Florida school districts unite to combat violence, substance abuse with new initiative

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - School district leaders within the state's Seventh Judicial Circuit came together with the help of State Attorney R.J. Larizza to discuss a new initiative aimed at cracking down on violence and substance abuse in public schools.

In the form of a public service announcement, superintendents from Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties joined forces on Thursday morning to address the importance of education, awareness, and accountability in combating the issues plaguing schools.

"We're in a fight to make sure that we prepare our students, our children, for the future," said State Attorney Larizza.

The schools are creating a common "code of conduct" to address mental health issues to prevent violence and substance abuse.

Larizza used some of FOX 35's previous reporting to drive home his point. He showed a video of the brawl at Matanzas High School in Flagler County, where eleven students were arrested. He also highlighted a report in which a 15-year-old's vape tested positive for fentanyl, underscoring the vaping issues in Volusia County.

The examples were used to illustrate why the schools need to work together.

Larizza said, "Wouldn’t it be nice if we can prevent a crime before it happens? Through education, through awareness, and through accountability, those are messages I think everybody can understand, especially kids in middle school and high school."

The plan is for monthly lessons on the consequences of substance abuse and violence. The course will be offered through the "Life Skills and Resiliency" curriculum to Volusia and Flagler County students in grades 6-12.

"We looked into our mental health program and how we will be embedding some of these segments into that program so that every student receives that education," said Dr. Carmen Balgobin, superintendent for Volusia County Schools.

Superintendent for Flagler Schools, LaShakia Moore, added, "We really focus on identifying a place and an area where we are already required to address these topics so that we can sustain it, and it won’t be something that will be just this year — it will be able to be sustained over time."

The goal for the curriculum is to implement it every school year and inspire other districts across the state to adopt the program to prevent violence.