OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — A citizen advisory group focusing on school safety in Osceola County is working with Florida House Rep. Rene Plasencia (R-District 50) to push for change at the state level.
What You Need To Know
- A citizen advisory board in Osceola County is working to improve school safety
- The task force was formed after a school resource officer slammed a student to the ground
- State Rep. Rene Plasencia is proposing more mental health training foe school resource officers
- Plasencia is seeking the advisory group's input on his legislation
The task force, created by Osceola County School Board member Julius Melendez, was created after video surfaced showing a school resource officer at Liberty High School slamming a student to the ground. It met for a second time Wednesday evening.
The group is now in talks with Plasencia, a longtime teacher. Plasencia filed House Bill 383, which would require additional mental health training for school resource officers geared towards dealing specifically with youth.
““What we need to do as school board members and as state legislators is take a look at the existing laws and see what we can do to help prevent these things from escalating,” Plasencia said. “I believe that my bill does lend towards that, and maybe with some feedback from the task force Melendez created we can get some input of potential changes we can make to make the bill better.”
Plasencia’s bill has made it through the first committee in the Senate but still has to pass through other committees.
This year’s Florida Legislature goes into session Tuesday.