Florida school emergency plan law

What emergency plans does Florida require of schools?

Florida law requires each district school board and charter school governing board to adopt an active assailant response plan and a family reunification plan. The family reunification plan is for when a school is closed or unexpectedly evacuated because of a disaster, and must be written in coordination with local law enforcement and local governments. District school boards must also set policies and procedures, in consultation with public safety agencies, for drills and real emergencies, including fires, natural disasters, active assailant and hostage situations, and bomb threats. Each public school must also develop a plan for urgent life-saving emergencies (PULSE). Charter schools must follow the statute on adopting an active assailant response plan, and the statutes on student health, safety and welfare. Florida's private school statute sets no emergency plan duty; it only requires the emergency agencies named in a district's policy to also notify private schools that opt into the district's emergency notification procedures.

What must the plans and policies contain?

District school boards must give parents timely notice of threats and of listed unlawful acts or significant emergencies at school, on school buses or at school events. Those emergencies include weapons possession or use with intent to harm, and hostage and active assailant situations. District school boards must set a schedule to test all emergency communication systems and check signal strength in all areas of each campus. Each public school, including charter schools, must use a mobile panic alert system, called Alyssa's Alert, that connects to the local 911 center. By rule, districts must write Alyssa's Alert into their emergency policies, developed with the county 911 authority and the local emergency management office.

How often are plans reviewed?

The family reunification plan must be reviewed every year and updated as needed. By rule, reunification plans are reviewed every year, and each school's plan must match district policy. The school safety specialist and superintendent must review district policies and procedures every year against state law and rules.

What is reported to the state?

By October 1 each year, each public school must complete a security risk assessment using the Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool (FSSAT), working with public safety agencies. The FSSAT must cover emergency and crisis preparedness planning, and disaster preparedness and response policies, including family reunification plans. The findings and the school board's action must go to the Office of Safe Schools within 30 days of the board meeting. Each district must report to the Office of Safe Schools by October 15 each year that all its public schools have completed the FSSAT. By rule, each district must send the Office of Safe Schools a list of the panic alert systems every public school uses, by August 1 each year. By rule, whenever the panic alert system fails to connect to the 911 center, the school safety specialist must tell the superintendent, the vendor and the Office of Safe Schools within 24 hours.

How do schools work with first responders?

The school safety specialist must arrange for designated first responder agencies to tour each campus once every three years and give safety recommendations. By rule, those tours and recommendations must be recorded in each school's FSSAT risk assessment. By rule, drill policies must be written with law enforcement, fire service and emergency management. An emergency drill is defined as a way to test emergency plans for incidents other than fire. Superintendents must give floor plans for each school building to the police and fire department that cover it, with revised plans for buildings changed in the past year due by October 1 each year. School officials must work with local emergency service providers to fit the PULSE plan into community emergency protocols.

What training is tied to the plans?

By October 1 each year, superintendents and charter school principals must certify that all school staff received yearly training on the active assailant response plan. By rule, completion of that training must be recorded in the FSSAT by October 1 each year. Training for teachers and instructional staff must explain the purpose, importance and proper carrying out of school safety protocols and emergency procedures. Substitute teachers must receive all school safety protocols and policies before their first day at a school. By rule, school safety specialists must complete FEMA courses, including Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning for Schools and ICS 100.

Are the plans confidential?

Security risk assessment data and information are confidential and exempt from public records requirements. Under Florida's public records law, a security or fire safety system plan, which includes threat response plans, emergency evacuation plans and sheltering arrangements, is confidential and exempt when it covers publicly owned or leased property.

How is it enforced?

The Commissioner of Education must oversee and enforce school safety and security requirements. The Office of Safe Schools inspects all public schools, including charter schools, unannounced every three years. By rule, those inspections happen while school is in session, and buildings with documented problems are inspected again within six months. If a district cannot show it complies, the State Board of Education may order it to comply by a set date. If a district will not or cannot comply in time, the State Board may withhold state, discretionary grant and discretionary lottery funds until it does. Other remedies include making the district ineligible for competitive grants, and requiring regular reports until the problem is fixed. The Office of Safe Schools must write a model family reunification plan for public K-12 schools and others.

What changed recently?

Ch. 2026-80 (CS/CS/HB 757), approved by the Governor on May 15, 2026, added the duty for staff training to explain how to properly carry out safety protocols and emergency procedures. Its Senate companion, SB 896 (2026), was laid on the table after HB 757 passed. Ch. 2025-58 (CS/SB 1470), approved May 21, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, required temporary door locks to be built into the active assailant response plan. Ch. 2025-67 (CS/HB 1607) created the PULSE plan requirement. The current version of Rule 6A-1.0018 took effect September 23, 2025. A proposed amendment to the rule was published April 22, 2026; it would have active assailant training recorded in the security risk assessment within the FSSAT.