How school safety drew grand jury’s scrutiny in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties

A grand jury report that rocked Broward schools last month is also leading to scrutiny of neighboring school districts.

Both Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade school districts, as well as those in Duval and Orange counties, received letters from Tim Hay, director of the state Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools, saying he had “significant concerns” about the grand jury’s findings.

The letters, using similar wording as one sent to Broward, said Hay “has reasons to believe some issues “are ongoing and require immediate action.” He scheduled meetings with officials from the districts last week.

While the outcomes of those visits are unclear, no other district is expected to face any action as severe as Broward, where Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 26 followed the grand jury’s recommendation to remove four School Board members who supported former Superintendent Robert Runcie.

The grand jury made no such recommendations for any other school districts.

[ RELATED: State wants answers to Broward safety issues from grand jury report. ]

Hay’s letter to both districts said they have violated state law “by systemically underreporting incidents of criminal activity to the Florida Department of Education.”

That same finding was listed on Broward’s letter.

The letter to Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Michael Burke said that the district chose private security guards as the only option for an armed guardian program and wasted “a significant amount of taxpayer dollars” by hiring a private firm to train these guardians.

The letter to Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres said the district questioned the district’s 2015 proclamation to not suspend students out of school. The district misused alternative placements called “Success Centers” to house these students or “simply instructed students not to come to school, in an attempt to circumvent” the reporting of suspensions to the state, the letter states.

[ RELATED: Broward School Board plans “swift action” after grand jury report. ]

“School safety remains among our top priorities,” Miami-Dade Schools spokeswoman Jaquelyn Calzadilla Diaz said in a statement. “M-DCPS has taken a proactive role by implementing a number of measures to improve and align data reporting to address matters regarding student discipline.

“The District has instructed staff to perform a thorough analysis of progressive discipline models including the Student Success Center Program.”

In a letter to Hay, Burke wrote that other than the hiring of a private security firm — a contract that was canceled three years ago — Palm Beach County was not singled out by the grand jury.

[ RELATED: Grand jury report recomemnds four Broward School Baord members be removed. ]

“The School District of Palm Beach County has and continues to consistently adhere to school safety laws and accurate reporting of criminal activity to the Florida Department of Education,” Burke wrote. “We also continue to implement enhanced security measures and further harden our campuses.”

In recent days, Hay met with Miami-Dade officials, as well as those in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“Broward County Public Schools remains committed to providing safe and secure learning environments for students and staff and is happy to collaborate with the Office of Safe Schools in that endeavor,” district spokeswoman Keyla Conception said in a statement. “We are looking forward to receiving the State’s report about their visit to the District.”

Orange County school leaders also were meeting Wednesday with state education officials about the grand jury report, which criticized how the district responded to criminal acts by students in Apopka schools.