Districts are required to annually certify that at least 80% of staff has been trained to identify and intervene when a student is in crisis. School mental health professionals must use the standard DOE suicide screening tool. 

• School safety officers: All officers must complete crisis intervention and de-escalation training to improve their knowledge and response during an incident on campus.  

“Every child needs a safe and secure learning environment. By signing HB 1421, we continue to build on the many steps we have taken since 2019 to implement the recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, while also making record investments in mental health and school safety.” –  Governor Ron DeSantis 

How Can Navigate360 Help You Comply with FL HB 1421?

Safety & Security Solutions for Florida House Bill 1421

Emergency Management Suite: This software provides a robust solution for your school or district to comply with the reunification and safety drill requirements laid out in FL HB 1421, as well as Alyssa’s Law. Our Emergency Management Suite centralizes the management and logging of safety drills and the creation and sharing of reunification plans, allowing you to quickly communicate with first responders and keep staff and families updated throughout an emergency event.

ALICE Training®: The ALICE program is the original civilian active shooter response training program that empowers students and staff to survive in the face of violence. The program provides your schools with both eLearning and in-person instruction of proven techniques for safety drills and emergency response.

Site Mapping: This service can help your schools create detailed maps of your buildings and classrooms with identified life safety information in the building such as fire pulls, AEDs, roof access and camera positions, along with identifying building shut-off locations such as gas, electric, water and fire suppression. These maps can be easily updated and accessed by staff and first responders, allowing greater visibility during a crisis and reunification sites to be located quickly and easily.

Mental Health & Awareness Solutions for Florida House Bill 1421

Mental Health & Prevention: Navigate360 provides mental health awareness tools to address tough mental health and safety topics. With professionally developed resources for students, staff & families, everyone can proactively care for their own mental health and respond appropriately when they or someone they care about is in need.

Suicide Awareness & Prevention: Aligned with the Columbia Suicide Screening Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Navigate360’s comprehensive suicide prevention training prepares mental health staff on how to address and help a student in crisis. Through our expert-authored curriculum, staff will also be provided with strategies for reducing the stigma of suicide and improving the effectiveness of prevention programs.

Behavioral Threat Assessment & Suicide Case Management: Our cloud-based system is completely compliant with Florida’s newest threat management model. This single system provides your school’s mental health professionals and threat assessment team members with evidence-based case management software that allows for continuum of care documentation and analytics reporting to proactively improve outcomes for students of concern.

Navigate360 offers holistic solutions that support students, schools and their communities.

We know it takes more than a single solution to take care of the whole child and the schools and community that surround them, which is why we believe in solutions that work better together.

As a trusted partner for Florida K-12 schools, Navigate360 already provides support and resources to keep schools and communities safe. Our solutions impact the safety and wellness of 1.82 million students and more than 100,000 educators, serving 2,244 schools across 37 districts throughout the state.