GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who previously expressed support for the legislation, is likely to sign it into law.
ADVERTISEMENTFlorida lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow teachers to carry firearms in response to the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 people dead.
The House voted 65-47, with eight abstentions, on Wednesday to allow classroom instructors to be armed as a school safety measure. The Florida Senate voted last week, 22-17, pass its version of the bill.
Last year, in response to the massacre, lawmakers passed a bill that would allow certain school personnel to carry firearms, but not teachers. This bill expands the state's Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program, which was named after football coach Aaron Feis who shielded students from the Parkland shooting suspect's bullets.
The measure that passed Wednesday was largely championed by Republicans, who control both chambers of the legislature, as a deterrent and decried by Democrats as risky and unsafe. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who previously expressed support for the legislation, is likely to sign it into law. A representative for his office did not respond to a request for comment.
The bill requires teachers who participate in the program to undergo drug testing and psychological evaluation and to complete 144 total hours of training. The training requirements include 80 hours of commission-certified firearms instruction and eight hours of drilling in active shooter of assailant scenarios, among other conditions.
School boards in Broward, Palm Beach and Orange counties have already expressed opposition to allowing their teachers to be armed, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Parkland is located in Broward County.
The legislation also lays out requirements for schools to annually conduct a school security risk assessment, more reporting of school safety episodes and additional guidelines regarding mental health access in schools, among other provisions.
"This bill is the ultimate school-hardening law. It allows the good guy to stop the bad," Rep. Chuck Brannan, a Republican, told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "The bad guy will never know when the good guy is going to be there."
Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a Democrat, said the legislation is creating a "police state."
"Teachers need to teach," he told the paper. "We need to create a more nurturing, loving environment in a school so people don't grow up to become monsters. … We are creating a police state. It is wrong."