ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Public Schools began efforts to improve school safety after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, according to spokesperson Scott Howat.

In 2018, the school district sped up its safety enhancements after 17 students and staff died during a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day. Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting. 

The Parkland tragedy struck “close to home” for many people across the state, and out of that tragedy, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act was established. The law allocated funding to help schools in Florida become safer.

The Orange County school district has brought on more resources, adding a School Resource Officer to every school and bringing in more health counselors and psychologists. There is a district police force and more secure buildings, Howat said, along with a "Fortify Florida" app for reporting activity.

“In today’s world, you cannot take anything lightly. We have to make sure that no matter how many times we’ve seen or heard something that we are taking it seriously. We’re making sure that we’re reporting it to the parents. There’s no such thing as crying-wolf,” he said.

Howat said the district continues to look at ways to improve school safety.

“It’s never enough. We need to keep working as hard as we can to do everything we can to protect our children and our schools. And it’s about continuous improvement.”