Florida Senate Panel OKs Expansion of Armed-Staff Program to Colleges

WHAT HAPPENED: A Florida Senate committee approved SB 896, a bill that would expand the state's Guardian program — currently limited to K-12 schools — to colleges and universities, sending the measure to the full Senate for a vote.

WHAT IT MEANS: Under the bill, staffers at Florida's higher education institutions who complete the required training could be permitted to carry firearms on campus. The Guardian program was created in response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and has operated in K-12 settings since then. Expanding it to colleges would give individual institutions the option to allow trained employees to be armed.

WHO IS AFFECTED: Students, faculty, and staff at Florida's public and private colleges and universities statewide, including institutions serving Treasure Coast residents in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW: The source material does not specify the committee vote count, which colleges or university systems have expressed support or opposition, what training requirements would apply at the higher education level, or whether individual institutions could opt out. According to available information,

WHAT TO WATCH: The bill now heads to the full Florida Senate floor for a vote. No date for that vote was provided in the available source material.

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