JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Moving quickly after the mass shooting this month that killed 17 people at a Broward County high school, the Senate likely will take up a wide-ranging school safety bill during a floor session Thursday.
The bill (SB 7026) is included on a “special order calendar,” a document that lists bills going to the floor.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill Tuesday, a day after the Rules Committee backed it.
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patricia Willis and Ribault High School senior Gregory Hill spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee before it approved that chamber's version of the school safety bill.
After appealing to lawmakers about school safety reform, Willis, Hill, 25 other students and a handful of Duval County school district leaders returned to Jacksonville just before 10 p.m. from the state Capitol.
Hill told News4Jax that he became emotional, but wanted to share his thoughts and what his fellow students think about why they don't think teachers should have guns in schools.
"I felt, as a student of Ribault, that wasn't something that I wanted in my school. I know that's a popular opinion among educators and other students who wouldn't feel safer with more guns on campus," he said.
Englewood High School senior Carol Dahi, who was among the students who went to Tallahassee, agreed.
"I grew up in a war era. We were having a lot of issues with guns, gun violence and gun murders, and having a gun on school (property) isn't going to help me feel safe," Dahi said.
The bill includes numerous issues, including allowing specially trained teachers to bring guns to class, raising the age from 18 to 21 to purchase rifles or other long guns and creating a commission to explore failures leading up to the massacre this month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The students said they felt disappointed that certain amendments to SB 7026, including a firearm registry and a ban on assault rifles, were rejected. But the students said they did appreciate the experience.