The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is considering suing the state over school threat assessments it believes do not adequately protect the rights of children with disabilities and students of color.
The Florida Board of Education approved Rule 6A-1.0019 last week.
“We're certainly going to monitor how this new regulation is implemented and depending on what we see, there are always a lot of legal options we can pursue,” said Sam Boyd, SPLC staff attorney.
Rule 6A-1.0019 was developed by the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission after House Bill 543 was approved. The law required that the Florida Department of Education develop a threat assessment instrument by August 1, 2023, and develop a statewide threat management operational process by December 1, 2023. A statewide threat management portal is required to be operational online by August 1, 2025.
“They have made a number of recommendations related to threat assessments and school safety with a very heavy law enforcement focus,” Boyd told the Florida Record. “They see it as a way to police schools and have zero-tolerance policies. We have concerns as to whether that’s going to keep any students safe or whether it will push more kids out of the regular education system and make it less welcoming. It might be more dangerous, not safer.”
The Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission was created in response to Nikolas Cruz, 19, opening fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County on Feb. 14, 2018, and killing 17 people while injuring 17 others.
“Some kids have emotional behavioral disorders that cause them to say stuff that other people may perceive as threatening, which is just a consequence of his disability and not necessarily something he has control over,” Boyd said in an interview. “The appropriate action would be to get them treatment that can address it. “Certainly, let's not Baker Act the kid if there's no need for them to be in the hospital in a short term context.”
SPLC delivered a letter to the Board detailing their concerns under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires schools to avoid any disability discrimination in their use of threat or risk assessments, such as unnecessarily treating students with disabilities differently from other students.
"While the proposed rule requires the involvement of a counselor with mental-health expertise and knowledge of the student, many districts have separate departments of mental health and exceptional student education," the Aug. 22 letter states. "Hence, even though an employee may be familiar with a student’s mental health records, they may not be part of the student’s IEP or 504 team or be familiar with likely manifestations of their disability."