A day before the one-year anniversary of a shooting at a Florida high school that killed 17 people, including 14 students, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued several executive orders Wednesday aimed at making schools safer in the state, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
One executive order mandated a statewide audit of all school discipline diversion programs like the one accused Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz attended while he was in the Broward County school system, WLPG reported. That program, called Preventing Recidivism Through Opportunities, Mentoring, Interventions, Support & Education -- or PROMISE -- was specifically mentioned in DeSantis' executive order.
"The audit should determine their requirements for eligibility and operations, their stated impact on school and public safety, their costs, and whether there is evidence to support their continuation, closure or regulation in law," DeSantis wrote.
DeSantis also ordered law enforcement officials to build a threat assessment strategy for mass shooters, demanded speedier efforts in developing methods to monitor social media threats and extended a deadline for the state's sheriffs to receive part of $50 million in unused funds for armed school guards, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
In a letter to Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Richard L. Swearingen on Wednesday, DeSantis wrote "The development of a broader and more comprehensive threat assessment is a top priority" for Florida.
"We have entered a new era of policing," DeSantis wrote to Swearingen. "It is of paramount importance that we identify threats before they occur, and do everything within our power to prevent individuals from carrying out acts of targeted violence."
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