07/01/2026
Stand with Parkland Statement on the Conclusion of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission
PARKLAND, Fla. – Today marks the sunset of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission one of Florida’s most important school safety accountability efforts. While the Commission may be dissolved, the need for independent oversight, transparency, and continuous school security improvement is not.
Established to investigate the February 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Commission exposed critical failures, drove reforms, and helped transform Florida’s approach to school safety through fact-based recommendations.
"The Commission proved what can happen when leaders put politics aside, follow the facts, and remain committed to protecting students and educators. Every recommendation and the laws that came from them was written to prevent someone else from having to endure what our families experienced. We owe it to the 17 lives taken at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and to every student across America to continue building on that legacy."
“Ending the Commission does not mean its mission has been completed,” said Tony Montalto, president of Stand with Parkland. “The threats facing schools have not disappeared. Students, parents, and educators need to be involved and still deserve experts asking tough questions, identifying vulnerabilities, and holding systems accountable. Complacency is the greatest risk we face.”
“The Commission became the gold standard because it followed the facts wherever they led, even when those findings were uncomfortable. Its recommendations have saved lives, but school safety is never finished. It requires constant evaluation, transparency, and the willingness to improve. We cannot allow the progress made since 2018 to stall.”
Over the past eight years, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission has conducted exhaustive investigations into school shootings and other acts of targeted violence, identifying systemic failures and transforming those findings into meaningful policy reforms that have fundamentally reshaped Florida's approach to school safety. Its recommendations strengthened behavioral threat assessment programs, expanded access to mental health resources, improved emergency response coordination, enhanced campus security standards, and increased accountability across school districts and law enforcement agencies.
The 2026 School Safety Legislation HB 757, extended proven school safety practices from K-12 schools into Florida's public colleges and universities, requiring standardized family reunification plans, improving the transfer of threat assessment information as students transition into higher education, and strengthening protections around school campuses. The state Office of Safe Schools, led by Tim Hay, will aggregate and continue much of the MSD Commission’s work. Through its commitment to continuous evaluation and evidence-driven policymaking, the Commission and staff at the Office of Safe Schools have established a model for school safety that has informed policymakers both in Florida and across the country.
Stand with Parkland – The National Association of Families for Safe Schools thanks Chairman Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the Commission’s members, staff, and subject matter experts for their years of dedicated service and their commitment to ensuring that the lessons learned from the tragic murders of our daughters, sons, and spouses continue to protect students across Florida.
As Florida enters the next chapter of school safety, Stand with Parkland urged state leaders to preserve the rigorous review, accountability, and transparency that made the Commission effective.
“The families who lost loved ones never get to move on from February 14th,” Montalto said.“Our state must not move on from the responsibility to learn from every incident, strengthen every safeguard, and do everything possible to prevent another family from experiencing the unimaginable. The Commission may be ending, but our work to ensure safe schools is not.”
