Rep. Dan Daley is continuing his effort to better protect Florida schools against mass shooting incidents.

He just refiled legislation (HB 23) to require all future teachers in the Sunshine State to get special training on how to handle mass casualty events, such as school shootings and other emergencies where many can be hurt at once.

The idea is to ensure educators know the warning signs of crises, how to prepare and what steps to take in the moment to safeguard students and staff.

It’s the third consecutive year that Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat, has sponsored the bill and the second straight year it was his first proposal filed.

Gun safety is a central aspect of Daley’s legislative agenda, and he comes by it naturally; he is a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the deadliest school shooting in Florida history and the second-deadliest nationwide.

“It’s clear that we must do more to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to foster safe learning environments,” he said when filing last year’s version of the bill (HB 37).

On Wednesday, he told Florida Politics there should be a school safety bill every year.

“There is always work to be done, and this bill is an example of legislation that makes sense, makes our schools safer, and needs to be law,” he said, adding that there is “a fantastic program” ongoing at Indian River State College from which his measure draws inspiration.

In that program, which was developed in partnership with law enforcement, future teachers learn to organize the layout of classrooms and watch for warning signs to prevent and mitigate the impact of school shootings.

“It’s a model and needs to be expanded,” he said.

HB 23, if passed, wouldn’t just apply to new teachers coming through college programs; it would also apply to people getting certified through alternative routes, like educator preparation institutes or adjunct (part-time) teaching certifications.

In other words, anyone wanting to be a certified teacher in Florida would need the training.

Specifically, HB 23 would:

— Revise the uniform core curricula for state-approved teacher preparation programs to include strategies for identifying, preventing, preparing for and responding to mass casualty events.

— Require postsecondary educator preparedness institutes to incorporate mass casualty incident training into competency-based certification programs.

— Amend educator certification eligibility criteria so that all applicants for professional or temporary certificates must complete the training.

— Apply the requirement to adjunct teaching certificates, ensuring that even part-time instructors are trained.

Daley’s proposal cleared its first committee stop in amended form with unanimous approval during the 2025 Legislative Session before stalling out in its second and final stop. Its Senate companion (SB 204) by Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones died without a hearing.

Jones told Florida Politics he plans to again carry the bill in 2026.

If passed, HB 23 would take effect July 1.

In 2024 alone, the U.S. saw 330 school gun violence incidents in K-12 schools — the second-highest total since 1996, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. The all-time high was in 2023, when there were 349 incidents recorded. Those figures include any time a gun was fired, brandished with harmful intent or a bullet hit school property.

Of the incidents last year, 39 resulted in injuries or deaths of someone other than the shooter, according to Education Week, which found that there were 38 such incidents in 2023, 51 in 2022, 35 in 2021, 10 in 2020 and 24 each in 2019 and 2018.

From 2018 to 2023, the outlet determined, 56 people were injured in 14 school shooting incidents in Florida, a rate of four victims per shooting.

Daley, a prosecutor and self-described “responsible gun owner,” was among several Broward County Democrats who spoke out against Attorney General James Uthmeier’s announcement last week that his Office would not enforce Florida’s ban on the open carry of firearms following an appellate court’s ruling.

He called the decision “reckless politics that make our communities less safe.”

Others decrying the move included Sen. Tina Polsky, Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, who served as Parkland Mayor during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting in 2018, and Parkland Vice Mayor Jordan Isrow.

“I’m out in my community regularly at town halls and events. Nobody’s asking for this,” Hunschofsky said. “Yet, the things people are asking for like affordability issues — property insurance, utilities, cost of living, access to affordable health care — seem to go ignored.”

The 2026 Legislative Session convenes Jan. 13.

Post Views: 0