GOVERNOR CRIST CREATES GUBERNATORIAL TASK FORCE FOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SAFETY
April 30, 2007
Contact:
ERIN ISAAC
(850) 488-5394
TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt met today to discuss security and safety on university and college campuses and actions taken in Florida following the Virginia Tech tragedy. During the meeting, Governor Crist signed Executive Order 07-77, establishing the Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety to review all security measures on Florida’s college and university campuses.
“The hearts of Floridians have gone out to the families of the victims of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, and the compassion we feel for them urges us to be prudent and review our own state’s emergency plans for schools and college campuses,” Governor Crist said. “Florida’s already advanced level of disaster preparedness will serve as a strong foundation for Florida’s law enforcement, education and mental health agencies and partners to develop the best safety plans possible.”
President Bush has asked Secretary Leavitt and other cabinet officials to travel across America to hold similar meetings. Once this process has been completed, Secretary Leavitt will work with Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to summarize the issues raised and report to the President within 30 days.
“The pain of this tragedy is felt throughout this nation and our hearts and prayers go out to the victims’ families, friends and the entire Virginia Tech community,” HHS Secretary Leavitt said. “While our review will not answer all the questions or solve all the problems, we hope to frame up a series of issues as part of a thoughtful, national dialogue and determine where the federal government can play a role in helping states and communities avoid such tragedies in the future.”
According to Executive Order 07-78, the Task Force will be chaired by Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth, and Bill Janes, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, will serve as vice chairman. Other members will be Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey; Craig Fugate, Director of the Department of Emergency Management; Mark Rosenberg, Chancellor for the State University System; Florida State University Police Chief David L. Perry; a designee from Attorney General Bill McCollum’s office; and two students – one from a two-year school and one from a four-year university. The Task Force will submit a report of their findings and recommendations to the Governor by May 24, 2007.
Governor Crist and Secretary Leavitt later convened state and federal education, mental health and law enforcement officials to discuss Florida’s current safety procedures, lessons learned from the tragedy and future proactive steps Florida will take. Florida education officials participating in the roundtable discussion included Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg; Chancellor Rosenberg; David Armstrong, Chancellor for Community Colleges and Workforce Education; and Ed Moore of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida. Mental health officials from Florida attending were Secretary Butterworth, Director Janes; Agency for Health Care Secretary Andrew Agwunobi and Health Secretary and Surgeon General Ana Viamonte Ros. Law enforcement and security officials were Director Fugate and Jennifer Pritt, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Statewide Intelligence for FDLE.
Issues discussed consisted of emergency notification capabilities, support and training for first responders and student mental health issues. Future needed actions identified include the following:
• Engage educational representatives in the FDLE Regional Domestic Security Task Force. The regional task force fosters interagency communication between municipal, county, and state agencies to develop a statewide, multidisciplinary plan to prevent and respond to domestic terrorism.
• Ensure consistency in frequency, type and level of training exercises for emergency response to ensure immediate, appropriate and coordinated action by law enforcement agencies.
• Address challenges to identifying at-risk students due to inability of universities, colleges and law enforcement agencies to receive information regarding mental health and health care of students.
On April 26, federal officials began convening the meetings in communities across the U.S. Over the next few weeks, Secretaries Leavitt and Spellings and Attorney General Gonzales are planning to travel separately to hold discussions in West Virginia, Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Tennessee, Texas, Florida and California. Similar tragedies have occurred in many of these states and the lessons learned from those events will provide valuable input for this review. Administration officials will also meet with members of Virginia Governor Kaine’s commission which is conducting an in-depth investigation of this tragedy from that state’s perspective.
STATE OF FLORIDA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 07-77
(Establishing Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety)
WHEREAS, a horrific tragedy unfolded on April 16, 2007, on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (“Virginia Tech”) in Blacksburg, Virginia, when a young man opened fire on the campus, shooting and killing 32 people and wounding many more before committing suicide;
WHEREAS, I met today with Mike Leavitt, United States Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services to discuss Florida’s actions taken in the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech;
WHEREAS, the President of the United States has tasked Secretary Leavitt, the United States Attorney General, and the United States Secretary of Education with the goal of meeting with Governors across the United States in order to report back to the White House on measures taken to improve security and response to crisis situations on university campuses;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHARLIE CRIST, as Governor of Florida, in obedience to my solemn constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, do hereby promulgate the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:
Section 1.
A. There is hereby created the Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety (“Task Force”), formed to help improve communication and collaboration between education, mental health, law enforcement, and emergency management agencies;
B. The Task Force shall be advisory in nature and is created for the following purposes:
1. Identifying students who pose a risk; improving information sharing among mental health and health professional and education and law enforcement within the parameters of applicable Federal law;
2. Identifying methods of notification during emergency situations on school campuses;
3. Identifying strategies for improving cross-agency communication;
4. Identifying necessary improvements for training of law enforcement officials and first responders to crisis situations;
Section 2.
The Task Force shall provide a report to the Governor by May 24, 2007 setting forth its recommendations.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed, at Tallahassee, the Capitol, this 30th day of April, 2007.STATE OF FLORIDA
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 07-78
(Establishing Structure of Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety)
WHEREAS, a horrific tragedy unfolded on April 16, 2007, on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (“Virginia Tech”) in Blacksburg, Virginia; and
WHEREAS, I met today with Mike Leavitt, United States Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services to discuss Florida’s actions taken in the aftermath of the tragedy at Virginia Tech; and
WHEREAS, by Executive Order 07-77, I established the Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety, an advisory body tasked with identifying measures to improve communication and collaboration between education, mental health, law enforcement, and emergency management agencies in order to improve security and collective crisis response on college and university campuses;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CHARLIE CRIST, as Governor of Florida, in obedience to my solemn constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State of Florida, do hereby promulgate the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:
Section 1.
The Gubernatorial Task Force for University Campus Safety (“Task Force”), shall be comprised of at least nine members, and shall always be comprised of an odd number of members. Members shall be appointed by the Governor, and shall serve at his pleasure.
Section 2.
The membership of the Task Force shall include the Secretary of the Department of Children and Families, who shall serve as Chairman, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, who shall serve as Vice Chairman, the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Director of the Department of Emergency Management, the Chancellor for the State University System, David L. Perry, Florida State University Chief of Police, a designee of the Attorney General of Florida, and two student representatives, one from a two-year college and one from a four-year college or university.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed, at Tallahassee, the Capitol, this 30th day of April, 2007.