Lawsuit against Duval schools armed School Safety Assistant Program goes before judge
Duval County FLA April 23 2019 A judge this week could dismiss a lawsuit filed by parents and two nonprofits alleging the Duval County Public Schools’ armed School Safety Assistants Program is unlawful and endangers students instead of protecting them.
The lawsuit against Duval County Public Schools and its school board seeks to stop the program and prohibit the safety assistants from carrying guns on school grounds.
The board and district want the court to throw out the lawsuit, arguing it has no legal basis, the plaintiffs have no standing in the case and the board has immunity from the suit.
Circuit Court Judge Robert M. Dees will conduct a hearing Thursday afternoon on the district’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. It is unknown whether Dees will rule immediately in the case.
The board last July authorized the program at all 107 district elementary schools.
Board members made the decision because the district couldn’t afford to hire enough school police officers to place one at every Duval school as required by the state law enacted following the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
In November, three parents on behalf of their four children, along with the League of Women Voters of Florida, with the support of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the Southern Poverty Law Center and two law firms doing pro bono work, filed the lawsuit to stop the Duval program.
District officials refuse to say how many armed school safety assistants currently work in Duval schools.
“Our specific contingent of security personnel is not something we share in public,” said Laureen Ricks, a district spokeswoman, adding the security plan is exempt from disclosure under Florida law.
A key point in the lawsuit is whether the state Legislature — via Senate Bill 7026 — authorized school employees who are not law enforcement officers to carry guns in schools.
A longtime Florida law makes it illegal for anyone other than law enforcement officers to carry guns on campus. School safety assistants aren’t law enforcement officers.
Attorneys for the school district and board declined comment because the litigation is ongoing but noted their motion to dismiss the lawsuit speaks for itself.
However, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other plaintiffs voiced confidence their case will stand.
“The arguments of the Duval County School Board lack merit, and they have not pointed to any law that gives them the authority to arm school safety assistants,” said Bacardi Jackson, senior supervising attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund.
The opposing sides argued their respective cases in dueling motions filed in the case.
The parents and children who filed the lawsuit aren’t named in it. The adults are identified only by their first initial and last name. Listed solely by their initials, the children are described in the suit as Duval elementary school students either with disabilities, fears related to guns or are African American — factors the lawsuit asserts places them at increased risk of injury from armed safety assistants.
The League of Women Voters includes members with children or grandchildren in Duval elementary schools. The organization also “has a long record of advocacy in favor of gun safety and public education and against gun violence across the state,” the lawsuit says about the group’s reason for being a co-plaintiff.
Their lawsuit accuses the School Board of illegally allowing guns in district schools.
“DCSB has hired ‘School Safety Assistants’ (SSAs) and purported to authorize them to carry guns while patrolling all elementary schools in the county even though they are not law enforcement officers and do not undergo the training that law enforcement officers do,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also says that the safety assistants receive less than 20 percent of the training required for a full-time police office. Therefore the board’s decision to deploy the armed safety assistants “endangers thousands of elementary school children,” according to the suit.
The safety assistants, who earn $12.50 an hour, are deployed at the district’s 107 elementary schools. Duval school police officers are assigned to the middle and high schools.
District officials have described the safety assistant program as safe. They’ve pointed out the safety assistants receive more training than other armed security guards.
But the assistants don’t have law enforcement authority — meaning they can’t arrest a student or involuntarily commit him or her to a mental health facility — like school police can.
“Their primary responsibility is to use whatever force is necessary to prevent or abate an active assailant incident,” Ricks said.
Ricks also said the safety assistants spend much of their time conducting perimeter and in-school checks to ensure the campus is secure. They monitor students within various parts of the school for safety and welfare and report any concerns to administrators for follow-up action. In addition, the assistants help with administrative searches of students or their belongings as directed; and participate in all school emergency drills, Ricks said.
The School Board asserts it acted legally and appropriately when it created the safety assistant program. The district may regulate the carrying of firearms by an employee in the course of that person’s official duties, according to its motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
In addition, the board argues it “is entitled to make discretionary decisions on how and in what manner to implement and conform to state legislation.”
“The presence of a school safety assistant on our elementary campuses has been a welcome addition to our schools,” said Superintendent Diana Greene. “Having an extra set of eyes fully devoted to safety and security is a tremendous benefit for students and staff.”
No students have been injured, but the lawsuit cites two incidents of guns being mishandled, or accidentally discharging at Duval schools within the past six months. Such incidents can create lingering fears in young children, even if they aren’t directly involved, according to the suit.
Last October, the district forced out three safety assistants after one was arrested for allegedly pawning his district-issued handgun on two occasions. The other two assistants were accused of knowing about the pawning and failing to report him.
In February, a Jacksonville police officer’s gun accidentally discharged outside Jefferson Davis Middle School as the campus was on a brief lockdown for what officials called “a false threat” made earlier, district officials said at the time.
The lawsuit also cites recent public health research showing “the possibility of an active shooter situation is not justification for the presence of firearms on campus in the hands of any personnel other than law enforcement officers.”
