This week, as millions of Florida students prepare for another academic year, we honored the school resource officers who protect them with a Thin Line Tribute. Our Thin Line Tribute initiative recognizes the daily, often thankless efforts, of Florida’s front-line law enforcement officers—and you don’t get more front line than serving in a school!

During the tribute, at a high school in Volusia County, we also announced that the school district will be joining our Hallway Heroes program. We created Hallway Heroes last year to encourage students to build bonds of trust with school resource officers—so they are more comfortable reporting suspicious or dangerous activity in schools. 

Through this unique program, attention-grabbing, age-appropriate posters are strategically placed in school hallways instructing students on how to engage with school resource officers. For older students, these displays include our statewide anonymous crime-reporting tipline, **TIPS. 

While making this announcement, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood shared that, on average, once a week, one student in the Volusia County School District is rushed to the hospital due to an adverse reaction to vaping. In fact, during the last school year, deputies seized 30 illicit vapes—with six containing fentanyl.

As the mother of a school-aged child, this terrifies me. As Attorney General, I want all students to understand that using any illicit products or substances could prove deadly as fentanyl is being found in almost all drugs—including some vapes. 
 
That is why it is so important that we recognize our Hallway Heroes ahead of another challenging school year. These officers are committed to protecting our students and by encouraging positive relationships between these heroes and our students, we can prevent crime, protect schools and build a Stronger, Safer Florida.