Safe Schools and Smart Technology

The problem

Too many Tampa parents send their kids to school with a knot in their stomach. Between worries about safety at the building and the technology kids carry with them, families need to know the city and the school district are working as one team — not pointing at each other.

The plan

The Mayor's office opens a formal school-safety partnership with HCPS in the first month: shared safety standards, coordinated response protocols, and smart-technology tools vetted jointly by the district, the city, and parents. Nothing moves without the interlocal agreement and the Board's say-so.

Technology serves the plan, not the other way around — devices and systems are chosen for student privacy and real safety outcomes, with clear rules on data, consent, and who sees what.

How you’ll know it’s working

• HCPS interlocal on school safety signed and published
• Joint safety standards adopted across participating schools
• Parent-facing reporting on safety measures in plain language
• Technology tools audited for privacy before any deployment

From the Blueprint

• Executive Order 006 opens a 90-day interlocal negotiation with HCPS toward a Master Safety Agreement.
• The agreement covers three domains: safety-tech integration, TPD-school response protocols, and SRO deployment standards.
• A joint committee of district safety staff, principals, TPD command, Fire/EMS, city tech, and the Mayor's Office meets monthly.
• Panic buttons for front-office staff and principals route instantly to the district console and Tampa 911, with a 48-hour post-incident review.
• AI cameras are limited to person-down, after-hours intrusion, and perimeter-breach detection -- no facial recognition for student discipline.
• Every SRO completes training in de-escalation, adolescent development, trauma-informed practice, and bias awareness.

Every child in every Tampa school will be protected by a safety infrastructure that the city and the school district built together -- not separately.