TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers are proposing to expand the state’s guardian program, which allows trained school employees to carry firearms, to public colleges and universities in response to recent campus shootings at Florida State University and Brown University.
The push comes as authorities continue to hunt for the suspect in Saturday’s shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where a gunman opened fire in a crowded engineering building during finals week, killing two students and wounding nine others. The attack at the Ivy League school followed an April mass shooting at Florida State in Tallahassee that left two dead and seven injured, including the suspect.
Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman of Pensacola, a Florida State alumna who was in contact with students during the April incident, is sponsoring House Bill 757 to extend the Chris Hixon, Coach Aaron Feis, and Coach Scott Beigel Guardian Program beyond K-12 schools. A companion measure, Senate Bill 896, is backed by Sen. Don Gaetz of Niceville.
“This is about creating a safer environment on our campuses,” Salzman said. “It’s not about the Second Amendment; it’s about protecting our students from these tragedies.”
The guardian program, established in 2018 after the Parkland school shooting that killed 17 people, currently operates in 53 Florida counties and allows volunteer school staff — excluding classroom teachers unless they have other roles — to undergo law enforcement training and carry concealed weapons on campus. Participants receive a $500 stipend, and sheriffs’ offices handle screening and training with state funding.
Under the proposed expansion, colleges could opt in to train and arm select faculty and staff as guardians, while also mandating threat assessment teams, active shooter response plans, mental health training for employees, and upgraded classroom door locks. Gov. Ron DeSantis has included $6 million in his 2026-27 budget proposal to support the higher education rollout, part of a larger $26 million allocation for school safety upgrades.
The bills are set for consideration when the Florida Legislature convenes Jan. 13.
Some Democrats and gun violence prevention groups argue that arming more people on campuses could heighten risks rather than reduce them. “I don’t believe that having more weapons in classrooms gets it right,” said Rep. Cindy Polo, a Democrat from Miramar, echoing opposition from the program’s initial rollout.
Florida State student Madalyn Propst, who survived the April shooting, voiced similar concerns: “It will solve nothing.”
In the Brown shooting, police released new surveillance images Tuesday of a person of interest as the search intensified, with the FBI offering a $50,000 reward. The university canceled remaining exams and classes, sending students home early.
The Florida State tragedy involved 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner, who authorities say used a handgun after a shotgun malfunctioned. Ikner, the stepson of a local sheriff’s deputy, faces murder and attempted murder charges. Motives in both cases remain under investigation.