Design by Tori Baer

Outside of building eight on the first day of school, a hoard of students wait impatiently to be let inside. Across campus, similar sights can be found in front of the doors to nearly every building. This is the result of House Bill 1473: School Safety, which requires Floridian schools to have every door locked at all times.

On January 7th, 2024, the idea to increase school security throughout Florida was born. On May 6th, 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into fruition, implementing a multitude of new rules.

While designed to keep students safe, many have seen it as an inconvenience. Paige Benson, junior, believes that the locked doors have made day-to-day life far more challenging than it had been in previous years.

“I can’t go back and make up tests at the beginning or after school, because there are locked doors preventing me. Things that were easy before are now more difficult because of the barrier preventing us from doing them,” Benson said. “It is like [Florida] are trying to lock us out from our learning.”

As of September 20th, 2024, students were given keycards to enter the buildings without having an administrator or security guard opening the doors. While this has made the overall process easier, it was not without its faults.

“I mean, it’s easier for some people, but I did not even get a keycard,” Lily Laurson, junior, said. 

With many students not receiving the necessary keycards to get into the building, people have begun to question the true practicality of this rule. Myla Jack, sophomore, believes the overall rule itself is useless.

“Once we do get our keycards, as soon as the first person opens this door, everybody else is just going to hold the door open. It’s not going to make a difference,” Jack said. 

This new rule has left students feeling uneasy, wondering what would happen to them if they were locked out during an emergency. Junior Thomas Hudson fears that if someone were to threaten campus, students not already in a building would be at a severe risk.

“I don’t think it’s keeping us safe, because if there was a threat, they would probably be in the class with us or on campus,” Hudson said. “So when the doors are locked, we can’t get in to escape the threat, and there’s not really anywhere to hide.”

However, Hudson also observes the opposite side of the situation, where this new law could save lives and help teachers breathe a sigh of relief.

“It’s safer if there is someone trying to break into the school or who has made it on campus trying to get into the buildings. It also makes teachers’ lives easier, because they don’t have to worry about someone walking into the building with something dangerous,” Hudson said.

While not without its faults, House Bill 1473 was designed with the intentions of keeping Florida’s youth safe. Many students may be annoyed with it for the time being, however as time goes on and this transforms into their new normal, the idea may not seem as ridiculous as it does now.