South Florida lawmakers propose federal standards for notifying parents of school emergencies

Three South Florida lawmakers are collaborating to set new federal standards for notifying parents and guardians about school emergencies, from shootings and bomb threats to sex offenses and natural disasters.

The bipartisan School Safety Notification System Act — introduced by U.S. Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida, along with Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — is meant to streamline and uniformize school emergency alert procedures.

It would require School Districts to develop processes to provide “timely notification of covered threats and emergencies” that happen on school grounds, during school transportation or school-sponsored activities.

At minimum, the procedures must include commonly used alarm systems for specific types of emergencies and identify the primary agency responsible for responding to each type of threat or emergency. The person or people responsible for contacting those agencies must also be identified.

Moskowitz, a Broward Democrat, is a former Director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, where a mass shooter murdered 17 people in 2018. Moskowitz said he knows “all too well the anxiety parents feel when sending their kids to school.”

“One of my primary objectives in Congress is to ensure that no child is ever unsafe in school, but should there ever be an event where they’re at risk, parents cannot be left in the dark,” he said in a statement. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to improve parental notification procedures, and I urge all my colleagues to support this commonsense proposal.”

Díaz-Balart, a Republican who represents Miami-Dade and Collier counties, said there are more than 300 school threats in the latter District alone that are currently under investigation. He said this new legislation will ensure parents are kept in the loop.

“Parents deserve to be kept informed promptly and effectively,” he said in a statement. “The 2018 Parkland shooting taught Florida and our country painful lessons.”

If passed, the School Safety Notification System Act would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

The “covered threats” on campus that parents and guardians would have to be notified about include the use or possession of weapons with the intent to harm others; active shooter or hostage situations; homicide; sex offenses involving students and school personnel; trespassing; fires; natural disasters; and exposure to harmful substances or conditions due to a human-made emergency.

Other threats and emergencies that “a local education agency determines appropriate to address through” the emergency notification process would also be included.

Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat representing parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, called the proposal “a meaningful step toward making our schools safer for all students.”

“It is our collective responsibility,” she said in a statement, “to build environments where students can learn, grow and thrive without fear.”

Díaz-Balart and Fitzpatrick, a Republican, credited Parkland parents Max Schacter and Tony Montalto — who lost children during shooting and have since launched foundations, Safe Schools for Alex and Stand with Parkland, to prevent future tragedies on school grounds — for helping to craft the legislation.

Montalto acknowledged his role in the process Tuesday. He also noted the federal measure’s similarity to a 2021 bill (SB 590) the Florida Legislature passed at the urgency of and with input from his group, which set new state-level standards for parental notification and mental health crisis interventions at schools.

“Stand with Parkland brought this bill to the state of Florida following the murders of our sons, daughters, and spouses. We are proud to see this bipartisan bill at the federal level as a vital step towards ensuring that America’s parents are informed to make decisions about their child’s safety at school,” he said in a statement.

“We thank Congressman Moskowitz and his congressional colleagues for their leadership in making school safety a priority and encouraging transparency in communicating critical information. Together, we can create safer schools in all communities.”